Pierre Bossier

Who was Pierre Bossier?

Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier was a soldier, planter, and politician born in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He is the namesake of Bossier Parish, which includes the parish seat of Benton and the larger Bossier City, located east of the Red River across from Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana. The Pierre Bossier Mall shopping center in Bossier City also bears his name.

Bossier was the son of Francois Paul Bossier and the former Catherine Pelagie Lambre. He received a classical education privately. He was a cotton and sugar planter on his plantation, Live Oaks, on the Cane River, formerly a segment of the Red River, in Natchitoches Parish. He was also a general in the state militia.

Having entered politics as a Democrat, Bossier was a member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1833 to 1843. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the newly established Fourth Congressional District in north Louisiana from March 4, 1843, until his death in office a year later in Washington, D.C.

Bossier is interred at the Catholic Cemetery in Natchitoches.