THE DAILY NEWS

FRANKLINTON - Parish residents and historians alike were given the opportunity to hear a very important chapter in the history of Washington Parish and the area surrounding it.

The Washington Parish Genealogy and History Society held a meeting earlier in the week to welcome guest speaker Dr. Samuel H. Hyde, a Louisiana historian and professor of history at Southeast Louisiana University in Hammond.

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Hyde is also director of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at SLU and has studied extensive history of the area.

Hyde spoke to an eager audience about the circumstances in which the Southeast Louisiana was during the completion of the Louisiana Purchase. "It's a story that needs to be heard," Hyde said.

Hyde told the audience of the 1810 West Florida Revolt, which led to the end of the Florida Parishes' Spaniard rule, and eventually established the short-lived Independent Republic of West Florida.

Hyde described the circumstances surrounding the revolt, including the reluctance of the persons in the area to become independent from Spain, the lax Spanish government in which residents took the law into their own hands, and how the history has affected the behavior of those currently inhabiting the Florida parishes.

Hyde also told the audience that the current Bonnie Blue Flag is an incorrect color and was actually a lighter blue but had changed colors after The Republic of Somalia adopted the flag in 1973.

Hyde said there is a current movement to have the correct flag waved at all areas in the parishes in which the incorrect flag is waving.

Hyde also announced that a portion of Interstate 12 will be renamed "The West Florida Parkway" this month to help preserve the history of the area.

Hyde has written a documentary about the Revolt, "The Reluctant Americans," which has been shown at the Washington Parish Fair. The film will be aired throughout the Florida parishes before it will be sent to the History Channel to air nationwide in 2004.

Copies of the film are currentlyplanned to be distributed at all libraries in the parish.

If you are interested in viewing a copy of the film for educational purposes, contact Sandi Miller at 516-2690.