Once called the 'Eden of the New South, ' Webster Parish grew from a small settlement on the western edge of America's frontier into Louisiana's land of plenty. Flyers attracting new settlers advertised running springs, fruitful soil, 'robust' citizens and 'more sunshine than Italy.' In this collection of his popular 'Echoes of Our Past' columns from the "Minden Press-Herald," resident historian John Agan captures some of the most striking stories from Minden's memory. Alongside portraits of early downtown Minden and its charming, brick-paved streets, Agan chronicles the 1933 tornado that ripped the city apart, the tragic Mardi Gras fire of 1923 and an exciting nineteenth-century duel between two prominent Minden citizens.