By Jessica Gorman
Captain Alfred Goodwill was born 7 November 1830 in London, England. He arrived in New Orleans aboard the ship Anna Tift on 26 November 1849, just after his nineteenth birthday. His father, John Goodwill, accompanied him on the voyage but is said to have died soon after their arrival.
By the time of the 1850 census, Alfred Goodwill had made his way to Shreveport where he was working as a tailor He soon came to Minden where he found great success. He became one of the largest landholders and wealthiest men in North Louisiana and was among the organizers of the Lake Bistineau Navigation Company, Minden Railroad and Compress Company, Bank of Minden, and other ventures. His descendants include former Louisiana governor, Mike Foster.
In September 1880, Captain Goodwill opened what was said to have been the largest store in the state of Louisiana at the time. The massive building was 18,000 square feet. Stretching 135 feet along Main Street, the store extended all the way to Monroe Street in the rear. The building was adorned with six brick pilasters, fifteen iron columns topped with Corinthian capitals and a heavy cornice. The glass doors were protected by iron work and topped by transoms to illuminate the store during the day. At night, gas lights lit “the midnight gloom and transform this magnificent structure into a palace of light.”
A precursor to the department store, “every class of goods that there may be a possible demand for can always be found in this house.” The people of Minden and the surrounding area could find everything from household goods to caskets and other funeral supplies. In 1901, the building was remodeled and partitions were added. Four years later, on 27 November 1905, Captain Alfred Goodwill died and was buried in the Minden Cemetery.
The Goodwill building stood in downtown Minden for nearly 53 years. In its later years, it was split into different businesses. On the night of 26 February 1933, nightwatchman A.W. Biggs reported fire in one of those businesses, the Crystal Café. The Minden Fire Department leapt into action and soon called for help from Shreveport and Gibsland. Despite their efforts, the massive building could not be saved. In total, eight businesses were destroyed including the Minden Bakery, Specialty Shoppe, Crystal Cafe, Flewellyn’s, Whiteway Barber Shop, City Shoe Shop, Minden Hardware & Furniture, and the Scout Theatre. City Drug also sustained heavy damage. Over time, new buildings were constructed and eventually filled the physical void on Main Street left by the destruction of the Goodwill building.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, President of the Minden Cemetery Association, and an avid genealogist.)