I was going through my papers and came across an article sent to me about the Ouachita Parish and the history. It is from the News-Star World, Sunday, July 22, 1984. By 1859, the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Railroad had completed its line from the Mississippi River to the east bank of the Ouachita. The link from Monroe west to Shreveport wasn¹t completed until after the Civil War. Across the parish, other small communities were springing up in the early part of the 19th century. Across the river from Monroe, Cottonport and Trenton were thriving business centers. The area those towns occupied later became West Monroe. Further west, a community that later took his name began around the home of Archie Calhoun. North of Monroe, the Hamilton plantation and post office became a regular stopping place for steamboats. Area landowner John T. Sterling left his name with the spot that would become Sterlington.