Bossier City, LA

One of Bossier City's early transportation projects was Shed Road, a nine-mile, all-weather toll road that operated from 1874 to 1886 and was described as the first turnpike of its kind in the American South. The settlement grew on the east bank of the Red River opposite Shreveport, first around cotton shipping and later around rail connections, oil, and military activity. Its population reached 62,701 in the 2020 census, making it the second-largest city in the Shreveport-Bossier metropolitan area. Barksdale Air Force Base gives that military history a large present-day footprint. Built on cotton fields in the 1930s, the installation is home to the 2nd Bomb Wing and headquarters for Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force, and the 307th Bomb Wing.

The host wing supports nearly 9,000 active-duty, reserve, and civilian workers plus about 6,000 dependents, figures reported with the base's 2023 economic-impact information. Several public destinations occupy the river side of the city. East Bank Plaza, completed as part of a district redesign that began in 2014, takes up one-quarter of a city block and is configured for food trucks, outdoor activity, festivals, and other gatherings near the riverfront. Farther south, the Headquarters Unit of Red River National Wildlife Refuge contains a visitor and education center that opened in January 2012 and more than five miles of trails.

Hiking, fishing, paddling, birding, photography, and wildlife watching take place within a protected bottomland landscape inside Bossier City. The Central Library Complex, completed in March 2024, provides another civic center away from the river. Its 39,000 square feet include a large meeting room, separate children's and teen rooms, a classroom and computer lab, a makerspace with a 3D printer and sewing machine, recording rooms, and a research room. The adjoining History Center preserves parish photographs, records, and other archival material, connecting current library programming with Bossier's local history.