Opelousas Trivia
by Carola Lillie Hartley
Here’s a trivia question for all foodies out there — Where was the first paprika producing plant in the United States located? Well if you guessed your hometown of Opelousas, you are correct. In 1940 Opelousas opened the first paprika drying plant in this country.
In January of 1940, A. J. Boudreaux, president of the Opelousas Chamber of Commerce, announced Opelousas was on the verge of acquiring a new spice industry and agriculture crop. Mr. Arthur G. Denes, representing the Frank Spice and Tea Company of Cincinnati, Ohio and the Woodson Spice Company of Toledo, Ohio was in town to check out soil and available property in order to open a paprika drying plant. Boudreaux announced Denes planned to moved to Opelousas with his family, and run the plant.
Boudreaux stated Mr. Denes had successful tested the soil and the climate, and felt those conditions were good to insure a bountiful yield of paprika to support a drying plant. He explained that paprika was in great demand in the US as about six to eight million pounds were imported annually. He said the paprika pepper plant was high in vitamin c, and was also a good food preservative.
It is interesting to note that Opelousas was not the first town selected for this industry. The company owners first looked at the New Iberia area, mainly because of the successful McIlhenny’s plant in Avery Island. However, after some investigation it was discovered that the tobasco and cayenne peppers would be too close to the paprika plants, and might cause cross-pollination that would ruin the paprika. So, the company officials choose Opelousas instead.
(For those of you wondering about the origins of paprika, the plant originated in India and was a hot pepper. Over a period of many years, the heat element was bred out and it became a pure sweet pepper. That is why it cannot be grown nearby hot peppers because cross-pollination would cause the paprika to be hot instead of sweet.)
In just a matter of two weeks, Denes located to Opelousas, with his wife and children, settling in a house on South Liberty St. He immediately began the business called the American Paprika Pioneer Mills, Inc., later called First American Paprika Mills. The first step was to get paprika seeds to area farmers who were interested in growing the crop. With the help of County Agent A. K. Smith, free seeds were provided to farmers in St. Landry Parish. Each farmer was allowed to plant two acres, with a total of approximately 350 acres for the entire parish.
By July of 1940, a considerable portion of the paprika had ripen and was ready for harvest. The $15,000.00 drying mill was completed on Railroad Avenue, and ready for the first crop. By July 27, the Daily World was reporting, “the first harvest of sweet domestic paprika in marketable quantities in the US is now being reaped here in St. Landry Parish, and the newly erected drying and milling plant has been handling the crop as rapidly as farmers can bring it in.”
It also reported plant owner Arthur Denes, who was known as the Paprika King of Yugoslavia, stated the paprika was of finer quality and better size than the imported European paprika, and the outlook for the new industry in Opelousas was extremely promising.The drying plant operated in the rented northern half of the old Dietlein-Jacobs brick warehouse that had been purchased by J. F. Dezauche & Son some time earlier. According to local workers, the mill had an “Oriental spicy odor about it vaguely resembling cinnamon,” which was put out by the pulverizing machinery.
The operation included an immense drying oven, approximately 40 feet long by 15 feet wide and 10 feet high, through which gas flames constantly blew. The paprika peppers passed through the dryer on a large mesh endless belt over a three-hour period. After drying, the peppers were chopped, pulverized, sifted and polished in machines especially built for that purpose. Following this procedure, the dried paprika was ready for shipment. The first jar of Opelousas produced paprika powder was presented to Mayor David Hollier, who was enthusiastic and declared the new industry would do much for the area.
Although the initial planting of paprika by 220 farmers was significant as a start, Mr. Denes anticipated his goal of 3,000 acres would be planted in the near future. What was a surprise to him was the possibility that two crops per year could be grown in Louisiana, due to the warm climate. The following two years, the paprika yield increased and the farmers were earning a high of $120 per area, a dramatic increase from the starting 1940 price of $25 per acre. In April of 1943, Dense announced his paprika drying mill had relocated from the Dietlein-Jacobs (Dezauche) warehouse to a building near the Missouri Pacific Railroad station. Also in that year, as a result of the war and local climate conditions, the crop was smaller than in previous years, with only 100 acres planted. In spite of that, the paprika produced in 1943 was said to be the best since the first year of production.
Over the next two years, it seems there was no paprika crop in St. Landry Parish. The mill was closed, and in May of 1945, the Daily World announced Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Denes along with children Anna and George had moved to Hollywood, California where Mr. Denes planned to open a paprika mill. It seems the Opelousas mill had been so successful it got a lot of national media attention. As a result of this publicity, Denes was invited to open a mill on the west coast.
Thus ended the story of paprika in Opelousas. But did it? You see, I don’t know about your Opelousas family, but my family – my mother, grandmother, aunts, uncles, etc. – always used a lot of paprika in their cooking. Today, I use a lot. Perhaps that paprika mill had more impact on the area than anyone thought. Have a question about Opelousas history? Send it to me care of the Daily World and I will try to get the answer for you as we continue our Opelousas Trivia.
Photo: Dietlein-Jacobs Warehouse on Railroad Avenue, shown in the early part of the 20th century. During the early 1940s, this building was use to produce paprika in Opelousas, the first paprika mill in the US. (Carola’s collection)
