In the early 1900s, the brothers bought hundreds of thousands of acres of virgin Longleaf pine forests in southeastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi for the timber and further their strategy to build railroad spurs to bring the wood to market.

[9] The city, designed by architect Rathbone DeBuys[10] of New Orleans and built from the ground up in less than a year, had several hotels, schools, a hospital, a YMCA and YWCA, churches of all faiths, and houses for the mill workers.

After Bogalusa was incorporated as a city on July 4, 1914, Sullivan was elected as mayor by white voters (blacks had been disenfranchised), and repeatedly re-elected, serving until his death on June 26, 1929.

Company owners supported a white militia group and brought in Black strikebreakers, increasing racial tension.

Following their return from World War II, African-American veterans faced significant challenges due to racial discrimination and violence in Louisiana and the broader South.

They contended with the enduring legacy of Jim Crow laws, state-enforced segregation, and systemic disenfranchisement and political exclusion, issues that had persisted since the turn of the 20th century.

[17] During the civil rights era, African-American employees at Crown Zellerbach in Bogalusa campaigned for equal employment opportunities, including access to all job positions and advancements into supervisory roles.

Additionally, the African-American community advocated for the integration of public facilities in Bogalusa, particularly following the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, facing opposition from segments of the local population.

Local Ku Klux Klan members exerted their influence by intimidating civil rights activists.

On February 21, 1965, with the help of three activists from the Deacons for Defense and Justice based in Jonesboro, Louisiana, they founded the first affiliated chapter of that African-American self-defense organization.

Other leaders of the Deacons were Bert Wyre, Aurilus “Reeves” Perkins, Sam Bonds, Fletcher Anderson, and others.

[20] They mobilized many war veterans within the black community to provide armed security to civil rights activists and their families.

In 1995, a railroad tank car imploded at Gaylord Chemical Corporation, releasing nitrogen tetroxide and forcing the evacuation of about 3,000 people within a one-mile (1.6 km) radius.

Dozens of lawsuits were filed against Gaylord Chemical and were finally settled in May 2005, with compensation checks issued to around 20,000 people affected by the accident.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the city with winds of about 110 mph (175 km/h), downing numerous trees and power lines.

[32] By 1938, the Goodyear family's mill had clear cut all the virgin longleaf yellow pine within hundreds of miles of Bogalusa and after an unprofitable effort to import redwood from California, their sawmill operations at the Great Southern Lumber Company also ended.

Bogalusa's industry then shifted to paper milling as Goodyear's sawmill passed onto Gaylord Container Corporation which was then bought by Crown Zellerbach in 1955.

Its brown paper successor owned the Bogalusa mill until 2002 when Gaylord was acquired by Temple-Inland Corporation, the area's largest employer.

[42] In January 2025, Louisiana State Police announced the arrest of city mayor Tyrin Truong, who is facing charges of transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, unauthorized use of a moveable, and soliciting for prostitutes.

[49] The Bogalusa Airport, officially named the George R. Carr Memorial Air Field[50][51] is owned by the city.