About Fenton, LA

On January 8, 1888 Mr. Silas J. Fenton and family arrived in Louisiana from Canton, New York. Their first home in Louisiana was built across the road from the C.W. Estes Home known as Hawkeye Ranch.  In the spring of 1892 Mr. Silas built a home on the present site of the Village of Fenton.

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The Fenton Community came into existence in May 1892 when Mr. Silas, the pioneer settler, was commissioned first U.S. Postmaster and the name of Fenton became affixed to the area. Population, at that time, was estimated at five persons. There were no railroads or roads then, only trails winding about through the surrounding prairie.  At the time Mr. Silas donated 240 acres of land and had it surveyed for the Fenton Town site. Fenton’s first post office/store was built by Silas in 1893 and land for Fenton’s first school was donated by him and lumber for the building by I.J. Mills, father of Fenton’s first school teacher, Jennie Mills.

 

In 1895 fire destroyed the post office/store which was located East of Second street and West of the present U.S 165 at the Fourth Avenue crossing and in the same year another was erected on the site of the present office which to date is the same building. In 1895 Fenton’s first railroad station was built and W.M. Fenton, son of Silas, served as first agent-telegrapher for two years. The first graded road in the community ran East and South from Fenton for several miles. The first Rice Mill was built by I. J. Mills in 1896.  W. M. Fenton established the first irrigation well in the community. A two story brick school was erected in 1915 and in 1937 a high school was built.

 

The Village of Fenton was incorporated on September 2, 1951 as a result of the efforts of Mr. George H. Greene who was the present mayor.

Nicholas Langley was appointed the first mayor of Fenton by Governor Earl K. Long.  Earnest J. Karam was Fenton’s first elected mayor and it was under his administration in 1953 that the Fenton Village Hall was built with funds derived from oil and gas leasing of the streets and alleys within the Village. In 1971 under the administration of Mayor George Green, the Municipal Incorporator of the Village, a two hundred forty thousand dollar municipal water system was established. The 1970 Census of the Village reflected a population of 488 whereas the surrounding area the population was approximately 1200. In 1975 Fenton had one fertilizer plant, one farmer’s rice cooperative, one elementary/high school and several service stations, stores and one café. Fenton’s main occupation was farming rice, soybeans and cattle.