Photograph: Main Street in downtown Opelousas during the 1950s. It was the place to be! (Photographs used for this articles are from the Carola Lillie Hartley collection.)
Carola Lillie Hartley
Publisher and Contributing Writer
Note: In order to have an active and productive downtown commercial area, a community needs rules, policies (laws), and guidelines that must be followed. That job of creating and enforcing those laws is the responsibility of local officials who govern the city, and those who work for that government.
But everyone who lives or works in the city also has downtown responsibilities. They are the major stakeholders in their downtown.
The downtown of a community belongs to everyone in the city. It is the heartbeat of the community. A place where people gather for work, for political activities, and for civic and other meetings. A place to enjoy social events. A place to meet and greet other members of the community or those visiting the town.
Having a thriving downtown area in a community requires strong coalitions between government, property owners, non-profit groups, local businesses, those who work there and all residents. It is truly a community effort. All citizens should be involved in the downtown to make sure that area prospers and stays healthy.
As Opelousas is in the process of trying to pass a newly proposed ordinance that will help to govern the downtown area, all Opelousas citizens should be involved in the process and should be willing to support that effort.
In order for all to know and understand how important a healthy downtown is to our community, here is a glimpse of 200 years of downtown Opelousas history.
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History of Downtown Opelousas – Part One
So much talk lately, and actually over the last thirty plus years, about the old Opelousas downtown. Some see potential while others see impossibility. I have always been a “half-full glass” sort of person. So, I vision a positive future for that historic area that has always been a vital part of the community. After all this was the heart of what old timers called Le Vieux Village (the old town). A town needs a heart to survive.
Once upon a time, long before any of us were around, this city had a downtown, and it was THE commercial center for a vast area of South Louisiana. As one of the states oldest cities, Opelousas has a long and storied past, with much of that story playing out in what is today the downtown. And the story began many, many years ago. This is how it all happened.
A business area in the Opelousas community started to develop as soon as the first settlers arrived during the 1700s. One of the first buildings in the new settlement was the church house, constructed at the Opelousas Poste about 1767-1776, in the section called Church’s Landing on the Bayou Courtableau, near what today is the present town of Washington. Soon settlers began to build houses near the church and businesses were established. The church remained on that site until 1798 when it was moved to the present site in the north part of the Opelousas of today.
It wasn’t long before citizens moved in and businesses started to locate near the new church building. The framework of a community was developed.
When what eventually became St. Landry Parish was created in 1805, Opelousas was named the parish seat. Land was purchased on a square in the center of town and the courthouse constructed in 1806 on the corner of Court and Landry streets. Professional offices, mercantile stores, food stores, eating establishments and the like opened around the courthouse building, and what we know as the present downtown began to develop and grow at that time.
A Downtown Area Established For Opelousas
On June 21, 1805 the first land office for the Western Land District of the Territory of New Orleans was established in Opelousas. And soon the parish had a Judge when Governor Wm. C. C. Claiborne appointed George King in 1806. Postmaster William Shields’ appointment followed in 1807. These appointments lead to more growth in the courthouse area of the town. The parish formed its first governing body, the Police Jury, and it also had a sheriff. Eventually, the town had a governing body as well called the Opelousas Board of Police.
The New Orleans Louisiana Gazette of November 12, 1817, describes Opelousas as: “The only town in Opelousas is what is called Opelousas Church. It is handsomely situated upon the east side of a point of woods jutting into the prairie. It began to flourish before the war (0f 1812), but during its existence, it went to decay. Since peace has been established, it looks up again and there can be no doubt but in a few years it will rapidly increase. Its buildings are a Roman Catholic Church, an academy, a courthouse and public jail. There are four taverns, five stores, one saddlers’ shop, one tanner’s shop, one tailor’s shop, two boot and shoemaker’s shops, one silver smith’s shop, about 25 dwelling houses plus out houses.”
By the time Opelousas was officially incorporated on February 14, 1821, the town had grown and had many commercial and professional establishments. Some of the early Opelousas merchants included: Col. Francois Neda, Col. William Moore, Thomas H. Bledsoe, Miramond-Vanhille Co., Pierre Wartelle, Jean Estorge, who partnered with Etienne Fouillade to form Fouillade & Estorge, and Antoine King. In 1823, Ludger Lastrapes and Mr. Jean Miramond of Opelousas formed a partnership in the mercantile line, called Jean Miramond Co.
Before the end of the 1820s, Opelousas had its own newspaper, a fire department, a market house, a bakery located on the southwest corner of Main and Landry streets, a number of mercantile stores and many professionals. In 1827-28 the town had a new Catholic Church building.
Growth continued throughout the 1830s and 1840s when the town had hotels and boarding houses, race tracks, a college and other private schools, even one for girls. By that time, another newspaper and many, many prosperous businesses were operating in the town as well as doctors and a whole row of lawyers and professional people along Bellevue Street and around the parish courthouse square.
And there were also women in business during those early days, as Louisiana law gave them that right. Manon Baldwin, a freed slave, owned a rather large amount of property in the downtown and operated several businesses including a boarding house and tavern. Also Rachael Fergerson Gradenigo, a free woman of color, had property and businesses there including a dry good store on Main Street and a very fine millinery store on Bellevue Street, between Court and Main streets. Mrs. F. Pigeon also operated her own well-known millinery store in the downtown, interestingly without the approval of her husband. But that is a whole other story!
By 1847 Opelousas had several other dry goods and grocery stores including: Bataille Dry Goods Store on the corner of Bellevue and Main streets, Philip Carroll, retailer of dry goods on the corner of Landry and Main streets, P. Collins Dry Goods on the corner of Court and Main streets, Goldman & Worms Dry Goods on Main Street, Honoré Grocery and Dry Goods Store on the corner of Court and Grolee streets, Felix King wholesale and retail dry goods store, on the corner of Landry and Main streets (where the St. Landry Bank is located today), Martel Grocery and Dry Goods Store on the corner of North and Main streets, and Francois Neda Grocery on the corner of Main and Landry streets. In the early 1850s, Mr. J. Goldman owned the J. Goldman Store in Opelousas that became Goldman & Kauffman in June of 1852. Also that year Courtois and Didier announced they had established in Opelousas and would provide services as cooks and pastry cooks.
Joseph Bloch established his business in Opelousas in 1860 on the corner of Main and Bellevue streets, known as Bloch Corner. Although he had a number of different partners through the years, he continued his operation until the 1890s. Directly across Main Street on the southeast corner of Bellevue stood the store of Solomon Jacobs, established c.1860s. That section became known as Jacobs Corner. Jules Perrodin opened his thriving business on Grolee and Main streets prior to the Civil War, and Charles Ealer had his jewelry store on the corner of Landry and Main streets, known as Ealer’s Corner. You could say the commercial area had been established, and it was booming!
The Civil War halted growth in the Opelousas area and the impact of that war led to hard economic times for most in the community. But soon, the business boom in Opelousas continued and the downtown became the center of area commerce. A. Bridges advertised his general merchandise store on Main Street in 1867. According to his ads he sold dry goods, house wares, hardware and groceries. Sol. Loeb advertised he sold dry goods, boots, shoes, hats, and groceries in Opelousas in 1868. And as time went by Opelousas had more and more businesses — newspapers, printers, banks, jewelry stores, clockmakers, barbershops, butcher shops, hat shops, drug stores, coffee stands, blacksmiths, shoe makers, stables, plus attorneys, doctors, cafes, hotels, opera houses, social halls, churches and more.
The coming of the railroad in the early 1880s contributed greatly to the growth and modernization of the city and the downtown. Different railroad companies operated in Opelousas through the years including the Opelousas Gulf and Northeastern Railway Company, called the O’GEE that was started by local residents. The OGEE’s corporate office was located on Landry Street in downtown Opelousas.
Following the arrival of the railroad, commerce and industry grew in Opelousas “by leaps and bounds.” Business was really booming. And more women owned businesses were started. Opelousas had a fine inventory of millinery stores from the 1870s through the 1920s.
Mrs. Holcomb opened her millinery store in Opelousas in 1873. By the end of that decade, Dorothy M. Laas owned and managed Laas Millinery Store and later opened the Florence House (small hotel or boarding house) on Union Street in the early 1890s. Her daughter Olympia Laas eventually took over the millinery business. Mrs. A. B. Chachere had a fashionable millinery shop on the corner of Union and Vine streets in 1884, and during that year Mrs. L. Desmarais announced she had re-opened the Millinery Shop on Main Street that was once owned by her mother Mrs. Prévot.
Marie Lavergne had a Millinery and Dressmaking business on the corer of Main and Grolee streets in 1893 (where the Opelousas City Court building is located today). Mrs. R. E. Bodemuller operated a business from her “stand” on Main Street, and when she closed in 1908, Miss Hester Finch opened a millinery store at that location. And then there was the Millinery Parlor at 248 North Main Street, operated for many years by Mrs. Corrine Milsted.
A New Century Begins
In order to help the downtown businesses, the town’s leaders formed organizations that focused on marketing and promoting the community. Groups like the Opelousas Merchants’ Exchange and the Opelousas Progressive League held meetings and sponsored many events and activities from the 1880s through the turn of the twentieth century. In 1907, Opelousas women got into the business of promoting the town when the Opelousas Civic League was formed that year. By 1908 Opelousas was called one of the most progressive towns in the south.
As the town entered the 20th century, downtown Opelousas was home to some very successful businesses such as J. B. Sandoz Hardware Store at Grolee and Main streets, D. Roos & Co. on Main Street, Opelousas Mercantile Company, Dietlein’s Store that later became Blackshears (in the building now known as Bordelon Motors on the corner of Main and North streets), R. Mornhinveg Jewelry, Jacobs News Depot, Robert Chachere’s and J. Landau’s on Landry Street, and the list goes on and on.
The growth continued, and by 1920, Opelousas had a chamber of commerce, five banks, two newspapers, three railroad companies, a bus line, a variety of industries, large department stores and a very prosperous downtown business community. It had Abdalla’s Department Store and Winsberg’s, one of the largest department stores in southwest Louisiana, both destination businesses that brought many outsiders to the town each year.
1920’s Decade in Opelousas.
The town also held the Cotton Carnival during the early 1920s. This harvest festival held in October in Opelousas brought upwards of 10 to 15 thousand people from other areas into downtown to join in the celebration and shop the local stores.
Prosperity continued for the next decades, with minor lapses during the first and second World Wars and the great depression. But by the 1950s, Opelousas was again the center of area commerce, with downtown leading the way.
Downtown Opelousas had it all during that time: dime stores, soda fountains, hotels, department stores, jewelry stores, bookstores, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, bakeries, bar rooms, dress shops, news stands, motion picture theaters, newspapers, a radio station, fairs, festivals and more.
And there was the Yambilee Festival started in 1946, held in the downtown attracting thousands each year. There was even the Lowe’s Arcade, one of the first indoor shopping centers in Louisiana. Up until the 1960s and through the end of that decade, downtown Opelousas was the place to be!
And then it happened … (To be continued)
