A Source for News and Culture in Shreveport
Heliopolis is an independent source for the latest in Shreveport news and culture. We currently exists as a media-enriched website along with social media presences on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We are focused on providing relevant articles to those who are looking for something a little different from local mainstream media. Our specialties are community culture, the arts, entertainment, and local government along with related news stories to keep our followers in the know about all that’s happening within the City of Shreveport and the Parish of Caddo. With our dedicated readership building momentum every day, we cover local arts, music, and news with passion and authority.
Heliopolis Was a Boat
Prior to the existence of Shreveport, the Red River, which sits between Shreveport and Bossier City, was unnavigable; blocked by a natural 160-mile logjam called the “Great Raft,” which formed between 1100 and 1200 A.D.. Captain Henry Miller Shreve, a river engineer who commanded the United States Army Corps of Engineers, systematically cleared a total of 25 miles around Shreveport from 1835-1838 using his steamboat, which was called Heliopolis. His efforts led to the naming of the settlement “Shreve Town” in his honor by the Shreve Town Company in 1836 which was then incorporated as the “City of Shreveport” on March 20, 1839. Our namesake calls to mind the clearing of channels of travel, commerce, and communication, which we believe are important to a thriving community.
The Company We Keep
The Heliopolis contributor group is made up of highly-active community members who regularly attend, volunteer for, or even organize many of the Shreveport’s coolest events and champion common sense public policy. Our writers and staff are among the many working to make Shreveport a better place, which makes it easy for us to provide the latest and greatest content to our readers. The group of citizens working to make our city more socially equitable and business friendly grows daily as people come to see that there is a place where folks like themselves can congregate and share stories. We also actively pursue engagement with readers through our magazine and website, creating a central hub to find information about how Shreveport can prosper.
