Parish History: Winnfield, 1963, Winn Parish, LA. Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: April 25, 1963 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American Busy Winnfield Street Has Had Exciting History by Dennis Shell Some six dozen families in Winnfield can say, "We live on the most interesting street in town." Less than 8,000 feet in length, this thoroughfare can be driven from end to end, within the legal speed limit, in less than four minutes. Yet the community bordering this ribbon of cement is a city, in itself, and literally could provide every necessity for its inhabitants from cradle to grave should they choose never to stray, even a block off its beaten path. Almost without exception its residences are comfortable frame structures built in a bygone era, well kept, flower bordered, tree shaded homes. It is an avenue that bespeaks a placid way of life. But turn back the pages of its history, and you will hear the roar of an airplane's engine as a daring pilot uses the street as an airstrip; the stirring of thousands of Ku Klux Klansmen congregated from as far away as Georgia; the tramp of marching feet and the rumble of heavy equipment as soldiers play at the grim business of war, and the firing of pistols and the clatter of horses hooves as young men mock grim warfare in the business of playing. You will see a man, later to become president of the United States, pacing its sidewalks and striding up and down the hall of one of its buildings. More than half a century of history has bumped and rolled along this interesting street. Into the stream of its traffic are fed vehicles from exactly 19 streets. Some of these tributaries are comparatively short, at least one being no more than two blocks in length. Their names are as common as Smith and as hallowed as St. John, as practical as Boundary and as unlikely as Gum, as picturesque as Laurel, Grove, and Park, and as matter-of-fact as Central, Church, or Pineville. Some like Smith, were named after citizens of the city, such as Jones, Abel, Bevill, Long, Anderson, Payne, King, and Holmes, and one bears the businesslike name of Tremont. WAS "GEORGETOWN ROAD" Known originally as the "Georgetown Road," this unique thoroughfare has enjoyed from its early days a position of prominence in Winnfield. Some of its stately old houses have been called "home" by citizens of renown, including a governor, a couple of judges, a mayor, a pair of sheriffs, a college president, and others of considerable repute. Yet one of the town's leading citizens once declined to build his home fronting the this avenue because of the confusion of log wagon traffic and the frequent "shooting up" of the street by gangs of inebriated young hoodlums. The name of this fascinating street? Lafayette. How it came by this lofty appellation never has been officially established, but how it acquired its background is documented in parched pages of musty newspapers files and in the memories of Winnfield citizens who can recall its doing almost from the first. Many local residents remember when the building at the corner of Lafayette and Pineville, now a funeral home, was the residence of the late Gov. O. K. Allen. Only a few can recall when it was maintained all year 'round as the elegant, part time home of a wealthy northern lumber executive, who kept there a retinue of some 15 coachmen, maids, valets, butlers and cooks; when local residents watched with mouths agape as ladies of "quality," attired in fashionable riding habits, galloped sidesaddle down the street at the heels of fox hounds; when grooms and professional trainers pampered the finest of horses and dogs in barns and stables that occupied the south end of the block; when the entire layout took an appearance of a traditional English estate. The gentleman responsible for this innovation in early Winnfield was one J. F. Carpenter, a colorful character known to many as "Mr. Tremont" because of his supervision of the already massive holdings of that company in this area. But the builder of the substantial residence he occupied was W. F. Cooper, one time may of this city and a half-brother of the late J. R. Heard. Two men who built the Frances Hotel in Monroe were active in the affairs of Lafayette Street during the early days of Winnfield. Operating the Sulphur Timber Lumber Co., a sawmill situated at the foot of Bevill Street where the ice plant now stands, they conducted their business in a frame building at the corner of Lafayette and Bevill. After their mill was demolished, the donated the office building to the local Presbyterians, who used it for their church until it was removed to make way for the ultra-modern structure now standing there. These men were John S. Hunt and O. E. Hodge. Hunt's handsome residence later became the second home on Lafayette Street to be converted to a funeral parlor, and since has been replaced by a modern brick building. Hodge's home still stands, being occupied at this time by Mrs. L. E. Donohoe. It was this same O. E. Hodge for whom the town north of Jonesboro was named, and who was responsible in large measure for the decision to erect the paper mill there. Hunt was related to the family which now operates the large new lumber mill just north of Dodson. Activities of these two gentlemen were indirectly responsible for the addition of another prominent citizen claimed by Lafayette, since their office manager was W. C. Robinson, who served as president of Mt. Lebanon and Louisiana Tech and as principal of Winnfield High School. DARING PLANE RIDE Many are the reasons why a city street can be distinguished; that stretch of Lafayette between the Rock Island overpass and Church Street enjoys one of the zaniest, for while concrete thoroughfares often are used as emergency landing strips this one served for takeoff. James I. "Jimmie" Smith's daring stunt, which began at the overpass on that memorable day in 1923, ended in a treetop where the Taylor Motor Company now stands, but it served at least to add another touch of color to this fascinating street. No one remembers what happened to the airplane, but Smith, an attorney, public speaker, and newspaperman, now engaged in business in New Orleans. He is a brother of L. Houston Smith and the late A. L. Smith, Sr., of Winnfield. Not the least of the prominent citizens of Lafayette Street was the late Will Wallace, a lawyer who was district judge from 1910-12 and served as a member of the State Board of Liquidation. His home was situated approximately where the Piggly Wiggly store now is situated. It was said that the Judge kept a donkey in a pasture where the Huey P. Long Trade School now stands, and that the braying of the beast broke up many a session in the old school where the Winnfield High School now is situated. But events of more importance than this occurred in that field, for there were baked the bricks used in construction of the Winn Parish Courthouse that was destroyed by fire in 1917. MANEUVER HEADQUARTERS Lafayette Street's true period of glory occurred during the gigantic army maneuvers that were held prior to World War II. The Westside Elementary school building, then brand new served as headquarters first for Gen. Ben Lear, who had moved in form Memphis, Tenn., with his "Red" army, and later for Gen. Walter Kreuger's "Blue" troops who captured it on their march up from San Antonio. Pupils of the Westside school today may take pride in the knowledge that as Chief of Staff for General Kreuger's army, Col. Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, who later served as President of the United States, strode up and down their halls and in and out of the rooms where they now study. Another famous visitor on this street was General George S. "Blood and Guts" Patton, who once literally "filled the streets" of Winnfield with tanks when his forces converged on this city during those same maneuvers. Doubtless during the more than 60 years since Winnfield was incorporated, there are few types of businesses which were not operated at one time or other on this interesting street. Old timers on Lafayette remember when that block between Payne and King Streets was a dairy, whose owner was M. W. Bozeman, father of H. B. and Eck H. Bozeman. It was this citizen who rebelled at the suggestion that he build a home on the "old Georgetown Road," choosing instead to construct his residence on Center Street, just one block northward. The reason: Log wagon traffic on the street was too heavy, and he found unbearable the exuberance of young men who, after looking over the tops of too many bottles on Saturday nights, galloped merrily down the road, firing pistols in Wild West fashion. It was just across the street from this dairy that in 1923, during the uneasy period in Southern history following the first World War, Ku Klux Klansmen from as far east as the Atlantic coast and throughout the one-time Confederate states gave Lafayette the spectacle of thousands of hooded and robed figures milling about in a colorful but dead serious convention. On that same site the first airplane ever to land in Winnfield was flown in during a barnstorming tour shortly after World War I. TWO SHERIFFS Lafayette was home to many of the city's leading citizens. In addition to those already named, there were two sheriffs, Bryant Sholars and R. L. "Fate" Tannehill, the latter being also a former mayor of the town and one-time candidate for governor on the Populist ticket. One of Mr. Tannehill's daughters, Estelle, who still lives on Lafayette, is a former owner and publisher of The Winnfield News-American and once was president of the Louisiana Press Association. Cyrus "Cy" McGinty, a former Winn Parish Clerk of Court, was a resident of this street. One of the most colorful characters ever to live in Winnfield resided in at least two homes on Lafayette. W. A. "Bill" Smith, father of George Smith, himself erected and occupied the house at the East end of the street where the family of W. J. Austin once lived, and at one time he resided in the old "Sim" Thomas home just west and south of the overpass, which recently was demolished. Mr. Smith served as postmaster here in 1868, and also published the "Excelsior," an early Winnfield newspaper. What kind of people live today on this unique street? School teachers, nurses, bookkeepers, salesmen, mill operators, florists, in short, about the same type of people who live on any street. Whether viewed from the perspective of history, or color, of citizenry or of the sheer beauty of this tree lined thoroughfare on an early Spring morning, Lafayette is seen as one of the most fascinating streets in Winnfield. Yet the most unique feature of all has not been told of. In days of yore it was possible for a family to exist on the necessities of that could be found in the immediate area, but these needs were primitive, with meat, clothing, and shoes provided by beasts, other food by trees and fields, and shelter by caves or animal hides. How vivid is the contrast found on this street called Lafayette! Here in a community just a few yards wide and a few blocks long, there is a hospital in which a child can be born, a clinic where his medical and dental needs can be attended, a pharmacy to provide drugs and health aids, a nursery for pre-school hours, a school for elementary education and another for occupational training, churches for his worship habits whether it be Protestant or Catholic, an automobile agency, garages, service stations, a department store, a supermarket, an appliance and furniture store with television and radio repair services, and upholstery shop, an insurance agency, a building materials store for home construction, a florist, a motel, a caf‚, a shop for mower repairs and saw filing, a hauling contractor, a National Guard Unit, an ice cream and hamburger stand, and ambulance services and funeral homes on call when one's life on this thoroughfare is finished. A city complete in 8,000 feet, from cradle to grave, if one so chooses. This is Lafayette Street.