SWLA Historical Association Newsletter

The Southwest Louisiana Historical Association will hold its next meeting on Monday, July 18, 2005, at the South Beauregard Museum in Longville, LA at 11:00 a.m. The program will include comments by various special guests and the unveiling of the Longville historical marker.

Joe V. Warren, President of the South Beauregard Museum, will preside. Lunch will be provided following the meeting courtesy of the museum and the Longville First Baptist Church.

Rides will be provided to Longville for anyone not wishing to drive. Please meet in the parking lot across the street from the University Methodist Church behind Selmart at 10:00 a.m.

Please RSVP to Nell Hayes (477-5258) if you plan to attend and if you need a ride! Let’s make this an event to remember!

Joe V. Warren, President of the South Beauregard Museum in Longville, was the speaker for the annual dinner meeting of the Association. Mr. Warren, author of two books, A History of the Long-Bell Lumber Company and “The Family” at Longville, Louisiana and the DeRidder Centennial publication, DeRidder, Louisiana: The First 100 Years, 1903-2003, presented a talk and showed photographs about Longville and the Longville Lumber Company.

The winners of the Dr. Joe Gray Taylor Louisiana History Essay Contest were announced and the first place winner, Reche Rideaux, Ray D. Molo Middle School, talked about her project, Madame C. J. Walker, an early African-American inventor and businesswoman from Northeast Louisiana.

Don Kingery’s brother, Wayne, accepted the Dr. Donald J. Millet Historical Writing Award on his behalf for the book, Timeline II. Congratulations to all our award winners!

Calcasieu Parish: Its History and a Sketch of its Many Resources
(from the 1901 City Directory)

The parish of Calcasieu was created by an act of the state legislature, approved March 24, 1840, the first section whereof declares “That from and after the passage of this act all that territory in the parish of St. Landry within the following boundaries, to-wit: commencing at the mouth of the river Mermentau, thence up said river to the mouth of the bayou Nezpique, thence up said bayou to the mouth of Beaver Creek, thence due north to the dividing line between the parishes of St. Landry and Rapides, thence along said line to the Sabine River to its mouth, thence along the sea coast to the place of beginning, shall form and constitute a new parish, to be called the parish of Calcasieu.”

As so created, Calcasieu was the extreme southwest parish in Louisiana, extending north of the Gulf of Mexico nearly seventy-seven miles and east from the Sabine River nearly sixty-five miles. The same act of the legislature required the police jury of the new parish to fix the location of the court house or seat of justice, and it was accordingly located on the east bank of the Calcasieu River, about six miles northeast of Lake Charles, at a place called Marion, from whence, in 1852, by legislative enactment, it was removed to the east bank of Lake Charles.

In 1852, while Rapides Parish extended westwardly to the Sabine River and bounded Calcasieu Parish on the north, the legislature fixed the boundary line between the parishes of Rapides, St. Landry and Calcasieu as follows: “Beginning at the upper mouth of Elm Bayou where it connects with the bayou Cocodrie, thence up said bayou Cocodrie to the point where the old road leading from Natchitoches to Opelousas crosses it, thence westward to the Cherawinche crossing on the Calcasieu River, thence in a right line to the mouth of Anacoco Creek, where it empties into the river Sabine, thence up the Sabine to the Natchitoches line.”

In 1870, the legislature created the parish of Cameron out of the southern portion of Calcasieu Parish and the southwestern portion of Vermilion Parish, fixing the limits of Cameron Parish as follows: “Commencing at a point on the Sabine River on the township line dividing townships 11 and 12 south, thence east on said township line to the range line between ranges 2 and 3 west, thence south on said range line to the Gulf of Mexico, thence along the coast to the mouth of the Sabine river, thence up the Sabine River to the point of starting.”

In 1871, the legislature created the parish of Vernon out of the western portion of Rapides and the southern portion of Sabine and Natchitoches parishes; thus making Vernon Parish bound Calcasieu Parish on the north, but leaving the boundary line between Vernon and Calcasieu parishes as fixed by said act of 1852. The creation, in 1886, of Acadia Parish, out of the southwestern portion of St. Landry Parish, now makes Calcasieu bounded on the north by Vernon Parish, on the east by the parishes St. Landry, Acadia, and Vermilion, and on the west by the Sabine River.

Calcasieu is still the largest parish in Louisiana, measuring about sixty-five miles between its east and west and about fifty-seven miles between its north and south boundary lines.

Calcasieu Parish is nearly one-half a timber and nearly one-half a prairie region. About fourteen miles north of its south boundary line the Southern Pacific Railroad runs through the parish nearly due east and west. About all the land south of the railroad, and nearly all the land north of it lying east of the Kansas City, Watkins & Gulf Railroad, (which runs a northeasterly course from Lake Charles to Alexandria, La.), is an almost level prairie. Nearly all that portion of the parish lying north of the Southern Pacific Railroad and west of the Kansas City, Watkins & Gulf Railroad is a timbered region, covered principally by long leaf yellow pine timber. A great variety of hardwood and other timber skirts the rivers and smaller streams running through all sections of the parish. Among other timber, trees Calcasieu Parish has the long leaf yellow pine, short leaf pine, white cypress, red cypress, live oak, white oak, red oak, post oak, water and pin oak, chestnut oak, laurel oak, black walnut, bitter pecan, sweet pecan, magnolia, beech, sycamore, white elm, bay tree, ironwood, dogwood, bois d’arc, holly, birch, cherry, sweet gum, red gum, tupelo gum, hickory, poplar, sweet locust, black locust, catalpa, tallow tree, willow, cottonwood, May apple, red haw, black haw, persimmon, white ash, blue ash, prickly ash, China, umbrella China, myrtle, mulberry, etc.

The principal stream is the Calcasieu River, rising in the northern portion of Vernon Parish, entering the northeastern portion of Calcasieu Parish, thence flowing in a southwesterly course to Lake Charles, and thence nearly south into the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly all its affluents are on its west side descending. Its main tributaries are its West Fork and Barnes’ Creek, and these in turn are fed by numerous streams rising in and running through the pine woods, chief among which are Houston River, Hickory Branch, Buxton’s, Beckwith, Whiskeychitto, Clear, Dry, Six Mile and Ten Mile creeks. As nearly all these streams are fed by springs, the water of the Calcasieu River is clear and soft, while its great depth, from 25 feet to over 60 feet, from a point about 25 miles above Lake Charles to the head of Big Lake in Cameron Parish, and its width of from 300 to 500 feet, cause it to merit its description by a Federal officer (J. A. H. Duganne), who as a prisoner crossed it near Lake Charles during the late Civil War, as “a broad, deep and picturesquely wooded stream.” It flows through and along the edge of several lakes, one of which—Lake Charles—nearly circular in form, is about two miles in diameter, and one in Cameron Parish—Big Lake—is over nine miles wide and about eighteen miles long. It has a slow current, and rarely rises or falls more than three feet. Many sailing vessels are in the river trade, carrying lumber, shingles, etc. , to Galveston and other Texas ports, returning with cargoes of merchandise, while several steam tugs are engaged in towing logs, barges, etc. , on the river. As before stated, the Sabine River flows on the west side and the Mermentau River and Bayou Nezpique on the east side, of Calcasieu Parish.

The Calcasieu prairies have a surface soil from drab-colored to very dark sand loam, with a subsoil of hard clay from eighteen to twenty-six inches below the surface. In the woods, along the streams, the soil is alluvial. In the pine woods, away from the streams, the soil is light sandy loam, with an occasional subsoil of clay.

Up to a few years ago, bear, deer, and wild turkeys were abundant in Calcasieu Parish, the habitat of the bear being in and along the cane-brakes on the Sabine River; but a general disregard of the game laws is rapidly causing their disappearance. There is yet an abundance of quail, jacksnipe, plover, papabot, wood-cock, and some prairie chickens, and from early October until February millions of wild geese, brant and ducks, including the Virginia canvas-back duck. The rivers, lakes and creeks abound with excellent fresh water fish of various kinds.

The city of Lake Charles is supplied from Calcasieu Pass, near the gulf coast of Cameron Parish, with salt water fish and oysters.

To date, sulphur is the only mineral discovered in Calcasieu Parish. Some years ago, while boring for petroleum, at a point about twelve miles west of Lake Charles, a strata of crystalline sulphur over 100 feet thick, said to be 98 % of pure sulphur, was found a few hundred feet below the surface, but covered by an immense layer of quicksand. Different companies extended about $2,000,000 in vain attempts to sink to the sulphur iron shafting, six feet in inner diameter, brought from Europe. Recently the property has been acquired by the Standard Oil Company, and since then one of its employees has discovered a process by which the sulphur can be liquefied, and then pumped to the surface through iron tubing not larger than that used in artesian wells, and several tons of sulphur per day are now brought to the surface by this method. The sulphur produced by this process crystallizes, on cooling, soon after it reaches the surface.

Recently, since the discovery of oil at Beaumont, a number of wells have been started with a view of learning if there is oil in the parish in paying quantities. Several surface veins have already been struck that it is believed will pay to develop, but the parties sinking the wells will try for flowing wells from a deeper vein first.

There are 58 post offices in Calcasieu Parish, more than in any other parish in Louisiana, but there are only four incorporated towns—Lake Charles (now a city), Jennings, Welsh, and Oberlin. Lake Charles was incorporated in 1861, by an act of the state legislature, as the town of Charleston. Previously, though not incorporated, the place had been called by the same name as the lake on whose eastern shore it had been settled—Lake Charles. In June 1866, Judge George H. Wells drew up a petition of the state legislature, praying for the passage of an act to incorporate the inhabitants of the town of Charleston by the name of the town of Lake Charles, and this act was passed at the next session of the state legislature in 1867. It is interesting, by way of contrast, to note that in June 1866, there was but one store in Lake Charles (then Charleston), with merchandise therein worth less than $100; only one sawmill in the parish in operation (located on the east bank of Lake Charles, and owned by Jacob Ryan and James Hodges); and that at the first general state election thereafter, in April 1868, only 461 votes were polled in Calcasieu Parish, which was then larger than the state of Delaware and nearly as large as the state of Connecticut.

The first notable advance in the growth of the population and business of Lake Charles began in 1879, when the work between Lake Charles and Orange, Texas, on the road bed of what is now called the Southern Pacific Railroad was being completed. That gap between New Orleans and Houston, Texas, was closed in March 1880, and the first passenger train from Lake Charles was run as an excursion train to Orange, Texas, March 26, 1880, for the benefit of our Lake Charles fire company. The city of Lake Charles has an area of six square miles, and fronts, on its west, south, and north sides, on a beautiful and nearly circular lake, about two miles in diameter, also called Lake Charles. The Calcasieu River skirts the western and southwestern sides of this lake.

The principal industries of Calcasieu Parish are the yellow pine lumber business, the manufacture of cypress shingles, rice culture and the rice milling business and stock or cattle raising. Recently the manufacture of turpentine had been commenced in the pine woods, and one of the largest and best appointed sugar manufactories in Louisiana is located near Lake Charles.

The population of Calcasieu Parish is about 35,000, of which about nine-tenths are whites and one-tenth are colored people. The climate is simply delightful. There are but a few days in summer when the mercury rises above ninety and but a few in winter when it falls below twenty-eight degrees. The rain-fall is abundant, but not excessive. Heavy nightly dews and steady breezes from the Gulf of Mexico by day and night, moderate the heat of summer days, and make the summer nights deliciously cool and pleasant. Health is the rule, sickness the exemption. Corn, cotton, sugar cane, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, all kinds of garden vegetables, and all kinds of fruit grown in the temperate and semi-tropical zones, attain perfection in Calcasieu Parish.

The archivists at McNeese, Kathie Bordelon and Pati Threatt, recently attended the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) annual meeting in Baton Rouge. SSA is composed of six member states, LA, AR, TX, OK, NM, and AZ. Both Kathie and Pati are very involved with this group. Pati served as chair of a session and presented a paper; Kathie served as chair of the Membership Committee and has been selected to serve on the next Distinguished Service Award committee.

An interesting session Kathie attended was about the 70^th anniversary of the WPA and its projects in Louisiana. Gerald F. Patout, Jr., The Historic New Orleans Collection; Florence M. Jumonville, University of New Orleans; and Alan Harris Stein, New Orleans Public Library and National New Deal Preservation Association Advisory Board composed the panel. While the WPA is known for its many fine roads and bridges, there were many word-workers too. This panel discussed the archival legacy of WPA projects in Louisiana and current efforts of and among repositories to preserve, promote, and improve access to these records, which include the New Orleans obituary file, the papers of Marcus Bruce Christian (head of the African-American Writers’ Program in Louisiana) and the records of the Federal Writers’ Project held in various state depositories.

The session Pati chaired concerned acquiring political papers. She presented a paper about working with the Southwest Louisiana Legislative Delegation Archives Steering Committee. The session also featured papers by Dr. Brady Banta of Arkansas State University, Ramona Hutchinson of Lamar State University, and Chuck Wilson of UCLA. Each of the presenters discussed particular problems and challenges affecting donor relations when the donors are politicians.

Kathie and Pati also attended a dinner at the LSU Rural Life Museum. What a treat this place is! “Largely forgotten by the 20^th century, the lifestyles and cultures of the preindustrial Louisianians are recalled at the LSU Rural Life Museum. Through its extensive collection of tools, utensils, furniture, and farming equipment, the museum preserves and interprets an important part of the state’s and nation’s rural heritage. The museum also serves as a research facility for LSU students engaged in heritage conservation studies. The Rural Life Museum is located on Burden Research Plantation, a 450-acre agricultural research experiment station owned by the LSU Agricultural Center.” Directions: Interstate 10 East to Essen Lane, Exit #106. Bear right onto Ellen Lane; at the first traffic signal turn right to enter the grounds of the LSU Burden Research Plantation/Rural Life Museum; follow the black-top road 1.5 miles to the museum

Mike Jones has once more graciously agreed to allow the Historical Association and the McNeese Library to print his historical articles from the American Press. (See box below.) Mike sent the articles to the Archives Department via email. Two employees of the McNeese Archives Department are preparing the articles for printing. Elaina Jones formatted them and Gerald Mills is indexing and proofing them.

The book will be in one volume with two parts: articles concerning the Civil War and other war stories, and articles about Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish. We plan to have the book ready in time to be given as Christmas gifts. We’ll let everyone know as soon as it is ready. This will be a major fund raiser for the Historical Association so tell all your friends and encourage the sales of this book!

Good news! The new Mike Jones book will be available soon! This compilation of Mike’s historical articles (1990-2004) from the American Press will be hardbound and indexed. You may recall that the Historical Association printed Mike’s previous articles (1979-1989) in three volumes and these were a phenomenal success as a fund raiser. We hope this volume will be also. We plan to have it ready by September in time for Christmas. If you’d like to reserve your copy, or several, please call Kathie (475-5734) or print and mail a reservation form here. Cost has not been determined at this time, but will probably be around $25.

The Historic Photographs of Southwest Louisiana Collection consists of a selection from the approximately 3,000 photographs of the Archives and Special Collections Department at McNeese State University. The Archives staff collected the photographs from individual donations, purchases, and from Photo Fairs held in the area. The photographs document McNeese, Lake Charles, and the Imperial Calcasieu region from the early 1890s to the present.

Of particular note are the photographs Maude Reid collected. Miss Reid was the first public health nurse in Calcasieu Parish and established several free clinics for the poor. In addition to her work in public health, Reid served as the unofficial historian of Lake Charles, collecting photographs, postcards, pamphlets, and clippings into scrapbooks. Today her materials give researchers insight into daily life in Lake Charles in the early 1900s.

Photographs in the collection also document major events in the area's history, including the Great Fire of 1910, the 1918 Hurricane, Prohibition rallies, and Hurricane Audrey. Other photographs follow the history of McNeese State University, from its inception in 1939 to the present. Finally, the collection includes images of historic homes and buildings documenting Lake Charles architecture.

Dues are now payable for 2005. Please send your check for $10/individual or $15/couple to George Ann Benoit.

The Southwest Louisiana Historical Association relies on its members to contribute ideas for publications and historical markers, speakers for our meetings, and other projects. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.

July Meeting