Before the Civil War, this stage road was the main transportation artery between Marshall and Shreveport, linking distant markets with New Orleans. Extending northeast from Marshall, it paralleled the later route of State Highway 43, passed about 2.5 miles north of this site, merged with the route from Jefferson, and turned southeast toward Waskom. In some places, iron-rimmed wheels and horses' hooves wore the narrow roadbed as much as 12 feet below the surrounding terrain. Travel over the dirt road was uncomfortable in dry weather and often impossible in rainy seasons. Regular stage service was established by 1850, with three arrivals and three departures weekly from Marshall, and the arrival of the stage was a major event as townspeople rushed to meet the incoming coach at the sound of the driver's bugle. By 1860 Marshall had several stagecoach lines and a network of roads. The Marshall to Shreveport line was operated by plantation owner William Bradfield and his son John, and it continued to run during the Civil War despite shortages of drivers and horses. Use of the stage road declined after the war, when the Southern Pacific completed a rail line to Shreveport.