By Jessica Gorman
The National Register of Historic Places includes nineteen listings located in Webster Parish. Two of these listings are historic districts, Minden’s Historic Residential District and Downtown Historic District. The remaining seventeen include homes, a school, a church, and two banks. Let’s take a brief look at each of these properties.
Beginning with the oldest, the Shadow House is located on Highway 531 in Dubberly. The original portion of the house served as the home of the Byas family and is the oldest surviving dwelling in the parish. This home was beautifully restored by Denton Culpepper and the name changed to Ivy Vale. The property has since changed hands and is set to reopen as Estate Les Chenes.
Just south of Sibley, on Yellow Pine Road, are the Yellow Pine School and Church. They are the only remnants of the once-bustling lumber town of Yellow Pine. The school building was altered in the 1920s when it was converted into a residence.
The Hodges House is located on Highway 371 in Cotton Valley. It was built circa 1872 by Floyd Crawford Hodges. It is considered the finest example of a Greek Revival structure in Webster Parish.
In Doyline, the Bryan House was built circa 1835. The original one and a half story dogtrot was constructed of logs and was the home of the Bryan family who later enlarged it. Sadly, in 2019, this home was destroyed by fire.
Another listing no longer exists in its original form. The O’Bier Home was a log dogtrot originally located in Shongaloo. In an effort to preserve it, it was moved to the Germantown colony where it was later damaged during a storm. Part of the structure was reconstructed inside the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum where it is housed today.
On Highway 518, just east of Minden, is the Miller Farmstead built circa 1840. It includes a dogtrot home and log outbuildings. It was built by John Miller and is an example of the typical farmsteads that could once be found all across North Louisiana.
The Germantown Colony, located north of Minden, was home to the followers of the infamous Count Leon. It is now a part of the State of Louisiana museum system. The Germantown colonists have an intriguing history and moved several times before settling here. In Louisiana, they first settled at Grand Ecore, where the Count and others died, before moving farther north.
Several historic homes in Minden are included on the National Register. These include the Miller-Inabnett House, Drake House, Fuller-White House, Watkins House, McDonald House, and Fitzgerald House. The oldest of these is the Miller-Inabnett house located on Broadway behind the courthouse. It is thought to have been built circa 1840 by William Hardy. It has been owned by the Miller-Inabnett family since 1895. Next, is the home of Felix Drake, Sr., one of five homes on Broadway that belonged to members of the Drake family. Its date of construction has been disputed and some sources have clearly been misinterpreted attributing a much earlier date than is likely. A future article will take a closer look at that topic.
The next homes were all built within a similar time frame. The Fitzgerald House, next to Academy Park, was built in 1902 for Edward Fitzgerald of the Minden Lumber Company. Next, the Watkins House, on the corner adjacent to Minden High School, was built to replace the home of L. K. Watkins after it was destroyed by fire in April 1903. Finally, the McDonald House on Lewisville Road, home of J.W. McDonald, and the Fuller-White House on West Union, built by Dr. Samuel J. Harrell, were both mentioned as “soon to be erected” in October 1904.
The Webster Parish Library Stewart Center is also included. It was constructed in the early 1920s as the home of lumberman, Joe Ferguson. It served for many years as the Minden branch of the Webster Parish Library. Today, it houses library offices and a meeting space.
Also located in Minden are two historic bank buildings, both on Main Street, the Bank of Minden and Bank of Webster. The Bank of Minden was organized in 1890 with the building being built a short time later. This building is now home to Under Dawgs Sports Grill. The Bank of Webster opened in 1902. Construction of the building has been attributed to 1910, but was built prior to that date as indicated by a 1909 map of downtown Minden.
This article gives a quick snapshot of individual properties included on the National Register of Historic Places. In the future, we’ll take a look at Minden’s two historic districts.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, and an avid genealogist.)