Grand Cane

Description

In 1881, Amanda Hobgood (widow of Wright Hobgood) deeded land to the New Orleans & Pacific Railway and had the Village of Grand Cane laid out in lots and streets. By 1899, the Village of Grand Cane was incorporated and the first Mayor was E.R. Fortson. The first Village Councilmen where Paul E. Allen, Loderick Monroe Cook, and Dr. J.B. Johns. The population soon grew to almost 500. As the Village developed, spurred by the railway and the two crossroads (LA Hwys. 171 and 3015), a vigorous business community developed which included seven stores (Tidwell, Ricks Bros., Hicks & Richardson, Peyton, Hoell, Cook & Douglas, and George Parker), a dentist (Dr. Platt), bank, post office, blacksmith shop, livery stable, two hotels (Allen & Jackson), four doctors (Drs. Broadway, Leopold, Bannaman, & Curtis), three drug stores (Edwards, Leopold, & Allen), telephone office, newspaper, restaurant, two cotton gins, and various distinguished residential homes. The community was also enhanced by the first accredited public high school in the State of Louisiana, and a Presbyterian, Methodist, and two Baptist churches. The Village continued to thrive until the Great Depression of 1929. The downward spiral continued with the demise of the Texas & Pacific Railway in the late 1950's. The steady decline of the agricultural industry, the lack of new businesses, the loss of the public school, and a general movement away from the rural area saw the end of the Village as a center for trade...

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