Minden Museum exhibits rich history of area

There is a gem of a museum on Pearl Street in the heart of downtown Minden, and while the museum itself has not been there all that long, the stories it tells are those of Webster Parish’s rich history.

“The Dorcheat Historical Association Museum is the culmination of a dream that began in the fall of 1974 when under the leadership of Beth Drew White, an organization was formed to preserve the history of Webster Parish,” museum director Schelley Brown Francis said. “Through the ensuing years, the organization suffered setbacks, but the museum now represents a triumph over these difficulties.”

Francis said in 2007 local artist Larry Milford began the process of laying out the design of each exhibit and how it would explain the local history. Francis made additions to the museum with sound effects and video presentations on many of the exhibits. “I have visited many of America’s grand museums and historic sites in my travels – places such as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Buffalo Bill Museum, Smithsonian museums, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Gettysburg and many other historic sites,” Francis said. “All of these places have helped me get ideas to bring back to Webster Parish. It has helped to see if what we were doing on a small scale measured up to these grand exhibits.”

Francis said much of what has been incorporated in their exhibits is in line with the large-scale exhibits in these wellknown places. “Museums are not quiet places to look at artifacts these days,” she said. “They are filled with interactive sights and sounds.”

The official museum of Webster Parish opened its doors June 10, 2008 at 116 Pearl Street in Minden. At that time, only a very small portion of the front room was complete. After a year of renovations and a year of raising awareness of local parish history, the Dorcheat Historical Museum Board of Directors decided it was time to open the doors to show people what had been accomplished and what the plans were for the future.

When you first enter the building, you see an impressive exhibit on the Caddo Indians and the once-abandoned parish seat of Overton. This path continues into the pioneer time period, followed by slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction. “Museums are to preserve all history, and that is what we strive to do,” Francis said.

Exhibits showcase historic homes and buildings, schools, churches, disasters of 1933, famous people and the Coca-Cola Bottling of Minden/Hunter family. The back room is the media/learning center. This back room is for rent. This room also houses the military exhibit that focuses on all wars from World War I to current-day conflicts.

There has been more than $500,000 invested in the museum in the past few years. From 2007-15, the museum received several substantial grants from the Webster Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau, Webster Parish Police Jury, City of Minden, Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Association Foundation, Cultural Crossroads of Minden, Louisiana Main Street Program, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, ConocoPhillips and the Junior Service League. “All of these grants help greatly with research, exhibit construction and building purchase and repair cost,” Francis said. “While those grants are extremely important, private funding from individuals plays a very important part in the great progress we have achieved. These individual-type donations are the ones that keep us operating on a day-to-day basis.”

Dorcheat Museum is constantly working to increase members, donations and events to raise money. “We still have work in the front to be completed, a back theater room to finish and our military exhibit, just to name a few. We estimate spending at least another $100,000 on our expansion project to get where we want to be. A museum is never complete; there are always stories that need to be told.”

–Bonnie Culverhouse