Elizabeth is west of Oakdale, my guess, 15 miles, more or less. The mill there was quite a bit larger than the one at Oakdale. Elizabeth sported a lumber mill and paper mill. There was also a turpentine plant and other associated businesses. The lumber and paper mills were on the north side of the tracks between La.10 (then called Route 22) and the J&E tracks. The residential areas, except for the turpentine plant's Black employees, were south of the tracks. That plant and residences were on the road coming from La.10 to Main Street. You'll understand the logistics as we progress.
This next one, from what I've been able to comprehend, is looking south toward what is probably the hotel and a covered waiting area. Was this the depot? We'll get to the map later. You'll know your way around historical Elizabeth before this is all over. So don't fret.
This is the office. That could be natural gas pipe in the forefront. That reminds me to tell you a story about how natural gas became a union weapon against the mill.
The next one is the commissary. It was on the north side of the tracks. That might be a playground between it and the tracks. I think I see a slide.
This was the boarding house (White's hotel on map) and Baptist church.
This a picture taken from the east end of town on what the map calls "gravel road". It is how I came into town form La.10. You are looking at what is today the baseball field. These pictures were taken in 1921. No, I didn't take them, I didn't have my camera then. The Baptist church and hotel are in the background to the south.
Here are a few railroad pictures to bring your blood to a boil. In all these pictures notice how treeless the scenes are. This is looking west. The mill will be to the north of the track. The RR water tank is in the distance as is a tank at the mill road crossing. My guess is that the rails headed north are to the "tram exchange" because you see houses to the south and I believe those are the tanks in the distance to the right (north).
The next one, I believe to be looking east. The bulk oil tanks were on the north of the tracks and the homes to the south. The tanks were in the tram interchange with the main line, pictured.
This next one is looking from the "gravel road" I came in on, now paved. This is the entrance to the rail yard on its east end.
I got quite excited when I realized where this one was. It is the tram line crossing the main line on the east end of Elizabeth. The tanks are to the right (north) and what I think are the turpentine plant and Black's housing to the right. The road I came in on would be to the left. The puzzle is coming together.
Now that you've seen some old pictures, it's time to read a little.
Here Wiki's brief explanation:
Elizabeth is an old "mill town." It was founded in 1907 by Industrial Lumber Company and has maintained the mill-town look. When the mills were all in operation, all the homes were owned by the company, as were the commissary and medical facilities. The old hospital, now serving as the town of Elizabeth Hall and Senior Citizens Center, is now on the National Historic Register.
Since they brought up the old hospital, here it is. The application for National Register status is below the picture.
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Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance:
The Elizabeth Hospital Building (1924) is a two story frame structure located in a semi rural setting in the small community of Elizabeth. It has received only minor alterations since construction and hence can easily convey its historical associations.
Some controversy exists concerning the date of construction of the hospital building. A stone on the front steps bears the date 1924, but a building which looks very much like the present one appears in a March 1923 publication. Some older town residents recall that an earlier hospital was damaged or destroyed by fire and restored or rebuilt shortly thereafter (accounts differ). We are using 1924 as the official construction date.
The somewhat diluted Colonial Revival style structure is two rooms with a central corridor running from end to end. The five part facade is eleven bays wide with a central aedicule motif arched entrance under a pediment. The exterior features three different types of clapboarding, which lends a subtle textured effect. The nine over one windows are set singly and in pairs, frames are unadorned. The building is surmounted by a system of low hip roofs with exposed rafter ends. The interior is relatively plain with bungalow style panel doors and simple cornices. All of the floors are hardwood except for the operating room which has a tile floor.
Assessment of Integrity:
The Elizabeth Hospital Building is currently being renovated and the bagasse board walls are being replaced with sheet rock. This has caused only a minimal difference in appearance. The window surrounds, cornices and other historic woodwork features are being retained. In addition, a fire egress door has been cut at each end of the building (side elevations). In our opinion, these changes should be regarded as minor since they make little visual difference.
Specific dates 1924
Builder/Architect Builder: Industrial Lumber Company
Statement of Significance (in one paragraph)
Criterion A
The Elizabeth Hospital Building is locally significant in the area of industry because it best represents the community's origins and early history as a lumber company town. The sawmill town of Elizabeth was founded, owned, and operated by the Industrial Lumber Company. The company already owned two mills in nearby Oakdale and one in Vinton when in l907 it located a new mill site at Elizabeth and platted the town. The mill site and adjacent town site were in the heart of a 70,000 acre parcel of long leaf yellow pine acquired by Industrial in 1905.
The huge Elizabeth mill began operation in 1909 and had a daily capacity of 160,000 feet of lumber when operating single shift. The companys two mills in Oakdale each had a daily capacity of 75,000, The three were linked by company built railroads, with Elizabeth serving as Industrial's headquarters. Elizabeth was also the home of three smaller allied industries: Producers' Turpentine Company; Southern Wood Products Corporation (turpentine, pine oil, pine tar and charcoal); and Calcasieu Manufacturing Company (turpentine, resin, and paper from otherwise unusable stumps).
These companies, which were part of the Industrial family," enabled the parent company to boast that "the entire original crop produced by the land has been utilized without waste".
Industrial was also quite proud of its motto "Builders, not spoilers." According to a 1923 company publication, Industrial devoted considerable attention to developing suitable cut over land for agricultural use. Specific activities in Elizabeth included a colonization plan, a sweet potato curing plant, a canning plant, and experimental farms. This 1923 company publication, although obviously biased, is an invaluable pictorial and written record of Elizabeth's golden age." It even has an aerial view showing a town much larger than the present one. In addition to the large mill and allied operations, there was a company office, a large mercantile company, a hospital, a civic auditorium, several schools, hotels, six churches (three white and three black), and a movie theatre, not to mention housing for the workers, management, etc. Also, as was often the custom in company towns of the period, Industrial provided outdoor recreational facilities such as a golf course, two hashing clubs, and a park complete with an open air pavilion. Elizabeth's permanent residents numbered about 3,000 in 1923.
According to an individual who has lived in the community since 1911, Industrial shut down operations in 1940, whereupon Elizabeth became a paper mill town. (Apparently Industrial's interests were purchased by a paper mill.) As indicated previously, todays Elizabeth (at least the historic portion) is a considerably reduced and depleted version of the 1923 boom town. The mill is gone, and the only non-residential buildings remaining are the hospital, the company built Methodist
church, and a small Catholic church which may or may not have been built by Industrial. There are also 50-75 workers cottages as well as several larger fairly plain houses which were presumably for managers and other upper echelon employees.
The State Historic Preservation Office feels that, of these extant resources the hospital building best represents Elizabeth's history as a lumber company town. The staff at first thought there might be an eligible district in Elizabeth, but careful investigation revealed that the workers cottages have been altered too much (original porch columns replaced with iron columns, modern windows and doors, and side carport extensions). The handful of "big houses" and the two churches have not been seriously altered on the exterior, but they were used only by certain groups and not by the entire town the way the hospital was. In Elizabeth's heyday there were numerous public buildings and facilities used by the community as a whole, but today the hospital is the only one remaining. Also, of the extant buildings, it best represents the paternalism evident in lumber towns such as Elizabeth. In short, it illustrates that Industrial "took care of its own" in a manner no other extant resource can.
Major Bibliographical References
Stewart, Milton I. A Message of Progress: The Industrial Past and Present and its Own Home Town, Elizabeth, Louisiana. March 1923. Copy in Register file, LA State Historic Preservation Office.
Personal communication with George Laird, who has lived in Elizabeth since 1911
That sure says a lot.
Here are a few picture of the neighborhood as seen on my last trip.
Those pictures would be looking south on East Second Street toward the hospital, now the town hall. Here a section of my 1947 map (courtesy E.Lueck, Southern Forest Heritage Museum) Click these pictures and maps for larger versions.
You can see Main Street at the north end. There is a theater on the corner of Main and E.Second. The "General Office is on Main. There is a store, a park and tennis court on the north end also. A garage and fire truck are stationed at the end of north end of E.Second, also.
Today, like yesterday, there is a large park along Main and the once main line of the J&E RR.
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Here's a little more about the town. We'll explore on the next page.
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