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Since 2018, the West Feliciana Historical Society and members of the Order of Eastern Star have been working on an initiative to preserve and restore the Old Benevolent Society building. The effort, which started with having the building listed on Louisiana’s Most Endangered Places List, has come a long way since then with a successful fundraiser, completion of a Historic American Buildings Survey and growing community support. The Old Benevolent Society Restoration (OBSR) Committee and the Historical Society are now pleased to release a documentary video which summarizes the history and the restoration effort. Both groups hope the video will raise awareness of the historical significance of the building in local history.
Produced by Mr. Kevin McQuarn with support from the West Feliciana Parish Schools Technology Department, the video is entitled: The Story of a Building, and can be viewed at the link https://vimeo.com/392040402. The link can also be found on OBSR Committee Facebook and Instagram sites, as well as on the West Feliciana Historical Society website. Mr. McQuarn is no stranger to West Feliciana, having produced several other video documentaries about significant programs and projects in the Parish. Sara Wilson-Rogers, President of the OBSR Committee notes, “Since our very first meeting the committee has worked tirelessly to make sure we do everything possible to save the building. The West Feliciana Historical Society has supported us every step of the way and we are grateful for that support. This documentary helps to show the painstaking work that is being undertaken and why it is so important to our history. We sincerely hope that it will encourage people to get involved in a meaningful way.” The West Feliciana Historical Society partnered with the Old Benevolent Society Restoration Committee in their efforts to save St. Francisville’s oldest burial insurance lodge. Joint conversations about saving the building have been going on for quite some time, but in 2018, the effort gained momentum with the listing of the building as an endangered place. According to Dot Temple, President of the West Feliciana Historical Society, “The old building warrants being saved for the part benevolent societies played in local African Americans' history and for what it can offer as a meeting place and a museum to house artifacts, pictures, and documents that tell African Americans’ story in West Feliciana.” Temple further notes, “Our organization has been delighted to support this project and is excited about the video documentary which complements our exhibit: Saving the Intangible Culture, Old Benevolent Societies. The West Feliciana Historical Society’s support of this project remains steadfast and we want greatly for this endeavor to become a reality.” Temple and the Historical Society Board extend an invitation to all to visit the Museum located on Ferdinand Street to see the special exhibit and view the new video. Highlights of the video include commentary from OBSR Committee members Ms. Wilson-Rogers, Mr. Cliff Deal, West Feliciana Historical Society Museum curator, Mr. James Dart, architect and preservationist, and students from West Feliciana High School who assisted with the Historic American Buildings Survey under the guidance of Mr. Dart. Monetary support is key to completion of the restoration/rehab project and to that end, Ms. Temple and Ms. Wilson-Rogers encourage folks to consider making a monetary donation. Once restored, the committee would like to add professional exhibits to tell the story of the Old Benevolent Society and its part in African American history, thus expanding the role of the building to that of museum, a place open to the public for local festivals, events and educational children’s programs – a must see stop in St. Francisville. The public is invited to follow the progress of this effort on Facebook (Save the Old Benevolent Society) and Instagram (obsr2018). Donations are now being accepted and can be made via PayPal at www.paypal.me/savetheOBSbuilding, or by mail to OES/OBSR Committee at P.O. Box 2365, St. Francisville, LA 70775. For more information about the Old Benevolent Society Restoration effort in St. Francisville, please contact Sara Wilson-Rogers at 225-937-3004 or send an email to obsrestoration@gmail.com. To learn more about the Louisiana Most Endangered Places Program and List, visit: https://www.lthp.org/properties/most-endangered/.  Press Release - March 11, 2019 Old Benevolent Society Restoration Committee Visitors to St. Francisville enjoy strolling through the Historic District to see the many historic homes and buildings, each with a rich and intriguing story. But a small, dilapidated greyish-blue building that sits in the Historic District across from the West Feliciana Historical Society Museum is often unnoticed by passersby, even though it played a special role in African American history. That is about to change. Built in 1883, the Old Benevolent Society building, located at 11738 Ferdinand Street in St. Francisville’s Historic District, played a significant role in local African American history as the area’s oldest burial insurance lodge. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Benevolent Societies filled an urgent need for medical care and burials of freed slaves that had once been filled by the masters of the plantations. Over time, the societies provided union and fellowship amongst the black community. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, nearly every church had a benevolent society that filled dire and pressing needs such as sitting with the sick, feeding the weak, funding medical care, and covering the cost of a decent burial. By the 1960’s, desegregation and modern health and burial insurance plans lessened the need for many of these societies to exist. In recent decades, the local Order of the Easter Star (OES) group have maintained and operated the building for their activities. Their group, which is affiliated with the Masons, are dedicated women who sincerely reflect the spirit of fraternal love, a strong belief in God and the desire to work together for good and charitable activities. A group of dedicated preservationists along with the OES ladies have begun an initiative to preserve and restore the Old Benevolent Society building. Sarah Wilson-Rogers of the OES group chairs the committee, which also includes Dyvar Anderson, James Dart, Darch, West Feliciana Parish IT Director, Cliff Deal, a Museum specialist and curator with the West Feliciana Historical Society; Susie Tully West Feliciana Historical Society Board member; Laurie Walsh, St. Francisville Main Street Coordinator; Hollis Milton, West Feliciana Parish School Superintendent; Stuart Maginnis of Maginnis Construction and Louise Whitaker, Order of Eastern Star. A lack of funds over the years to pay for major repairs and restoration has led to continuing and now rapid deterioration of the building, putting it in danger of “demolition by neglect”. Due to the current condition, all activities in the building have ceased and several short-term measures have been taken to minimize further deterioration. The Old Benevolent Society Restoration Committee is hopeful that the recent listing of the building on Louisiana’s Most Endangered Places List will help bring much needed attention and funding to the cause. The building was a contributing element in the successful application for the St. Francisville Historic District to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The committee also plans to apply for individual listing of the building on the National Register of Historic Places. According to OBS Restoration Committee Chair, Sara Wilson-Rogers, efforts are now focused on enlisting a preservation consultant to provide a detailed assessment of the building’s condition. This will allow a restoration scope and budget to be established. A Facebook page and crowd funding site are also being established to jumpstart the fundraising efforts. The committee is also in the process of identifying and applying for grant grants. Once restored, the committee would like to add professional exhibits to tell the story of the Old Benevolent Society and its part in African American history, thus expanding the role of the building to that of museum, a place open to the public for local festivals, events and educational children’s programs – a must see stop in St. Francisville. The public is invited to follow the progress of this effort on Facebook (Save the Old Benevolent Society) and Instagram (obsr2018). Donations are now being accepted and can be made via PayPal at www.paypal.me/savetheOBSbuilding, or by mail to OES/OBSR Committee at P.O. Box 2365, St. Francisville, LA 70775. For more information about the Old Benevolent Society Restoration effort in St. Francisville, please contact Sara Wilson-Rogers at 225-937-3004 or send an email to obsrestoration@gmail.com. To learn more about the Louisiana Most Endangered Places Program and List, visit: https://www.lthp.org/properties/most-endangered/.  By ANNE BUTLER and NORMAN FERACHI- Situated where the rugged Tunica Hills skirt the Mississippi River, St. Francisville began as a part of Spanish West Florida in the early 1800s. The first settlers were adventurous Anglos who rebelled against Spain, established a short-lived independent republic, stopped the Civil War to bury a Union officer, and planted vast acres of indigo, cotton, and cane.
In the 1900s, St. Francisville became the cultural and commercial center of the surrounding plantation country. Today, overlooking the river from atop a high, narrow ridge "two miles long and two yards wide," it remains the West Feliciana parish seat. Tourists visit its picturesque downtown, a lively Main Street Community and National Register Historic District. Antebellum plantations and gardens draw tourists year-round, and the unique hilly terrain provides unsurpassed recreational opportunities for hiking, bicycling, birding, hunting, and nature studies. Ever since John James Audubon painted dozens of birds in West Felicianain 1821, artists, writers, and other visitors have found inspiration in this scenic,unspoiled spot. In St. Francisville today, moss-draped live oaks overhang roadways and many of the early buildings have been restored in a downtown district that is listed in its entirety in the National Register of Historic Places. This is also a Main Street community participating in the National Trust program designed to encourage and support the preservation of significant commercial centers that were once the hearts and souls of early communities and the repositories of residents' collective memories. St. Francisville's downtown remains the viable center of life today, its mixture of commercial and residential structures giving it a 24-hour presence, with shops and art galleries, restaurants, town and parish government offices, a museum and tourist information center, bed-and-breakfasts, and beautiful old churches. These establishments stand side by side with beloved historic townhouses and little Victorian cottages dripping with ginger- bread trim, surrounded by well-tended gardens full of blossoming azaleas and camellias. While other strictly commercial downtown districts fold up the sidewalks once the businesses close for the day, here, as dusk falls, downtown is alive with dog-walkers and joggers and strollers conversing with neighbors across picket fences. No wonder St. Francisville has become a year-round tourist destination. In the surrounding countryside, there are a number of antebellum plantation homes and 19th-century gardens open for tours. The Tunica Hills offer unmatched recreational opportunities, including hiking, bicycling, hunting, and nature studies. The Louisiana Office of State Parks has exciting plans for treetop interpretive centers and river bluff outlooks, maximizing environmentally safe enjoyment of this incredible area. The rugged terrain of the Tunica Hills is unique in the state, with steep ravines left from the Ice Age harboring flora and fauna found nowhere else in Louisiana. Also unique is the cyclical flooding along this, the only un-leveed stretch of the lower Mississippi River, where Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge preserves the country's largest bald cypress tree and harbors large seasonal populations of migratory water-fowl. Both migratory and resident birdlife remain as plentiful as in the 1820s, when the artist John James Audubon was spell-bound by the richness of the natural bounties: he painted dozens of his famous bird studies while tutoring the daughter of Oakley Plantation, one of several significant properties in the parish now preserved as state historic sites. The West Feliciana Historical Society for decades has instilled an appreciation for history and spearheaded preservation efforts. In the 1970s, the West Feliciana Historical Society began the Audubon Pilgrimage, a spring tour of historic homes and gardens with docents in authentic, award-winning 1820s costumes. This proved not only a means of sharing important treasures with visitors while raising funds for preservation projects, but also a way of instilling pride and an enduring sense of community in local residents. The Historical Society also was the catalyst for a separate foundation that works to restore the beautiful brick Julius Freyhan school building and adjacent Temple Sinai as community cultural centers in tribute to the early Jewish immigrants whose mercantile and financial acumen proved vital in this agrarian society's postwar economic recovery. Other special events throughout the year include festivals paying tribute to birds and glorious gardens, prison rodeos and craft shows, gatherings of regional artists and writers, and even a Civil War reenactment celebrating the universality of a Masonic brotherhood and a moment of civility in the midst of a bloody conflict. So, yes, Virginia, there is life in Louisiana outside of New Orleans and Cajun Country. Here in English Plantation Country, and in St. Francisville, where the population is still just under 2,000, residents revel in their uniqueness and welcome visitors to share an appreciation of it.
By ANNE BUTLER - While St. Francisville developed on a high ridge overlooking the river, the port city of Bayou Sara was established in the late 1790s right on the banks of the Mississippi. Center of commerce for the surrounding plantation country, with a mile of warehouses to store cotton plus extensive residential and commercial sections, Bayou Sara was one of the 19th century’s most important river ports.But just about every spring, as ice and snow melted upriver, a raging torrent of water raced downstream and through crevasses in flimsy levees to destroy everything in its path. This included Bayou Sara, but its residents, resilient souls that they were, came back year after year after year, at least until the 1920s.In 1890 the New York Times described a levee break that inundated the entire town, stopping all business and compelling the abandonment of stores and homes by its 10,000 residents. Again in 1892 another flood put 10 feet of water into town, with considerable loss of property. Resourceful shopkeepers put merchandise on top shelves, tried to hold back floodwaters with mud boxes, and built raised wooden walkways and gangplanks so shoppers could keep their feet dry. But it was the flood of 1912 that was most devastating, with rising waters sending Bayou Sara residents rushing into the hills as large cracks appeared in the levee.
Beulah Smith Watts of Solitude Plantation vividly recounted the experience. “The rainy season began in the early spring of 1912. The melting ice and snow from the north began to swell the river. The Mississippi River began to rise and flood the low land. The levee which protected the town became threatened. Rains and winds caused alarm. The citizens of Bayou Sara worked day and night in the rain, filling sand bags to bank the levee in weakening places. School boys worked with them. Sand boils began to appear. Citizens of Bayou Sara were ordered to move livestock and possessions to higher lands. The rains had stopped, but the winds were high…The school was in St. Francisville. On May 2, 1912, before classes had started, whistles began blowing, and bells began tolling. We knew what had happened! School was dismissed, and we pupils ran to Catholic Hill to see the water rushing in, swallowing the town of Bayou Sara. The roar of onrushing water could be hear d for miles. The crevasse was 187 feet wide. The next day nothing but the tops of houses were visible. Most of the houses were swept away by the strong current of rushing water, and debris floated in the water.”The 1912 flood devastated areas all along the river, leaving hundreds homeless as rescue trains rushed to flooded areas to evacuate residents. At Bayou Sara, one newspaper account said, “The streets are under 25 feet of water. When the water rushed in late yesterday, houses were toppled from their foundations. A great sheet of water leaping through a gap in the levee 300 feet wide swept everything before it. The smaller buildings were dashed against the more substantial structures and the debris carried on by th e flood…Men and women ran wildly into their homes, picked up their children and fled, leaving all their belongings behind. Others took their positions in boats, and were picked up by the crest of the flood and carried miles from the town.”And then came the great flood of April 1927 that displaced close to a million people along the Mississippi River corridor, causing numerous deaths and threatening millions of acres of land. It was one of the world’s most devastating floods, called “the last uncontrolled rampage of the Mississippi River,” inundating 27,000 square miles. After that one, the Corps of Engineers began serious construction of substantial levees and flood control structures along the Mississippi River to protect heavily populated urban areas. But these efforts came too late to save the little port city of Bayou Sara; there’s nothing there now but a boat launch, steamboat landing, and a bunch of weeping willows.St . Francisville, high atop the bluff overlooking the site of Bayou Sara, beckoned survivors, and up the hill they came, merchants and families, businesses, even some houses. The 19th-century Bayou Sara residents salvaged what they could of damaged homes and stores, and moved on up the hill to rebuild their lives and re-establish their businesses safe from the floodwaters.One charming little structure that travelled from Bayou Sara up the hill to safety in St. Francisville is called Miss Lise’s Cottage, comfortably resettled across Prosperity Street from the West Feliciana Parish courthouse in 1890. It was a simple Creole cottage of two rooms, roughly 16’ by 16’, each opening to the outside. The rooms were divided by a solid wall; to go from one to the other entailed a trip outside along the front porch. Press Release - March 23, 2017
The West Feliciana Historical Society Museum, in celebration of Black History Month 2017, unveiled a new exhibit entitled John S. Dawson: An Educational Legacy. A special “opening night” reception was held February 23 to kick-off the exhibit and was well attended and enjoyed by all. Special guests included Ken Dawson, grandson of John S. Dawson; Dr. Henry Hardy, President of the John S. Dawson Alumni Association Foundation; and Mr. Rufus McKnight, also representing the foundation. The Dawson exhibit remains on display at the museum and the public is encouraged to visit and learn more about this inspirational part of West Feliciana history. Historical Society President, Susie Tully, and Museum Curator, Cliff Deal, are working to incorporate this exhibit into the permanent displays. Tully notes, “The story of John S. Dawson and the school he started remind us of the hurdles that African Americans overcame in their journey to equality. The J.S. Dawson Alumni Association and Foundation members are to be commended for their efforts to preserve the school, including having the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.” A Legacy Unfolds On a cold January morning in 1890, nineteen-year-old John S. Dawson arrived by train in West Feliciana. Together with John Jones and C.H. Argue, the two men who were responsible for bringing Dawson to Laurel Hill from Mississippi, they made their way to the Rosemound Baptist Church. John S. Dawson announced to the gathering that he was the new school teacher. On Monday morning he began to register students for the new school. Before the week was over, 125 children were registered. Only 20 of these could read. Thus began the amazing story of John S. Dawson and his educational legacy in West Feliciana Parish. The earliest known publicly organized school for African Americans in West Feliciana was the Laurel Hill School. Today, known as the Dawson School, the old structure still stands in Laurel Hill. At that time in Louisiana, in the wake of Plessy vs. Ferguson and its “separate but equal” mandate, segregation continued to make education for African American children practically unavailable, even as white school systems were funded and new facilities constructed. In rural Louisiana, Baptist churches provided space for education in one-room buildings. In West Feliciana Parish, churches at Afton Villa, Elm Park, Sage Hill and Hollywood served this purpose. During the early 20th century, educational opportunities for African American children were few and far between. Rural schools were isolated and just getting to school was difficult. As most families farmed for a living, children missed school while working during planting and harvest. Rural parish school boards were poor, and the rural black schools were poorer. Professor Dawson Begins They called him “Professor” and he single handedly organized the education process at Laurel Hill. He was lucky to have a two-story, wood framed school building (used also as a Masonic lodge) that could handle larger classes. Dawson taught the basics and the students learned quickly. Eventually two assistant teachers were hired, 15-year-old Amelia Brown and Corrine Lee. The students who excelled were also called on to help with instruction. Under John S. Dawson’s leadership for the next thirty-years and with the continued support of the community, the Dawson School in Laurel Hill prospered. His students went on to high school if they could travel to McKinley High School in Baton Rouge, the nearest black high school. Some made it to college and through his inspiration became teachers. The Next Generation During the 1930’s ,after teaching for thirty years at Laurel Hill, John S. Dawson became principal at the Raspberry Baptist Church School and also served as Senior Deacon and Sunday School Superintendent in the church. The school was located off Ferdinand St. behind the present site of the Historical Society Museum. He married Corrine Lee and they had four children: John M. Dawson, Thomas Dawson, Marian Dawson and Brunetta Dawson. Soon to become educators like their father, they would leave their own mark on West Feliciana education. Secondary education for African Americans was slow to develop over the first half of the 20th century. Rural black schools only provided a 7th grade education. By 1945, there were 80 black, four-year high schools in Louisiana, but thirteen parishes were still without approved schools. One of these was West Feliciana Parish. Once again John S. Dawson came to the forefront as a leader in the community. Planning for a new high school began with Dawson securing the land through a donation to the parish from the Barrow, Richardson, and Nolan families. The land on Hwy. 66 was specifically to be used for a black high school. John S. Dawson passed away in 1950, before the new school would open its doors in 1951. But his legacy lived on as the school was named in his honor, the John S. Dawson High School. At his funeral people lined the street to honor his life and contribution to West Feliciana as the carriage carried him to the Raspberry Baptist Church for the last time. His sons carried on the legacy at Dawson High School as John M. Dawson was the first principal from 1951 to 1961; and Thomas Dawson served as principal from 1961 to 1969. Laura Ewen Blokker of Southeast Preservation wrote, “The opening of the John S. Dawson High School in 1951 was a tremendous advancement of education in West Feliciana Parish. The opening of the elementary wing for lower grades in 1962 was also significant. It consolidated the elementary education that had previously occurred at the disparate church-based schools in one, new modern facility. The separate gymnasium, band building, home education/industrial arts wing, and agriculture shop further expanded the curriculum and extracurricular capacities of this modern school plant.” The school provided a diverse curriculum and a quality education through the dedicated efforts of the excellent teaching staff. Many of the Dawson alumni continued on to college and have been successful in a variety of professions as a direct result of the excellent education provided at their West Feliciana Parish school John S. Dawson High School alumni include: over two hundred college graduates, doctorate degrees in agriculture and mathematics, a chancellor at Southern University, a judge in South Carolina, and a retired U.S. Army general. John S, Dawson High School closed in 1969 following the Supreme Court decision in the Carter v. West Feliciana Parish School Board which mandated all the area’s schools be desegregated by February 1, 1970. The parish school board chose to reassign the students to other schools and closed John S. Dawson High School. After eighteen years of serving the crucial need of providing modern secondary education to the African American population when it was otherwise unavailable, the school was abandoned. John S. Dawson, the teacher and visionary, had done an extraordinary job while creating a legacy for all of the citizens of West Feliciana Parish. John S. Dawson High School was vital in its historical role for African American education in West Feliciana Parish. Preserving the Legacy For years after it was closed, John S. Dawson High School sat forlorn and empty out on Hwy 66, waiting for the bell to ring. Eventually, it was covered by vegetation, windows were broken, and ceilings fell in. And the story would have ended there had the school been torn down. But there was another chapter to be written in the Dawson legacy. Ken Dawson, grandson of John S. Dawson and son of Thomas Dawson, led the charge as approximately 100 members of the John S. Dawson Alumni Association and Foundation pledged to save this important West Feliciana structure. Along with Dr. Henry Hardy, class of 1958 and president of the Alumni Association, the group applied for grants, launched a massive clean-up effort in 2010, and successfully had the property placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The Alumni Foundation continues to work on plans for developing the property and renovating the school building. Ken Dawson explains that one day they hope to see a community center and park built that would serve the entire West Feliciana Parish population. The legacy and spirit of John S. Dawson is still alive and vibrant today and he is still teaching and influencing the population of West Feliciana Parish in a positive manner, just as he always did. The West Feliciana Historical Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the preservation of its historical, cultural and architectural heritage through education, advocacy, stewardship and investment. Of utmost importance to the society is to instill respect and appreciation of the past, improve the present, and plan for the future, while presenting history in a way that educates and enlightens residents and visitors alike. For more information visit www.westfelicianahisoricalsociety.org. |
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