Echoes From The Attic and Poems, CHARLES EMERY CATE, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Don Johnson, Jan. 2001 Typed by Belford Carver Written by by Edna F. Campbell Copyrighted by Edna F. Campbell With special thanks to her family for permission to use her works. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ CHARLES EMERY CATE AN ENTERPRISING TOWN DEVELOPER Cate, the name that has made history in Hammond, probably did not register with many of the school children who trekked daily over the brick sidewalks while wending their pathways to the public school in the early 1900s. The bricks were labeled C-A-T-E, and to these young sojourners that was the extent of their knowledge of this town developer, for whom now under way is a mark of historical recognition. Records tell that in 1859 Charles Emery Cate decided to leave his home in New Orleans to explore a more healthful and desirable region in which to establish a permanent home for his wife, Mertie Waterman Cate, and their two children, Thomas Waterman Cate, age three years, and Lucy Cate, scarcely three months old. Fortune was truly destined for Hammond when this enterprising man alighted from the train, which ran on what was then the Jackson Railroad and is now nationally known as the Illinois Central Railway System. It seems that he walked a great length through the thickly wooded area and finally came upon the first signs of life, as he reached the location of Peter Hammond, the first settler of Hammond. In conversing with Mr. Hammond (whose name had been shortened from Hammondsen) he learned that no invasion had been made in this pine-wooded area prior to Hammond's arrival in the middle of the 19th century. Hammond had first discovered the spot after his arrival in Springfield, coming from New Orleans, following his trip from the old country. He engaged in hauling and selling crossties and later sold tar and turpentine. In the meanwhile he had constructed a long- cabin home for his family on the site which is now judged to be East Charles Street., where a marked grave beneath a towering oak commemorates his name and provides a historical spot for the town. Seclusion was abolished upon Mr. Cate's arrival, for he soon began to develop the town. He purchased land from Mr. Hammond and from the state of Louisiana. His next move was to have lumber hauled from Springfield, a small river port about 16 miles away. The location of the Cate estate was a large section bordered by what is now Oak Street, Magnolia Street and West Robert Street. Adjoining was a large fruit orchard, which is now the site occupied by the Casa de Fresa Hotel. In 1862, Mr. Cate erected a sawmill, which stood in the present hub of the city, now the Peronne Building. His next movement was the starting of a shoe factory, which was located in the block adjoining the block now housing the United States Post Office. Both of these businesses Mr. Cate managed. In 1863, he prevailed upon Mr. Joseph Wilcombe to come from his home in Pittsfield, Mass., to Hammond and assume the management of the shoe factory. In the meanwhile houses had been constructed for the mill workmen and their families. Soon it became necessary for a boarding house to be built. This Mr. Cate built on the block where the Citizens National Bank now stands. This structure claims historical record as it was later divided into sections, forming early family residences‹one is now occupied by the Tycer family. Charles Edward Cate's home is the third oldest home constructed in Hammond, located now on the corner of West Robert and North Magnolia Streets. Charles Edward was the grandson of the town developer. An achievement of Mr. Cate that distinctively marks Hammond is the panorama of oak trees lining the streets. Tiny little trees were bought in from the lowlands by Mr. Cate and Mr. Joseph Wilcombe, and planted with the grandeur of superb landscaping. These majestic trees are silent symbols of a masterpiece of planning, each one a towering monarch of tribute. Picturesque Grace Memorial Episcopal Church is a feature of early town development instigated by the Cate family. Mrs. Cate symbolized the Biblical Dorcas as she ministered to the needy, serving as counselor and nurse. She held Sunday School classes in her home and later appealed to the bishop of Louisiana for an Episcopal church. Mr. Cate donated the land for a church and cemetery. The edifice was completed in 1876 and was known as Grace Memorial Church in memory of Mrs. Mertie Waterman Cate. Currently a movement is under way to pay homage to Mr. Charles Emery Cate's memory and to his descendants by placing a suitable marker at the site of the original Cate home in Cate Park. The Cate heirs now residing in the Hammond area include one granddaughter, Mrs. James McCardell Fourmy, Sr.; one great-granddaughter, Mrs. Harold John Barnes (nee Mertie Lou Fourmy); one great grandson, Edward Palfrey Dameron III; three great-great granddaughters, Mrs. Benjamin R. Miller, Jr., formerly Mertie Cate Barnes, and Mrs. John Graham, formerly Suzanne Barnes, and a number of great-great-great grandchildren. Another grandson, James H. Formy, Jr., died in 1963. (From ECHOES FROM THE ATTIC AND POEMS by Edna F. Campbell, n.d.)