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A Leesville museum that sits inside the 1910 Kansas City Southern Railroad depot, which is itself the reason the town exists — Leesville was a sawmill and railroad junction carved out of the longleaf pine forest in the 1890s. The collection runs heavy on Vernon Parish logging history, Louisiana Maneuvers artifacts, and displays on the three communities erased by Peason Ridge. The standout is a 1941 maneuvers map showing where half a million soldiers moved across western Louisiana in the largest peacetime exercise in American history.
Quick facts
- ·Housed in the 1910 Kansas City Southern Railroad depot, itself on the National Register
- ·Strong collection of Louisiana Maneuvers artifacts, including soldier letters and a rare 1941 maneuvers map
- ·Exhibits on the three Peason Ridge communities erased in 1941 — Peason, Whiskachitto, Bear Head Creek
- ·Free admission; open Tuesday–Saturday 10am–4pm
- ·Leesville itself was a turn-of-the-century company town built around the Nona Mills lumber operation
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Editorial content compiled with AI assistance. Place details verified against public records.