Editor&8217;s Note: This is the first of a five-part series leading up to Ferriday&8217;s Centennial Celebration.

FERRIDAY &8212; Those who study Ferriday history know the town was once a thriving railroad community, but dig a little further and Ferriday started out as a wedding present.

Citizens of Ferriday have conducted research recently on Ferriday&8217;s history to prepare for the town&8217;s 100th anniversary celebration Saturday.

Calvin Smith, son of Presbyterian minister Jedediah Smith of Natchez, was the owner of Retirement Plantation in Kingston and gave his daughter 3,600 acres of land in present day Concordia Parish for her marriage to William Ferriday of Shropshire, England, in 1827, according to the book by John C. Calhoun, &8220;A History of Concordia Parish.&8221;

Frogmore Plantation owner Lynette Tanner and her sister, genealogist Kay Ater Goeggle have also researched the history of Ferriday.

The area was called Helena Plantation and was one of the largest plantations in Concordia Parish and had an assessed value of $250,000.

The area of the town bordered Panola Plantation, where Ferriday Farm Equipment is now, to the Ferriday Wal-Mart and east toward the old Lakeside Ford building, Tanner said.

&8220;Joseph Charles &8220;J.C.&8221; Ferriday, born April 5, 1840, and the eighth child of Calvin and wife, Priscilla was the man for which Ferriday was named,&8221; Tanner stated.

According to a census taken by J.C. Ferriday in 1860 the property had 30 cabins for 149 slaves, 35 mules, 28 oxen, 180 sheep, 120 swine, 15 horses, 22 dairy cows and 75 beef cattle, Tanner said.

When J.C. Ferriday died in 1894, he was known as an active member in the parish and the plantation had been a flag stop for shipments of cotton.

After his death, Ferriday&8217;s wife, Annie, moved to Natchez, selling the plantation to the Farm Land Company. One year later, it was sold to the Southern Land Company.

In 1903 the Texas and Pacific Railroad and the Memphis Helena and Louisiana Railroad set up workshops in the town.

And in 1904, the railroad companies, later named Missouri Pacific, asked the Realty Investment Company to survey the land for a town.

Tanner said in the days of Ferriday&8217;s train operations, the roundhouse building is what made the town thrive.

&8220;The roundhouse was a major switching point, where railcars would come in and hook up to other trains going out of the area with their cargos,&8221; Tanner said.

Tanner said the roundhouse was located next to the depot at the end of Louisiana Avenue and is now called Depot Park.

Ferriday resident and Chamber of Commerce member Liz Brookings said she researched when the town of Ferriday became incorporated in order to find out when Ferriday should hold its Centennial Celebration.

&8220;According to the Louisiana Secretary of State office, Gov. Newton Blanchard signed a document on Oct. 24, 1906, declaring Ferriday an incorporated town,&8221; Brookings said.

The town was renamed Ferriday from Helena to avoid confusion because there was already a Helena, Ark., Tanner said.