History du Jour:Highland's Split Hoofp Curtailed

Grazing on pasture, cows appear peaceful and harm-less, less so when strolling a housing development under construction.

- Lani Duke

In 1915, fledgling developer A. C. Steere’s Steere Home Construction Company filed charges against Theo Neugass for letting his livestock roam “at large” in Virginia Heights. Wandering cattle were damaging “concrete walks, parkways, lawns and others,” according to the Oct. 15, 1915, Shreveport Times. [“Theodore Neugas” appeared in only the 1930 city directory, living near the southeast corner of Ontario Street and Line.]

The following day, Steere’s company filed a second application for injunction against Neugass, claiming “live stock running at large through the Virginia Heights, South Highlands and other residence subdivisions … ruining the property and destroying improvements” such as concrete walks, parkways, and lawns. Judge Rhydon D. Webb converted a temporary injunction against the dairyman’s rambling cattle to a permanent one, awarding the developer $35 for damages. (The Times Feb. 10, 1916) Affirming the “no fence law in Ward Four,” the ruling denied Neugass’s claim that requiring livestock owners to fence their herds was invalid law. On appeal, Judge D. N. Thompson affirmed the judgment June 15, and a requested rehearing was denied July 15.