Abels Building, Tangipahoa Parish , Louisiana Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Sandra McLellan, Feb. 2000 Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ HISTORIC PONCHATOULA Abels Building By JIM PERRIN Just as the pages of a calendar might flip over each month showing another attractive photograph, the historic buildings of Ponchatoula have shared a succession of interesting businesses and owners over the past century. The Abels Building, which graces the corner of West Pine and Southwest Railroad Avenue, is one of these historic structures. Soon after James Clarke surveyed and laid out the proposed village of Ponchatoula in late 1854, enterprising citizens began to purchase strategically located properties near where the main street of the new settlement would cross the railroad tract. Individuals such as Henry H. Feathers, Robert Guyard, James Tucker, Levi Arnold, and William Akers purchased economically valuable lots facing Pine Steet, which were also very close to the vital railroad depot. Diagonally across from the small wooden depot was the southwestern corner of the intersection of Pine Street and the railroad designated Lot One in Square 41. Pioneer settler William Akers purchased this lot on Southwest Railroad Avenue and West Pine Street from James Clarke in 1858. Akers sold this corner lot with all improvements on the property to William Henry Pierce in Novermber, 1862. Although the improvements are not listed in the deed, it probably contained a small wooden building. Pierce, who had been a merchant in Ponchatoula for a few years prior to his purchase of this property from Akers, was born about 1838 in the State of New York. He established a general merchandise store on this site and the area was called Pierce's Corner for the next generation. The building consisted of a two-story frame structure with a general merchandise store on the ground floor and the family residence and other quarters on the second floor. Pierce and his wife, R. Johanna Setton Pierce, sold the land and building to Levina Stickland Setton, widow of John Setton, in 1867. Pierce apparently died soon after and his widow was briefly married to Robert Hunter. Mrs. Hunter, who was a widow again by 1871, re-purchased the store and property from Mrs. Settoon in 1871. Widow Hunter sold the store and property to Joe Trautman in 1878, who operated the store in partnership with John W. Overdier. Trautman in turn sold the property to Charles Dietrich Abels (1857-1934) in 1884. Besides operating the store, Abels served on the Ponchatoula City Council and later represented Tangipahoa Parish in the Louisiana Legislature. About 1888, Abels sold the store to his brother, Jacod Richard "J.R." Abels (1858-1935). Jacob Abels was one of Ponchatoula's most prominent figures of that day. he was elected mayor for five terms, was the founder and owner of the Diamond A Brickyard, helped to organize the Merchants and Farmers Bank and the Ponchatoula Homestead, and was very active in the Methodist Church. Through his large general merchandise store, he became one of the leading merchants of this parish. according to a 1936 newspaper account of Abels' business operations, he apparently had some partners in the store, with L. V. Cooley, a steamboat man, being a partner from 1888-1890; a Mr. S. S. Sims from 1893-1896; and Wells, Alford, and Clement in 1913. About 1900, Jacob Abels founded the Diamond A Brickyard, which had the capacity by 1904 of producing one and one-half million bricks per year. He also saw the need for a larger and more modern store in the growing Ponchatoula community. Planning was begun for the construction of an impressive two-story brick building to replace the wooden store which stood on the corner of Pine and Railroad Avenue for so many years. First, the wooden store had to be removed from the site, which was accomplished by jacking it up and moving it on log rollers to the corner of Oak and Sixth streets. The store, which had been built about 1858, was remodeled into a 11-room apartment and called "Hickory Flats". This Ponchatoula landmark was torn down in February, 1928. J.R. Abels' new brick building was completed in September, 1902, and marked the opening of a great building boom in downtown Ponchatoula that would continue for a decade. Most of the fine buildings that grace the 100 block of West Pine Street were built in the decade 1902-1912. A 1904 photograph of Abels' store shows that he had space on the east side of the massive structure to paint advertising. The caption in that year read, "J.R. Abels Cheap Cash Store". On the corner of the store, lettering was painted advertising dry goods, hats, shoes, notions, as well as other goods. The painted advertisemnet remained on this building, with some alterations, for about 70 years. In this new store, Abels had his general mechandise store on the first floor with family dwellings and apartments on the second floor. An impressive balcony faced Pine Street, offering not only shelter from the rain and sun for shoppers at the gerneral store, but a venue for residents of the upper floor to enjoy the comings and goings of the community. On the west side of the rectangular store building was a one-story wing set back from Pine Street, which is believed to have at that time been a residential area, as a separate kitchen building is shown immediately to the rear of this wing on a 1903 city map. Jacob "Jake" Abels and his wife, Eliabeth Drude Abels, successfuly operated the store until about 1920, when it was sold to Jake Abel's nephew, Henry Jacob Lavigne and his wife Sallie Pusey Lavigne. Henry Lavigne was the son of John Edward and Lillie Abels Lavigne. The Lavignes operated the store during the booming 1920s as two large cypress mills moved into Ponchatoula and quadrupled the town's population within a year or two, during the lean and hard times of the Great Depression, and during the hectic days of World War II. During the Depression, Lavigne's Store advertised such items as ladies dresses for 88 cents to $2.29, and roasted coffee for 15 cents per pound, 100 pounds of sugar for $4.80, Tulane shirts for 69 cents each, and men's shoes for $1.98. The downside of such low prices was that most residents had little money to buy anything but the necessities. The Lavigne Store ran only two special sales each year, but they did have a good selection, boasting as being Tangipahoa Parish's largest department store. In 1935, they used the slogan, "If you want to save your long grean, trade with Lavigne's". In July, 1945, Henry and Sallie Lavigne leased the ground floor of the store to Herbert Hotard and Edgar Goode for 10 years at $250 per month, and retired from the retail business. The lease with Hotard and Good was renewed in 1955 for a slightly higher monthly rate. The name "Hotard and Goode" became etched in the memory of a generation of area residents as a source of quality men's, women's, and children's clothing. After the end of the Hotard & Goode lease, and with the death of Mr. Lavigne in 1968, Mrs. Lavigne sold the building to a group of local investors. Over the past 20 years, there have been a number of occupants of the store front of this building, including a jewelry store, a finance company, an art gallery, and several antique stores. The rear area has also housed several restaurants. Much has changed in Ponchatoula in the almost 142 years since the corner of West Pine and Southwest Railroad Avenue became a commercial establishment as a country store in the middle of the pine woods, yet this site, with its current impressive brick structure, remains a vital segment of Ponchatoula's progress, prosperity, and promise. Anyone having information, photographs, or documents on the people, places and events that have shaped our community are invited to communicate with the author, Jim Perrin, at 14187 Randall Ave., Hammond, LA 70403