Florien & The Neutral Strip
The Village of Florien is located in Sabine Parish in scenic west central Louisiana near Toledo Bend Reservoir. Florien was founded in 1897 and was named for Mr. Florien Giauque. In 1997, the residents of Florien celebrated the centennial of this picturesque village. Florien is the home of the Sabine Free State Festival and beautiful Hodges Gardens. The festival is celebrated every November and commemorates the great historical events leading to the establishment and termination of the "neutral ground" between the territory of the United States and the territory of Spain, west of the Mississippi River.
Events leading to the territorial dispute resulting in the "neutral ground" agreement really began with the French establishment of its westernmost settlement and fort in Louisiana at Natchitoches and the eastern boundary of El Camino Real (San Antonio Trace) at Los Adaes, just east of present day Robeline. In 1803, the United States bought Louisiana from France. This vast territory known as the Louisiana Purchase, included all the land drained by the Mississippi River. When the Americans asked the French about the western boundary of this land, the French were very vague. A definite boundary of Louisiana had not been determined. The Spaniards in Texas considered it to be the Red River. The Americans claimed it to be the Sabine River. Finally, a neutral strip was created in 1806 when no decision could be made. General James Wilkinson, representing the United States, met with the Spanish commander at Los Adaes, the first settlement in the Neutral Strip, to make this agreement.
From 1806-1820, this area was often referred to as "The Neutral Strip" or "No Man's Land". During this time, this strip of land between the Sabine River on the west and the Arroyo Hondo and the Calcasieu River on the east, soon attracted people of all kinds. Outlaws often came to take advantage of a land without law enforcement. In 1810, a joint expedition of Spanish and Americans drove them out. Lawlessness continued until 1822, when Colonel Zachary Taylor built Fort Jesup and brought order to the lawless region. The Florida Treaty of 1819 fixed the western boundary of the Territory of Orleans, among others, but not until 1826 did the so-called "Free State of Sabine" really become part of Louisiana.
Click HERE to visit Florien High School's Cybermodel for Living History
Return to