1856   Ben V. Lily   1936

Like Esau, Jacob's brother of Bible times, Ben Lilly was the ultimate hunter...but
never on Sunday. Not one to focus on acquiring "things" and money, Ben acquired
knowledge, knowledge about the outdoors and the four-legged challenges he found
there...mainly bears and lions. Cotton and cattle were soon phased out of his life.
Starting a few miles east of here on Bayou Bonne Idee and Beouf River, he, with his
dogs, hunted South through Tensas swamp, where President Teddy Roosevelt came
to hunt with him, then on West through East Texas, Northern Mexico and ultimately to Southwest New Mexico, where he settled down to do his "patriotic duty"...kill the
mountain lions and bears that killed the ranchers' livestock. The ranchers paid him,
the government paid him, unlike back home in Louisiana, so he stayed. He sent the
money back home to his wife and children, who lived two blocks North of this
monument. One of his two daughters, Verna, became a school teacher of note: At
her death in 1985 she bequeathed over a half-million dollars, in two trust funds, to the Mer Rouge Methodist Church. One fund supports two student scholarships each
year, the other, the pastor's salary. Ben Lilly, after a bout with pneumonia, died and
was buried in Silver City, N.M. at the age of 80, never having been back to Mer Rouge, but leaving
his mark here and across the Southwest.

Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.

Show me all markers in:  Mer Rouge, LA  |  Morehouse Parish  |  71261  |  Louisiana  |  United States of America

Luther E. Hall
Morehouse Parish Training School
Point Pleasant
Selman Field Navigator Memorial
Selman Field
Claire Lee Chennault
OH-6 Cayuse Helicopter
Mound B
Poverty Point Earthworks
Southwest Ridges

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.