Pre-1910 Archive at McNeese State University Will Shed Light on Missing Local History

McNeese State University’s Frazar Memorial Library now houses the “Loftin-Levingston Title Records,” an archive of courthouse records filed in the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse and other maps and property records that date prior to the Fire of 1910.

 

Loftin Law Group, LLC., and their subsidiary, Armor Title, is donating the collection, valued at over $2,000,000. Steve and Kenny Franks maintained the collection over the years. Through the support of The University of Texas at Austin, the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court, and the Council on Library and Information Resources, the “Loftin-Levingston Title Records” arrived at McNeese Archives and Special Collections in Frazar Memorial Library on June 30, 2026.

The Lake Charles Fire of 1910 destroyed valuable courthouse records needed to understand the evolution of industry, the history of slavery, and environmental changes in Southwest Louisiana. The fire erased early land, title, and property records that kept public audiences and historians from fully contextualizing the region. However, Levingston Land and Title Company, now Armor Title, recorded abstracts and early photocopies of courthouse records beginning in the 1840s. This company also filed early government survey maps, agriculture and industry maps, and cemetery records. These records relate to Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis parish, given that these parishes were combined as Imperial Calcasieu before 1912.

Dr. Megan Poole, a McNeese alumna and an assistant professor and Humanities Institute Faculty Affiliate at The University of Texas at Austin, is leading a team of research and community collaborators on the project. Poole received a $289,998 “Digitizing Hidden Collections” grant to create a physical archive of the records at McNeese and produce a public website that digitizes and presents a selection of the materials to public audiences. The website will allow the public and researchers nationwide to access interactive story maps and genealogies for descendant communities through the website.

Projects collaborators include archivists, scholars, community leaders and advisors:

“We have waited 183 years to learn from the voices and individuals in these records, and we believe that their stories hold the power to help our region imagine better, stronger futures,” Poole said.

Attorneys Billy Loftin, Cody Vidrine, and Van Seneca of Loftin Law Group and Armor Title, LLC, said: “Our Firm is honored to donate these irreplaceable and historical records to McNeese State University. As the only surviving comprehensive collection that pre-dates the devastating fire of 1910, these documents are a unique and invaluable resource. We are proud to place them in McNeese State University’s archives, where they will be preserved and accessible for historians, researchers, students, and the community for generations to come."

“The acquisition of these records, previously thought nonexistent, speaks to the resiliency of Southwest Louisiana. Even after a tragedy like the Great Fire, we find a way to preserve our history for future generations,” Threatt, the archivist at Frazar Memorial Library, said.

“These archives provide a unique window into the people, businesses, properties and events that helped shape the development of our region. We are especially grateful to Loftin Law Group and Armor Title for their commitment to preserve this legacy and for recognizing the importance of making historical resources available to the public,” said Laura Bowers, executive director of the McNeese Foundation.

The “Loftin-Levingston Title Records” collection will be available at McNeese Archive and Special Collections in fall 2026. A historical website that contextualizes the collection for public audiences will be available in 2028.