Redlining in Stoner Hill
This month's focus is the Stoner Hill neighborhood.
In Stoner Hill's origin story may surprise you, Dr. Gary Joiner (Professor of History at LSU Shreveport) taught us that Stoner Hill is older than the city of Shreveport. In part II of our series on Stoner Hill, Was Stoner Hill in Shreveport named after cannabis lovers, we learned where Stoner Hill got its name and how it connected to America's Civil War. Part III of the Stoner Hill series showed what Stoner Hill was like in 1935 vs. what Stoner Hill is like today. Part IV examined how a tornado destroyed much of the Stoner Hill community in 1912. In Part V, Dr. Gary Joiner answered a question from Cookie Coleman, who asked the team if rumors about a mass grave located in Stoner Hill were true. Part VI discussed how Stoner Hill became one of the first testing grounds for road machines in Louisiana.
Now Part VII examines how the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) redlined portions of Stoner Hill beginning in 1940.
Dr. Gary Joiner took the lead on this article.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The US Government created the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as part of the New Deal programs in the 1930s. They surveyed 239 cities nationwide to determine the viability of granting or continuing mortgages.
The HOLC came to Shreveport in 1940 and left chaos in its wake. The surveyors, called valuators, artificially ranked neighborhoods by letter grade, A-D. Class A was the best, and Class D was 'hazardous' and uninsurable.
Stoner Hill was divided into two areas.
Below East Columbia Street was ranked 'C' and labeled C-3. From Ford Street down to Columbia Street was ranked 'D' and labeled D-4.
Holk determined the following about Stoner hill in 1940:
In 1940, HOLC determined the following about the area of Stoner Hill below Columbia Street:
The population was 50% white and 50% black
The black population lived in the area East of Kings Highway and Southeast of Bayou Pierre, between the levee and the river
The white population lived in the West end of the area
The black population consisted of mostly domestic workers who were employed in adjacent white areas of Shreveport
The white population consisted of 'good class of salaried workers.'
On the South side of the Western end, fronting Kings Highway, were many filling stations and lunch stands.
Stoner Hill was approximately 40% built up
Properties in the white section were described as 'well maintained'
Properties in the black section were described as having 'only fair maintenance'
Holk also published the following about Stoner Hill:
'(The black) area is influenced by river levee. Future development may cause the destruction of the levee and in this event the property now occupied by (the black population) may be replaced with white development.'
In 1940, HOLC determined the following about the area of Stoner Hill from Ford Street down to Columbia Street:
The population was 95% back, 5% foreign-born white
Population composed of laborers, tradesmen, mechanics, and domestic workers
Single family residences were the predominant type of building
The area was about 20% built up
Age of properties was between 1 and 30 years
Properties were described as 'poorly maintained on the average.'
The population was not shifting.
Another HOLC finding about this area of Stoner Hill was that 'Quite a few of the (black population) in this section own their homes and they are fairly well maintained, others poorly maintained.
Stoner Hill has been an integrated, working/middle-class neighborhood since its inception. The harm done by the HOLC in 1940 still rings true throughout the decades. Residents were harmed by their inability to obtain mortgages or, if so, at much higher rates.
Thankfully, the 2020 Decennial Census shows that Stoner Hill's population is still healthy.
TOTAL POPULATION
2174
White
282
Black
1646
Asian
92
Hispanic
164
18 years or older
1671
# of housing units
1202
occupied homes
994
unoccupied homes
208
Using digital versions of the 1935 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company maps and current digital data, a direct comparison of remaining buildings and new construction reveals a wealth of information.
The following figures portray the data in east-west block format, stacked in the following order:
Fort Street to Vine Street (Dr. S. W. Jackson Avenue)
Vine Street to East Stoner Avenue
East Stoner Avenue to East Herndon Avenue
East Herndon Avenue to East Wichita Street
East Wichita Street to East Olive Street
East Olive Street to East College Street
East College Street to East Dalzell Street
East Dalzell Street to East Robinson Place
East Robinson Place to East Columbia Street
East Columbia Street to East Kings Highway
The 'Little Texas' section
When split by Youree Drive, the rows are divided into West and East maps. Modern buildings are displayed in semi-transparent gray, allowing the older buildings to be seen behind them. A black dot adjoining the modern building, labeled 'single,' indicates a contemporary single-family residence. Red lines indicate neighborhood boundaries. Light gray indicates streets and paved parking lots.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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