Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, October 28, 1997

Lumber was once mportant industry

by Jim Bradshaw

In 1891, William Henry Perrin quoted a report made by The American, the newspaper in Lake Charles, upon the status of the lumber industry in Imperial Calcasieu. Said the newspaper:

"Lumber is now one of the South's greatest resources, and stands very prominent in Southwest Louisiana. We have time and again treated on this subject, but an industry of such vast possibilities, making such a rapid progress, can not be laid before the people too often.

"We have in the South a greater variety of timbers than the North, and the advantages of manufacturing are far superior to those of the North. These facts have been recognized long ago, and the timber lands have largely increased in value in the last few years. The timber here is adapted to almost every branch of manufacture into which wood enters. For building material our Southern timber stands par excellence. (It can be used for) car building, furniture, ship building, railroad ties and bridge timbers, and lastly for paving."

Trees found in Imperial Calcasieu included hickory, oak, two kinds of elm, ash, maple, magnolia, sassafras, bay, wild peach, rosebud, dogwood, poplar, chinquapin, alder, chinaberry, willow, gum, beech, ironwood, persimmon, walnut, cherry, holly, and others. But by far the most valuable commercially were the huge stands of pine that spread through the western part of the parish and the cypress that could be taken from its wetlands.

"Among the many varieties stands the famous yellow pine, the cheapest, the most abundant and best known of all the woods," said The American's article quoted by Perrin. "The Calcasieu yellow pine has found its way to the Northwest, South America, Europe, and large quantities are shipped to Mexico, and its superiority is admitted by all. Next to the yellow pine is our cypress, which is used now principally for shingles and cistern building. The curly pine of this section, with one variety of cypress, makes the finest finishing material for inside work."

There was some cypress produced in the Mermentau and Lake Arthur areas, most of it to be marketed locally, though some of it was sent by schooner to the Texas markets.

This article is copyrighted © by the Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser and is used with permission.  This web site was originated through a grant awarded to Carencro High School (Joel Hilbun/Bobbi Marino, Grant Administrators) by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund - 8(g).