***** Kaplan

This is part of the Abbeville to Eunice Southern Pacific RR Route.
Most of the pictures have been enlarged to the size which they were uploaded.
Some may be a little larger. Try clicking them if you want a big download.

One of the first reports written up on this blog dealt with Kaplan. I recently received a nice note in the Guestbook thanking me for it. That was not all, there were some goodies sent along, also. I thought about just passing them on with Ms.D's explanations. That would have been the easy way and really tempting since I'm criminally lazy. Her pictures are pretty large and you will only see them on this page as "thumbs". Click on them and the other pictures for larger versions.

Here we go. I'll try to get the incorporation synced correctly between her information and mine. I will submit it to her and hopefully she can fill in the blanks. If you see numbers and question marks by a picture, it was for her. This page has evolved and I may just split it since it is getting too hard to keep straight. Trying to inject her additions into my original write has become a challenge.

On my last outing I'd happened to ride through Kaplan and promised myself I'd come back and check out some of the old architecture I'd seen there. Riding west from the Youngsville area, I chanced to ride past a road sign which was pointing to Kaplan.

I rolled into town and went down the boulevard to reaffirm my perceived old architecture I had envisioned being there. The picture of the sign honoring Sammy was shot as you can't do a write involving Kaplan without shooting the sign. The inclusion of the "Hidden Treasures" part of the picture was an accident, but true. Kaplan has hidden treasures. Of course "treasures" is an subjective term. In the following group of Kaplan pictures, you may not think that some of the stuff should be included as a "treasure". That's fine. Let me try to change your mind.

The following is what I saw as I rode down Kaplan's main street, Cushing Ave., named after the Southern Pacific construction engineer that built the line through the area that would become Kaplan. That story would move me to investigate the whole branch from Abbeville to Eunice.

That's later.

The first building of interest was this one on the north end of the old town and its boulevard. What was the triangle all about? A pyramid? A Masonic symbol?

1-???

Ms.D. added this:

" I don't know what the triangle was for other than a window probably with fancy glass or something. I remember it was a furniture store about 20 years ago, then it became Christians Who Care with a little house in the front to store used items. Furniture store is owned by a Vincent".

Next on the east side of the boulevard was this little building, now the home of the "Key Clubbers", a high school organization.

2-???

Ms.D. added this, "that was the original city hall and jail, then it was a drivers license office, then the Key club building".

Though nothing special as far as architecture goes, Annie's Bar has a place here. I followed a link to some fella's website. There he said he was from Kaplan and that there was one bar for every 4 people in town. I may have that percentage off, but his inference was that watering holes were prolific.

Ms.D, who contributed all the historic pictures added to this page, remembers Annie's and the other establishments nearby, "I remember Annie's bar was a bar back then actually there were 2 bars side by side with a 3rd one at the back door of Annie's. Mom and Dad wouldn't let me walk alone in front of the open doors on my way to a store on the next block!"

It seems the fella was correct about the watering holes.

More buildings:

This theater must have been built in the grand '20's. Just a guess.

Here's Ms.D's offering, " This is [the old theater] and here is an old article on the theater, now Rad Rollers (this theater was later renamed Joy back when I went to the movies on Saturdays while Mom and Dad worked in the store next door)".

CLICK THESE FOR READABLE LARGER VERSIONS

Did you notice the kids and the bicycle out front? I wonder what was playing?

What is hard to see in the picture above is the building's original inscription, "U.L.Vincent". What was it? My guess is that U.L. pronounced his last name, "va-san", the French pronunciation.

Ms.D. adds, "U.L. VIncent's Store was originally General Merchandise. In the 60's it became L&L {my Dad (his name is Ewell and we pronounce it U L !!) and his brother Noah LaBry owned it}".

By accident I found this, The Vincent Site.

It seems Kaplan had been quite the prosperous town in the early part of the 20th Century.

??? Are these the Reaux and Broussard buildings?

Again, Ms.D. came through with more information, "Yes that is the Broussard and Reaux buildings. At one time [the front writing] said R. Broussard and Planter's Hardware, but Sammy Kershaw took over the building to use as the headquarters of his SK Foundation. The SK's people removed the letters". Here is another view this is the Casino theater aka Eleazar's theater.

Ms.D adds this and these great pictures,"....and here is an old clipping about that REAUX building and the Broussard building also included in your photo".

She added these old shots:

You must click the pictures to be able to read who was on the wagon.

And you thought they were construction workers.

Early 1900's

Left, Peoples Drug Store, family residence upstairs.

Mr. Eugene Eleazar's offices to the rear of the Drug Store

Right, General Merchandise Store and Movie Theater

I cut the pictures up so you can get a better look.

This was a cute little place.

5-???

Ms.D. adds, "That, I believe, was once a bar. or a short order restaurant or both (60's and before). What it is now I have no clue".

I would have gone inside and checked out Le Musee if I had had the slightest idea that "musee" means museum. No I wouldn't have. I never get off my bike. Possibly the words under Le Musee' explain to the non- French speaking world what it is.

I asked if the banning of French took place in both Catholic and public schools. Ms.D offered this explanation:

Her words:

Cajuns were forbidden to speak French. The Catholic schools in the early 1900s were taught by nuns brought in by the French priests. Those wealthy enough to attend these schools were allowed to speak French and learned to write it as well. Before 1930, the small community of Cossinade between Leleux and Kaplan on highway 13 (now only a cemetery and green community markers indicate the existence of a community) boasted of a French school, privately owned and operated. At that same time, the public school teachers forced the Cajuns to deny their heritage by enforcing the use of only English. Many teachers changed the French names of students to English names. Several times, this was not just a translation but a complete name change.

Me: That explains it. Thank you.

Here's Vermillion Parish's site on Kaplan.

From this site comes this information, " In 1896, the Holy Rosary Catholic Church was established in the Kaplan area. Kaplan got it's name later when Abrom Kaplan bought the Jim Todd Plantation in 1901. Kaplan grew quickly and was established in 1902. On July 14, 1906, the first Bastille Day Celebration was held. In 1911, the Eleaszar Theater was built."

My note: "Kaplan" and "Todd" are not French names. The celebration of Bastille Day is very French. The Catholic Church is very French and the area, today, is very French though you see many German names. By the way, The Germans brought rice farming to southwest Louisiana. We'll see some of that in a moment

Here are her pictures of the celebration of opening of the railroad. I dissected the pictures so you can meet some of the folks a little better.

Ms. D's words:

The photo, above, was taken at the intersection of highway 35 and 14 looking north at Cushing. In center of photo is the Eleazar building and next to it the Casino Theater. It is of the Bastille Day Celebration.

Ms.D adds, "In the Bastille celebration photo, was that a man on stilts in the foreground, or did he just have long legs"?

Here a look closer:

The Breaux Brothers playing martial music.

Here's the Southern Pacific Station. This was a happy time in Kaplan. Big Picture, click it.

Neat carriage.

Fellas on the Southern Pacific Car 31999.

Below, The Museum, Le Mussee'.

My next move was to get off the main street and look back

in the neighborhoods. There I found a couple of interesting

places.

My guess is 1930's architecture. I'll betcha.

Then there was this fine old home. It is a "raised" home.

What I found interesting and did not shoot were the walls

for the "basement". They were very similar to what I've

seen on raised Greek Revival plantation homes.

Ms.D adds,"This home was owned by the Dr. Thomas

Latiolais. There is a smaller building that goes with

this house that was called a tea house. My folks

rented the tea house from the Dr.in the early 50's

for their home".

"I was told yesterday that this home was rolled

on logs to Kaplan from some location in the country".

Dave and I were just talking about how Sammy would be

a great Acadiana tour director. One of the job descriptions

for Lt.Gov. is to be the tourism czar.

Next it was on to Mill Road. There are dryers and storage

things and this and that I can't readily identify though

Mr.Baronet has preached and preached. I like massive

stuff and corrigated steel. I once did a line of writes where

I referred to them as castles. I still see them the same way.

I noticed the railroad, mentioned on that history page, is

gone. I don't think all the castles are still occupied, either.

But, some are as I heard the dryer fans running and there

was rice on the road. Pictues below:

Rice Seat, thank you.

Below is a worn mural on the side of a downtown store.

It depicts another hidden treasure of the area, or maybe

I should say unknown treasure, the environment.

The prairie and the swamp to the south are spectacular.

You need to visit them. Of course, a bike (any kind,

artificially or naturally propelled) or convertible car is

the way to go. The sky is a big part of the picture down

here and it shouldn't be missed either. Need I go further,

the smells, the breeze........

I'll close this chapter of Kaplan and Beyond with this picture.

If you read these things you open yourself for my rants

and my humor, such as it is.

The picture, in no way, depicts the "Beyond" part of

the ride. That is to come. Next.

Sorry, er, no I'm not.

That really made me laugh as morbidity is pretty funny at my age.

This ride had a second page at one time, but it is gone. I never got any feedback and I took down the blog it was on. I figured you weren't interested.

Questions and Answers

I tread lightly upon the surface of history. From time to time someone notices my prints and brings attention to what I've stepped upon. I then repeat all that they tell me by posting that knowledge within an explanation of my often pointless ramblings. After that, I take credit for it all. Lately, I've learned to refine this game. I've met some people that know stuff. I've met other people that know stuff but want to learn more. I put them together using myself as a conduit. As a conduit, I am privy to all questions and answers that pass by. Most of the time, just the questions are more than I know. When one of my experts answers the question, it is a real bonus. So, now you know, but you don't really know how much I really know or knew prior to knowing. Does it matter? I think not. Knowledge should be free. Knowledge makes you smarter. Knowledge will set you free. I know it's helped and freed me up a bit. Thank you questioners and answerers.

As acting conduit, here are some questions coming out of Kaplan and the answers headed back that way. If Kaplan had an acting historian, Donella would hold the title. She is driven. To find the name of the Southern Pacific station agent there, she just reviewed 6000 draft cards of the World War One era. Absorb that number. I know it sounds "wierd" (an inside joke) What it amounts to is something called "commitment", an historical word.

This page is just a look inside a few of her request and the answers she's gotten plus a little lagniappe at the bottom . I'm including this page in History Hunts because it applies to several rides I've taken following these southwest Louisiana Railroads. Actually, it is a lot easier doing it this way than trying to pry those old writes apart to insert this stuff which could seem a little out of place since none of the rest of the writes go into such detail. The guy that answers her first question does a dissertation, which is fine. The more the merrier. He also spouts credentials which I will leave out due to his desire to remain anonymous. I call him Double-O-L and he likes it.

OK, let me set the plot. Donella was wanting to know Kaplan's railroad history. She had found an ancient article in an old Abbeville newspaper, I think it was. It mentioned several railroads by their initials. RRI's [rail road initials] are maddening to me and the rest of the lay rail world community. It is all alphabet soup. The names are confusing enough.

The date is April, 1902.

Her question was this:

Back in 1901 and 1902....I find a KCS RR and a I&GN RR that were interested in running lines through Vermilion Parish. KCS was interested in connecting Leesville with Abbeville and I&GN wanted to establish a line from Houston to New Orleans that would parallel the existing one (at that time.) and they were interested in passing through Gueydan. The line would be called Houston Beaumont & New Orleans. My question is: Were these companies part of Southern Pacific in 1902?

OO-L's answer:

No, neither the KCS nor the I&GN were part of SP, then or later.

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company was incorporated on March 19, 1900, and on April 1st it assumed control of the properties of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad after purchasing them in foreclosure. The KCP&G had been completed in 1897 between Kansas City and Port Arthur (through Leesville), and it included a branch from De Quincy to Lake Charles. [he adds his credentials which would reveal his true identity].... I've never heard of any KCS ambitions to build through Vermilion Parish. I'm not doubting the report, however. The KCS is one of the handful of major railways today.

The I&GN was the International and Great Northern Railroad Company, which had been formed in 1873 as a consolidation of the International Railroad Company and the Houston and Great Northern Railroad. From 1880 forward, the I&GN was controlled by the Jay Gould interests, which also controlled Missouri Pacific, Texas & Pacific, etc. Although it was a separate company there was great cooperation due to the same control. By 1901-1902, I&GN's main line ran from the Border at Laredo through San Antonio and Austin to Longview, where it connected with T&P, and through it to various other Gould lines into the Midwest. They made up a through route between Saint Louis and Mexico. There were also I&GN branches to Fort Worth, and to Houston and Galveston. After the Goulds were out of the picture, and through a complex set of 1924 and 1925 deals, Missouri Pacific acquired the I&GN. It was assimilated by Union Pacific with the rest of MP in 1982.

As of 1902, there were two existing rail routes between Houston and New Orleans. One was part of the Southern Pacific family. It ran from Houston, Liberty, Beaumont, Orange, Lake Charles, Jennings, Crowley, Lafayette, and Morgan City, to Algiers opposite New Orleans. This route west of Iowa Junction belongs to UP today, and east of Iowa Junction to BNSF. The other Houston-New Orleans route as of 1902 was the New Orleans, Texas & Mexico Railway, part of the Gulf Coast Lines (GCL). The route eastward from Houston was to Hardin and Beaumont, then via trackage rights over KCS to De Quincy, then east via Kinder, Eunice, Opelousas, Livonia, Port Allen, and a ferry to Baton Rouge, then via trackage rights over Yazoo & Mississippi Valley to New Orleans. This route belongs to UP today between Houston and Port Allen, having come into Missouri Pacific in the same 1924-1925 deal that acquired I&GN.

Any 1902 I&GM interest in building to New Orleans through Vermilion Parish would have been an effort by Gould to rival the existing SP and GCL routes.

ME: the fact that he knows all this is mind boggling. I'm not sure he ever answered her question, but it was impressive.

Her reply:

Here are two articles [I showed you the first, the second, though it is not complete, I'll show below] I came across regarding the rails. I originally wanted [to find]the article on the death of IH Lichenstien, father-in ]law to Abrom Kaplan founder of Kaplan..... I love to read all the other articles to find out what life was like back then. [Donella uses genealogy as a major tool in her research]

About the info your friend sent, it was perfect. I wanted to ask ... what lines did these companies have. With what he told me it makes more since. The article was from the Abbeville Meridional, dated April 19, 1902. Abrom Kaplan approached Southern Pacific the year before and must have sparked some interest with the other companies as the SP began their extension between Gueydan and Abbeville. I do know that as of March 1902, the location of Kaplan was not yet determined. Speculation from KCS and I&GN and from SF, must have put pressure on the SP and they in turn pressured Abrom Kaplan to get a location laid out for the town. In Kaplan's diary he mentioned that the railroad people gave him plenty of trouble.

Me: See what I mean? She asked a question, he responded, and she wrote back with what his answer meant to her. I would have never recognized anything OO-L said as making sense. She, obviously did and explained it as a real life situation, the founding of Kaplan. She further adds: You may have already seen this. It indicates the Iberia and Vermillion RR was completed to Abbeville in 1892.[yes I had and it is on Abbeville's wonderful Railroad Page]

She added:

The Southern Pacific's Louisiana and Western Midland Branch was completed to Gueydan in 1896. This is who the "Section Foreman", mentioned below, worked for.

ME: You have to know the pieces to put the puzzle together.

Now that your wires are all singed with railroad overload, we'll move on to her latest question. Please be seated.

Here's Donella:

I have just searched through 6,000 WWI draft registration cards, looking for the manager of the railroad depot in Kaplan. I found a young man who served as the porter. I found the card I am attaching. Can you explain what this occupation was? or is this the same as depot manager. I found another individual with that same occupation of "section manager" in Erath.

Her question:

Is there any where that Mike may know of to find out who the depot managers were? Does the railroad keep old logs from all the depots?

Another question:

[My Mom met] a Mr. Melancon, he told her he was born in Kaplan and that his father worked for [the railroad]. His mother operated a restaurant. His father died from dysentery after the 1927 flood. In time, his mother remarried another RR man. The first husband was a pumper and the 2nd was a machinist. I contacted him and he sent me this awesome photo. Maybe, Mike can explain exactly what this is. I am not sure if it is in Kaplan. Maybe, it was closer to Abbeville. He did say his stepfather worked around the area keeping the pumps operating properly. The other photo is of Mr. Melancon, (born 1927) with his guns, on a car between Abbeville and Kaplan. So I guess these photos are from the 30's.

PS: Did a "pumper" also put water into the train or just water into the tower/tank. Mr. Melancon told me he pumped the water into tank/tower. I assume the water was also used to keep the livestock in the stock pens from dehydrating! [There was a large corral next to the station in Kaplan. A gentleman told me that cattle were driven through town to the corral for shipping]

More: There are other men who are just listed as RR laborers, with no other title/description.

Me: Now the 2 neat photos. The amazing little car and the cowboy on the boxcar.

A railed Bat Car?

C. Alphonso de LaSalle asked whether Mr.Melancon was fighting of Indians or holding the train up.

Mike responded, adding even more lagniappe:

A section foreman was the supervisor of a track gang, and had responsibility for a defined 'section' of track, and all maintenance thereon. This was in the days before $5 million dollar track maintenance machines. All work was done by hand, from pulling spikes and ties, to laying new rail and ties. They did not do any work on bridges however. The section foreman was a fairly good job, and came with a nice house, and free coal oil for lanterns and coal for heat and cooking. Mr. Les Golmon was the section foreman for the stretch of T & P track from the south Alex yard limits to the LaMourie briidge. Mr Hanley Gremillion had the section from Lamourie to the east end of the Meeker siding, just past the Meeker mill. Both were super men, and treated their hands well.

ME: Since she had mentioned "laborers", Mike clarified that and then added another story:

Usually the station porter did the odd jobs around the depot/station. He swept up, kept wood/coal for the stoves supplied, helped with Railway Express or baggage as needed. Usually they were older men who could no longer work on the track gangs. Some even had a place to sleep at the depot, as they had no family. Palmetto had Smokey Joe, a gray headed old black man, who was a favorite of the railroaders because he always waved to them as they passed by. His funeral in the late '50's was attended by many who had had contact with him over the years. He lived in a room off the freight shed, and folks helped him fix it up nice.

Do you see how it all snowballs into a conglomerate of stories, recollections, the products of endless research and that old word "commitment". These people, all the above, are committed to keeping history alive. I stand in awe to their knowledge and their unending energy to continue its pursuit.

I almost forgot the train schedule that is in the Kaplan town museum on Cushing Ave.

"This is the schedule from Kaplan's newspaper, 1905, original under glass and my camera was having issues".

This is the second article she spoke of concerning the various railroads jockeying to connect with Kaplan.

Now, though not a question, it was one of those observed foot prints I was talking about earlier. I had been down to Burns Point and had mentioned that I'd had to wait for the train to pass. My old buddy Steve sent this reflecting on his relative who lives near the crossing. Yes, indeed. BTW, Mike and Steve are cousins. Is it a coincidence that they end up on the same page?

The article is by Jim Bradshaw of the Lafayette Advertiser. Mr.Bradshaw was a driving force in the creation of the wonderful Carencro High School Website that I have used to plan many a History Hunt.

There you go, even more questions.