By Jessica Gorman

Like other businessmen in Minden, Joe Miller owned rental properties. His properties were known as Miller Quarters just as there were Killen Quarters, Hall Quarters, Woodard Quarters, Harrell Quarters, Frazier Quarters, and Glass Quarters. All these properties took their names from the men who owned them.

You may have noticed that I referred to Miller Quarters in the plural, as properties. This is because the area now being developed as Miller Quarters Park was actually the third property known by this name. The existence of Miller Quarters Number 1 and 2 is recorded in the 1920 U. S. Census, 1930 U. S. Census, Sanborn Maps, and a 1930 Minden City Directory.

The 1930 Minden City Directory gives the location of Miller Quarters No. 1 as being “East of Pennsylvania av Between Spann and F.” The 1927 Sanborn Map allows us to see exactly where these houses would have been located along Spann and a portion G Street, now 3rd Street, that no longer exists. In 1930, several of these homes were vacant. Known residents included Mrs. Annie Howard, George Hilton, Lottie Porter, Andrew Jackson, Easter Hayes, Bob Steel, Edward Jackson, and Trebie Irving.

As indicated by the 1930 city directory, Miller Quarters No. 2 was located “Along Miller Sandlin Av and Maiden Lane.” It included dozens of homes. While it is not known when these homes were constructed, they were in existence by 1920 as evidenced by the census that year.

In May 1933, Minden was struck by a devastating tornado. Hundreds of homes were reportedly destroyed. Among them was Miller Quarters where residents were injured and killed. Joe Miller was reported to have incurred the largest loss of property with an estimated 121 houses destroyed. The story was told that Mr. Miller was seen angrily shaking his fist at the sky and yelling, “You’ve taken the houses, why don’t you take the land, too?”

In the aftermath of the tornado, Joe Miller rebuilt his rental property. In an interview, Mr. Miller’s daughter, Mrs. Roy Miller Inabnett, tells how her father rebuilt those houses with money borrowed from the federal government. However, the first houses that were rebuilt were not located on the property immediately behind the Miller home, just as the original houses had not been. It was only after Mr. Miller defaulted on that government loan that he built on the part of his property now known as Miller Quarters Park.

Today, all that remains of what could be referred to as Miller Quarters No. 3 is a single house. By June 1981, the others had all been removed with the final thirteen being used by the Minden Fire Department as part of their training exercises.

(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, and an avid genealogist.)