1896 Oakdale Centennial 1996, Allen Parish Louisiana
Submitted by Michelle Johnson
Date: January 1, 2007

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1896 Oakdale Centennial 1996

Oakdale Louisiana - 1893
Note: "The above picture was drawn from a memory description given on 
location to the artist by Mr. Archie Welch, an Oakdale Pioneer and
longest resident"

In 1893 Oakdale was just a clearing in a dense, long leaf pine forrest
of virgin timber. It was then known as "Dunnsville" after the owner of
the town's first industry, the W.J. Dunn Saw Mill. The mailing address
was Bay Post Office Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. To get our mail we went
on horse back four miles south down the tracks to the Bay Post Office.
My daddy Tom B. Welch subscribed to the "Southern Mercury" a monthly
newspaper published way off in the east somewhere in Tennessee. There
were no daily or weekly papers around. The railroad depot consisted of
a ten by ten foot pole platform, serviced by "The Kansas City Watkins 
& Gulf Railroad." We had two grocery stores, "Lafayette Doie's and 
Henry Heroff's." The L.W. Greenwood General Store was the largest
building in town. Abraham Abdulla's Dry Goods Store and Dr. William
Haas office completed the commercial aspects of Dunnsville. W.J. Dunn's
and Dr. Haas' homes were located in the town proper, while Tom B. Welch's
home was a mile north on the west side of the tracks. The Lake Charles
to LeCompte dirt road passed through town, crossing the tracks going east 
to where the high school now stands and turning north and west to recross
the tracks about a mile north passing near the Tom B. Welch home on its
way to LeCompte. Lemuel Miller always came to town with his ox-team
pulling a box wagon. Abraham Abdulla a 250 pound Syrian had a little pond 
on the south side of his store where he kept his "alligators." The only
thing that would bring them Gators to the surface was a white sassafras 
limb.