Welsh was way station in stage coach days
Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Kathy LaCombe-Tell
Source; Jim Bradshaw; Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, 
Submitted June 2004
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************************************************Welsh is on U.S. Hwy. 90 at the center of Jefferson Davis Parish. 
The community dates to the late 1800s, when Miles Welsh came from 
Pennsylvania to Louisiana seeking a mild southern climate that 
might alleviate some of the trouble he was having with rheumatism. 

Welsh was interested in raising cattle, so, after a stop in New 
Orleans, he decided to head west to Texas. On the way, he and his 
family set up camp at what is now the western part of the town, 
and they never left. Miles build a home of logs and mud and 
claimed homesteading rights. 

The old Spanish Trail passed near their home, and the stage coach 
was a welcomed arrival. They housed boarders such as cowboys, mail 
carriers, and travelers. His sons learned to farm, and his 
daughters learned to keep house and sew. 

Henry Welsh, the oldest son of Miles Welsh, received a very 
rudimentary education. He learned almost all of his "book-
learning" from his wife Sarah Jane Simmons, whom he married in 
1850. Four children were born to them in the first years of their 
marriage. Henry and his family moved to Lafayette Parish, where 
Henry was overseer of a plantation. During the Civil War, Henry 
joined the Confederate Army, and moved his family to the Bayou 
Chêne area near Welsh. After the war, he bought land next to his 
fathers and moved his family there. 

Henry farmed until his father's death in 1868. After his father's 
death, he was made administrator of his father's home. In 1894, 
Henry decided to build a new home on the spot where his father's 
cabin was located. The c abin was moved back andthe new home was 
erected within a year. 

Henry and his brother-in-law, Henry Weeden, had a contract to 
carry mail. Henry carried it from Opelousas to Lake Charles, 
and Weeden carried it from Lake Charles to Orange, Texas. 

Henry offered a right-of-way through his land to the railroad. He 
also provided for a railroad section house under the condition that 
all trains passing through Welsh must stop there. (A railroad 
section is a portion of the track maintained by a single crew. The 
section house is the gathering and equipment storage place for that 
crew. 

Henry's first wife died in 1884 and he remarried in 18886 with 
Myrtiller Cummings. He joined the Baptist Church before his death, 
but donated land for a Catholic church and cemetary in Welsh. Henry 
Welsh died in 1888. 

The Town of Welsh was first surveyed into blocks in 1880 by George 
O. Elms, who platted an addition to the community in 1884. 

Henry Welsh built the town's first store. It was operated by his 
son, C. D. Welsh, who was also the first postmaster. Henry brought 
in a Mr. Root to teach C. D. Welsh how to operate a store. He built 
Root a home on what is now City Hall Square. C.D. Welsh later 
occupied the Root house. Henry Welsh was not a very educated man, 
but he worked hard to build the town that bears his name. He bought 
lumber and built homes on vacant lots, then induced people to stay 
in Welsh. Other early store owners were Paul W. Daniel, Mrs. Jack 
Gerson, Ben Verrett, the Billion Brothers, and Charles, Edward, 
and Will Martin. Early doctors were John H. Cooper, R. R. Arceneaux, 
Luther Stewart, J. B. Godfrey, S. B. Singleton, R. M. Zawadky, a 
Doctor Hubert, and a Dr. Latour. 

The first town council was hold in 1888. Henry Welsh was mayor, 
and the aldermen were Alex Verrett. J. D. Kimball, Hosea Prentiss, 
Jean Beaufort, and C. D. Welsh. Twenty-four votes were cast, and 
the town was officially incorporated. Welsh was part of the Old 
Imperial Calcasieu Parish, but in 1912 was moved to Jefferson 
Davis Parish. 

When Henry Welsh died, C. D. Welsh took over as mayor and was later 
elected clerk of court for Calcasieu Parish in 1892. Zephrarn LeBoeuf 
was the first city marshal. 

William Henry Perrin reported on Welsh in 1891, saying: "Welsh is 
a flourishing town on the Southern Pacific Railroad, twenty-three 
miles east of Lake Charles, and containing at present about three 
hundred inhabitants, many of whom are Western people. The situation 
of the town is all that could be desired, being half a mile from 
the Lacassine, a wooded stream flowing south to the Gulf. With the 
exception of the Lacassine, it is surrounded by a vast expanse of 
prairie, reaching to the Mermentau River on the east, and to the 
long leaf pine on the Calcasieu River on the north and west. 

"The town of Welsh, surveyed and platted in 1884, did not begin to 
build up rapidly until July, 1887," according to Perrin's report. 
"In April 1887, the Messrs. Jasinsky and Reever, of Guthrie County, 
Iowa, and George D. Moore, Mitchelville, of same state, visited 
Welsh and, being captivated with its splendid location and superior 
surroundings, purchased lands in and near the town, and in July of 
the same year there was witnessed a veritable boom in the construction 
of several good business houses and residences. This town certainly 
has a bright future before it, being in the midst of a splendid 
agricultural country. " 

Perrin continued: "The following are the shipments from this place: 
13,840 barrels of rough rice, worth here $3.50 per barrel; 69,840 

LeBoeuf was the first city marshal. 
William Henry Perrin reported on Welsh in 1891, saying: "Welsh is 
a flourishing town on the Southern Pacific Railroad, twenty-three 
miles east of Lake Charles, and containing at present about three 
hundred inhabitants, many of whom arc Western people. The situation 
of the town is all that could be desired, being half a mile from 
the l.acassine, a wooded stream flowing south to the Gulf. With 
the exception of the Lacassine it is surrounded by a vast expanse 
of prairie, reaching to the Mermentau River on the east, and to the 
long leaf pine on the Calcasieu River on the north and west. "The 
town of Welsh, surveyed and platted in 1884, did not begin to build 
up rapidly until July, 1887," according to Perrin's report. "In 
April 1887, the Messrs. Jasinsky and Reever, of Cuthrie County, 
Iowa, and George D. Moore, Mitchelville, of same state, visited 
Welsh and, being captivated with its splendid location and 
superior surroundings, purchased lands in and near the town, and 
in July of the same year there was witnessed a veritable boom in 
the construction of several good business houses and residences. 
This town certainly has a bright future bc~to'-~? it. using it? 
the midst of a splendid agricultural c ountry." 

Perrin continued: "The following arc the silip~ru?i?ts from this 
place: 13,X4() barrels rough rice, wor th here $3.5() per barrel; 
6'),84t) pounds of wool, worth 18 cents per pound; 954 tons of 
hay, worth here about $5.50 per ton; 1,520 head beef cattle, 
worth about $17.90 per head. Rice and hay are the principal 
farm products, though sugar cane, cotton, Irish potatoes and 
sweet potatoes, oats and corn are grown, and it is only a question 
of a few years when many of these products will ho raised for 
export. The Welsh ('rescent, edited by H. Duggett, attends to 
the advertising interests of the town. 

"About two hundred families of Western and Northern people have 
settled in and around Welsh from almost every state in the Union 
from Texas to New York," Perrin continued. "The town was 
incorporated in April ] 888, and Hon. Henry Welsh elected first 
mayor, an honor appropriately conferred, he having been founder 
of the town. Ilc is a gentleman known and respected throughout 
Southwestern Louisiana, his hospitable home having been for many 
years the principal stopping place for travelers before the 
railroad was built. "Welsh can boast of its location, good houses, 
a number of energetic public-spirited business men and many worthy 
citizens," Perrin said. "There are at present three good hotels, 
six general stores, one restaurant, livery stable, lumber yard, 
drug store, market, barber shop, two physicians and two real 
estate agents." 

Six blocks of Welsh were destroyed by fire on Easter morning, 
1910. Thirty business buildings were burned. Welsh had no fire 
department or water supply. The Southern Pacific railroad sent 
men from Lake Charles to help put out the blaze. 

The first school was established in 1881. It was in the rear of 
the store owned by Henry Welsh. There were 12 students who 
attended terms of three or four months a year. A Mr. Hawkins was 
the teacher.
 
In 18X3, a school building was erected. It was a one-story, oneroom 
school. Frank Carter was the teacher. The terms were nine months 
and each pupil paid a $2 monthly tuition. In 1890, this same one-
room building was moved to the northwest corner of the present City 
Hall Square. James Ellis operated a private school there. In 1898, 
a two-story building was erected. It was destroyed by fire in 1904. 
An octagonal two-story structure was then built and served as the 
first Welsh High School. It was recognized as a state approved high 
school in 1909. A three-story brick building went up in 1920. One 
of the early teachers in Welsh was "Professor" John McNeese, a 
native of Maryland, who taught in the one-room school. McNeese was 
to move to Lake Charles as head of the schools there and would later 
serve as superintendent of Calcasieu Parish schools. McNeese State 
University in Lake Charles is named for him. 

The first Catholic church was built in 1894. It was a small frame 
building that stood until 1904. Our Lady of Seven Dolors Church 
was established as a parish with a resident priest in 1903, and, 
in 1904, a tall frame church was built on the land given by Henry 
Welsh. Father Francis (tools served until 1908. Elc was followed by 
Father J.i'. E erect, who served until 1923, when Father A. l;,audizone 
was placed in charge by Bishop Jules Jeanmard of Lafayette. The 
Methodist Church was organized in 1889 under the leadership of 
Rev. Wit. Cline. A small rectangular church was built and was used 
until 1909, when it was replaced by a bigger building. Members of 
the Baptist Church began meeting in l887 in the upstairs of 
Martin's store. In 1902, a small white building was built and 
served as the first Baptist Church. 

In 1906, the first Presbyterians of the Welsh area left the 
Congregational Church and later organized as the First Presbyterian 
Church of Welsh. It was set up in 1907 in a remodeled building. 

One of the later settlers in the Welsh area was Hiram Moor, an uncle 
of President Calvin Coolidge. Once, when Coolidge came through the 
area on his way to California, Coolidge wired his uncle to meet 
his train at Jennings and uncle and nephew chatted as much as two 
Vermonters could, as they rode together as far as Beaumont.