Slidell

Named for John Slidell, one of the Confederate diplomats in the "Trent Affair" (1861), this community was established to supply goods and services to nearby farmers. The post office was started in 1884. Garrett Fletcher, donor of land for a cemetery and church, gave lots to nearby businesses that moved here in 1885, including twenty-two-year-old Dr. Drury Young Stem's medical office and drugstore. George W. Durham gave land (1893) for the public square and the first school building, and Nathaniel Pruett began (1895) the telephone system. Today Slidell serves a farm and ranch area. (1974)