Haughton History

In 1884 the Town of Haughton took its name from the family of William and Harriet Hassell Haughton. The Haughton family moved from Tennessee to Mississippi and finally settled in a Southeast Bossier town around 1845. Mr. Haughton was a wealthy man by the time he made his way to the rich bottom lands of what is now known as Fifi Bayou. Mr. Haughton was a farmer and teacher and he, his wife, and their two children settled on two thousand acres of prime land to be known as Haughton Place. Mr. Haughton so loved the land that he had settled that he wrote his friend David Lawrence of Mississippi and told him he should move to the area. Mr. Lawrence and his eight children quickly followed Mr. Haughton’s advice and purchased seven thousand acres of land. All of the land that became the town of Haughton was developed from these first two families. Paul Lawrence, one of David Lawrence’s sons, grew up in the area and was studying to become a doctor as the Civil War broke out. He joined the Robin Grays of Bossier Parish and was wounded twice, once at Chicamauga and again in the Battle at New Hope Chapel. His injury at New Hope in May 1864 would result in the loss of his right leg, yet, he continued to fight as a member of the Invalid Corps. He was taken prisoner in Alabama, but released a week later. After the war Paul returned to medical school at the University of New Orleans. After graduation Dr. Lawrence returned home and married William Haughton’s daughter Mary Jane Haughton in 1870. With the union of the Haughton and Lawrence’s came the combining of the families’ land that was to become Haughton.

In 1881 Mary Jane Haughton Lawrence, with her husband’s approval, sold land to the railroads for twenty dollars cash. At the time of the purchase the Town was known as Lawrenceville, but by 1884 the town’s name had been changed to Haughton because the railroad already had a Lawrenceville on its route. The railroad brought life to Haughton which at the time boasted three saloons and a box car used as a railroad station. In 1885 Mrs. Lawrence deeded eighty acres to the railroads for a railroad station and declared all streets for public use forever. She began selling lots and Haughton soon became a town and businesses started to prosper. In no time at all Haughton was booming with growth and has continued this growth while still remaining a rural family-like community.