Elementary Students in 1957

 Here is a picture of a first grade classroom at Covington Elementary School in 1957.

Click on the above image to make it larger.

1992 Scarecrow Festival Video

 Here is some video from the 1992 Scarecrow Festival in Covington, LA, with the naming of the results of the Miss Covington pageant. Mayor Keith Villere was featured in the dunking booth. 

  Click here to watch the video on YouTube

Historic Resources of Covington

 In April of 2018 a Historic Resources Survey Report was prepared for Covington by Cox-McLain Environmental Consulting of Austin, TX. It contained 63 pages of detailed information about the history of the Covington community, complete with photographs, maps, and photos of houses illustrating specific architectural styles. 

To view a PDF Version of the report click on the link below:

"Covington's Historic Resources PDF"

Table of Contents (Click on above pages to make them larger)

Covington Booklet 1911

 In June of 1911, the "Association of Commerce" put out a booklet filled with photographs and text extolling the virtues of Covington and the surrounding area. Here are some pages from that booklet. A photocopy was provided by Noel Marsolan.

Click on the images to make them larger. 

Columbia Landing

St. Tammany Ice & Manufacturing Co. 

Covington Grocery & Grain

Ox Lots

St. Paul's School

Oil Well Drilling

Church Histories

Southern Hotel History

St. Tammany Canning Club

The St. Tammany Trolley

Fenwick Sanitarium

For a downloadable PDF copy of the booklet, 

CLICK HERE

Parish Fair 2011 Opening Ceremonies

 From 15 years ago, below is a short video of the opening ceremonies of the 2011 St. Tammany Parish Fair in Covington. 

Click here to view the video on YouTube

Lyon High Tournament Bound 1940

 In 1940 these are the girls in the Lyon High School basketball team which would represent Covington in the state tournament. Click on the image to make it larger. 

Covington Poem - 1963

 In 1963 this poem was written about Covington in honor of its 150th anniversary celebration:

Click on the above item to make it larger. 

Covington's Dramatic Club of 1898

In 1897, some 129 years ago, the Covington Dramatic Club was established, putting on a variety of plays and "entertainments" that helped raised funds for the maintenance and improvement of the stage at Covington Town Hall, along with donations to the newly-formed M.C.B. Library and Reading Room. Several local churches also received contributions from the dramatic club proceeds.

The Dramatic Club, later renamed as the Covington Musical and Dramatic Club, performed a variety of plays for local patrons, making it one of Covington's first amateur theater efforts, a tradition that has continued throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries with the Covington Little Theater in the late 1930's and Playmakers in the mid-1950's through today. 

In 1899 E.D. Kentzel was president of the Dramatic Club. That year, a meeting was called to discuss the "re-organizing" of the Dramatic Club. The Club at one point was headed by Joseph B. Lancaster, a well-known figure in the Covington area, a man who served as the parish's first superintendent of schools, in addition to his other positions as head of the Covington Hook & Ladder Fire Company, a district judge, and state legislator. 

In 1900 an entertainment was scheduled by the Dramatic Club to raise funds for the orphaned children of a local police officer killed in the line of duty. 

In 1901 it was "re-organized" again, under the leadership of Lancaster, with a major goal to be providing a better stage at the town hall for its performances. The poor condition of the stage had hampered some productions, it was reported. 

Also in 1901, it modified its name once again, this time to the Covington Literary, Social and Dramatic Club. The newly-organized Covington Brass Band often provided music for the club's events.

Two years later, in 1903, a new dramatic club was mentioned in the St. Tammany Farmer Newspaper, this one being named the "Enterprise Dramatic Club." The next year, 1904, it was announced that another new Dramatic Club was being organized, so interest continued. 

By 1907 the Covington Dramatic Club was fully back in action, presenting delightful productions for the theater-going public. In 1908 it was preparing another production, and named among those involved in the "merry drama" was Sidney Fuhrmann, a popular local showman who went on to open motion picture theaters in Covington and Madisonville. In 1909 several young people in Mandeville were forming a dramatic club, and the following year, 1910, a similar effort was launched in Slidell. 

No more mentions of the "Covington Dramatic Club" were found in later editions of the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper, 1910 through 1920, but there were several articles about the St. Paul's College Dramatic Club and other school-associated dramatic groups in Covington and Slidell. 

Newspaper Clippings About the Dramatic Club

The original organizational meeting

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Down By The Sea Cast Members

The club occasionally appealed to the town council for help.

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Several programs raised funds for the town hall stage.

The Club often worked with the M.B.C. Library

Churches were aided by Club donations.

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Performances were sometimes followed by dances and refreshments.

The M.C.B. Library was the community's reading room. 

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The Dramatic Club grew in popularity and admiration.

Dances were held as fund-raisers for the town hall stage.

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Dramatic Club Reborn

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