THE STORY OF "CANE CITY"

The once-elegant old mansion sat dilapidated,
The river edging closer and closer,
Replacing soil with sand,
Precious history washing downstream
Out across the southern lowland.
The site was first called Bennett's Bluff,
Owned by William Bennett and his niece-wife,
Mary.
When William Bennett died in 1837,
His wife married James Huntington Cane
And Bennett's Bluff became Cane's Landing
When Mary changed her name.
The young woman was an astounding lady,
This Mary Bennett Cane,
Reported to be the daughter of Samuel Bennett,
She was a survivor of scandal and whispers,
Replaced by hard work and staunch, southern
loyalty fame!
She offered her fine home as headquarters
To General Kirby Smith,
Commander of
The Department of the Trans-Mississippi West.
After the Battle of Mansfield,
In the basement of the four-story house,
Lay many a wounded Confederate,
Giving their bodies a needed rest.
"Cane City" became Bossier in 1894,
Mary Cane was called the "Founding Mother"
But she was much, much more,
This brave and hearty southern belle,
A Civil War patriot,
Who had owned
Caddo-Bossier's first mercantile store.
Mary died in 1902.
The mansion did not survive long past.
Its total decay came hard and fast,
The Red River's flood water embracing
The old structure at long last.
If the Red could tell tales for all to hear,
One of the best
Would be about "Cane City"
And the settling of the Red River Frontier!

By Reggie Anne Walker-Wyatt, copyright 2001

This quick sketch of the plantation home of
Mary Cane was rendered for the Bossier Parish
Library August 2001 exhibit,
A more detailed and accurate drawing is in progress.

By
Reggie Anne Walker-Wyatt