Then and Now in Allen Parish

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Allen Parish Courthouse in Oberlin, LA 

Built in 1912

This photo was taken in 1920.  

The staff and security officers of the Courthouse graciously allowed me to obtain a copy of this photo for the Allenghs.com website .

Thank you for sharing a unique photograph of  this historical building for everyone to admire and appreciate.

Restoration of the old photo-by Wrinkle-Ford Creative Arts II

Allen Parish Courthouse in 2019 

At this time, the Courthouse is 107 years old

Recorded in the National Register of Historic Places in 1981

400 W 6th Ave, Oberlin, LA 70655

Reeves Congregational Church

Founded by Rev. William Seth Baggett  in 1933.

Bro. Baggett was well known for always thinking of others.

See the article on Rev. Seth Baggett in Crossroads, July 2019, Issue # 258.

The Family Place Church 

The current church in the same location

408 Emma Ave, Reeves, LA

Could that be the same bell from the 1933 church bell tower? 

Feel free to email us if you have a story about the bell!

at : contact.allenghs.com

The Elizabeth House was built as a hospital in 1924 

On Jan 18, 1985 it was added to the National Register of Historic places and is located at  230 Poplar St, Elizabeth, LA 70638

The Elizabeth House is presently the Town Hall and is suspected to be HAUNTED  (See the Crossroads Newsletter  Issue #246  (2013 2nd quarter)

Oakdale High School, c 1950s

Building opened in 1923

Oakdale High School, 2019

The same beautiful 1923 building still stands along with many improvements. Way to Go, Oakdale, La.

Can you count the differences in the Then and Now?

Oakdale Post Office, c 1940s

 The historic post office in Oakdale, Louisiana was constructed in 1936 with U.S. Treasury Department funds 

 240 E 6th Ave, Oakdale, LA 71463 

Oakdale Post Office, 2019

What changes and improvements can you identify?

Can you tell where the first building and new addition starts and ends?

The Joy Theater is the first tall white building on the left side of the road. It was located on Main Street back then and today's 4th Street. This photo was probably taken in the 1940s.

Old timers say that they can remember going to the theater for "5 cents" to watch a movie. They said going to the theater with their friends was the highlight of their weekends.

In this photo, the  Joy Theater is no longer standing because it burned down many years ago. The big green tree seen here on the left is where the theater once stood. 

Notice how the stores down the street are basically the same structures on the outside as they were years ago, although some changes are visible.

Can you spot the changes on the buildings? Check out the vehicles.

Street Scene, Kinder, LA, c 1942,. The Joy Theater from a different angle. There was no stock law in town and cattle could roam freely and graze on empty lots. (current 4th Avenue)

The Joy Theater (Also known as "The Show" or "The Picture Show") burned down and an empty lot is what is left beside the H & R Block Building as of 2019. (4th Avenue, Kinder, LA)

Joe Sonnier Cities Service Station

Located on the Corner of 165 & 190,  about 1936

Mr. Sonnier started his business here in the 30s . "Mr. Joe" always gave clergymen of all denominations free gas. He and his sweet bride had many happy memories building their newfound life, business, & family in Kinder, LA.

 Tire Choice Auto Services

(The original  location of the Cities Service Station)

The newest sign for this business was actively being put up today

 on 12-27-2019.

It is located on 810 3rd Street  (also Hwy 190)

(corner of 165 & 190).

Stovall Hotel

One of Oakdale's first hotels in the early 1900s.

Is no longer standing, but the land houses the C. E. Wood Park.

The site is now the C. E. Wood Park, located on the corner of US-165 and W 6th Street. In 1990 the Oakdale Rotary Club erected a beautiful gazebo at this location.

Reeves Louisiana High School 1st-12th grade

Early 1940's

Primary and Secondary School

 Reeves High School is a primary and secondary school in Reeves, LA. The school serves approximately 300 students in  pre-kindergarten through grade 12.  (August, 2019)

St Paul Baptist Church was built in 1910.

 In 1919, it doubled as the first African-American public school in Kinder. It was named Moorehead Public School until 1945.

The land was donated by Julius Captain and his wife Modiste Jacques.

 The original bell still tolls in the bell tower. Inside are vaulted ceilings with a historic chalkboard on the front wall.

In 2005, it was placed on the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places. 

St Paul Baptist Church was built next to the original historic church/school and is located at 

772 Hickory Flats Road in Kinder, LA.

 Trev Talbert is the pastor as of 2019.

Located on the grounds is the Captain Cemetery.

This scene looking down 6th Street was taken from the steps of the Allen Parish Courthouse in Oberlin, LA 1949. 

Notice all of the old cars and trucks from that era. 

Near the front of the Courthouse, two gas stations were present--one on each side of the street. 

The tallest building on the left down the road was the movie theater which no longer stands.

This view was taken  from the same location at the Allen Parish Courthouse in November 2019.

Notice how the styles of the cars have changed.

How many things can you see that are different?

Gas Stations? Movie theater? Fence? Veterans Memorial with flags? etc.

Oakdale, LA, 10th Street

Taken around 1948

Oakdale, LA, 10th Street Scene

Photo taken in November 2019

Notice the changes in the buildings along with the vehicles.

Reeves City Park ribbon cutting ceremony on April 16th 1998.

This park was constructed as an Eagle Scout project by the Reeves Troop 59 candidates: Michael Bonney, Blaine Burnett, and Jason McGee. It was under the direction of Wayne Bonney, Scoutmaster

Reeves City Park is a colorful and inviting spot for children to be outdoors in the sunshine laughing and interacting with family and other children in the City .  

It is also a nice place for teens or adults to relax from busy schedules and take in nature for a while.

What a beautiful contribution from the Eagle Scouts of Troop 59 of Reeves LA.

Kinder, LA, Main Street late 1940's

Kinder, LA, Fourth Street/Main Street

The building structures on the right still resemble the 1940's. I like the idea that my grandfather and grandmother probably saw these buildings pretty much as I see them today. (Minus the mud holes)

More pictures to come soon !

Please send your old photos of Allen Parish to our email allenghs.contact@gmail.com. They could possibly be published on the website.  

A team with a passion and commitment for researching genealogy and the history of Allen Parish, LA.

Meetings are at the Kinder Library every 1st Tuesday of the Month. Come and join us!

Allen Parish Hospital was built in 1969 on Hwy 190 West in Kinder, La. It started with twenty-five beds . Five years later, thirty more beds were added better meeting the needs of Allen Parish residents. This is the plan for the hospital.

History of the hospitals

 In 1946, when Dr.  J.J. Storer and Dr. Gordon Buck started their practice in Kinder, it increased the need for a hospital nearby. 

Mrs. Alma Cappell took this to heart and built the first small hospital on 9th St. in Kinder, La.

Agnes Kingrey, an experienced Registered Nurse, was the supervisor there until 1951 when she started a hospital of her own on 11th Street in Kinder. Her dedication to her profession made the small hospital one of the best in the area. 

After Agnes Kingrey retired in 1966, the doctors and interested citizens started working toward another facility and this was the plan for it.

Allen Parish Hospital    

108 N 6th St, Kinder, Louisiana, United States.

Up to 200 employees

Kinder, Louisiana 

Allen Parish Community Healthcare is an acute and specialty care hospital that exists to provide premium quality health care services including outpatient and diagnostic services to residents and visitors of the tri-parish area of Allen, Beauregard, and Jeff Davis parishes.

Outpatient Services include:

Emergency Care, Laboratory, Cardiopulmonary, Radiology, Rural Health Clinic, Specialty Clinic, Cardiology, Physical Therapy and Home Health

Inpatient Services include:

Acute Care, Behavioral Health Unit, Telecardiology, Skilled Nursing Care

New Vision: Inpatient Medical Management of Substance Abuse

Photo taken Jan 2020

Pierre Nevils General Merchandise Store

Kinder LA 1914

Pierre Nevils and his wife, Eleanor Buller Nevils built their store around 1904 on the west side of South 8th street. 

Their store was larger than the previous merchandise stores and offered a variety of commodities including ice (according to the book, Looking Back at Kinder by Ethelinda J Andrus and Grace H. Cornish.)

 Nevils' building also housed the first post office in Kinder.

The store serviced the needs of the people in Kinder along with the surrounding areas until it burned down.

Christ Praise & Worship Center

It once was the First United Pentecostal Church of Kinder and it was built where Pierre Nevils' General Merchandise once stood.

In the year of 1914, the Pentecostal religion first came to Kinder.

 Many people accepted the faith and gathered to worship.

The people were congregating in an old warehouse to have services.

Baptismal services were held at the river.

Elder Pierre Nevils saw the need for a larger meeting place and donated the land where his store once stood. They built this building that still stands today.

An interview with Chester Bushnel of Kinder revealed that this building was from an Air Force Base Chapel in Alexandria that was sold in auction. The church was taken apart and reassembled in Kinder.

The first permanent pastor was Rev. B. L. Clark who came in 1934 and remained as pastor for fifty years.  The church building was later sold to the

Christ Praise & Worship Center a Full Gospel Church

213 N 8th St

Kinder, LA 70648

Willis Lormand married the young widow Ellen Nevils Fontenot in 1915. She was Pierre Nevils' daughter.

Willis became a successful business man and leader in his community mostly because he genuinely liked people. 

His first store was on main street where he sold everything from groceries to clothes. He rented the building from his father-in-law.

Later, World War II made it very hard on merchants because supplies were short. He sold his stock and closed the store on Main Street. However, he subsequently opened this new hardware store that is in this photo. 

This black and white photo appears to be taken in the 1940's on the corner of 5th and 9th street in Kinder.

The present building still resembles the one in the picture from the 1940s. It now houses apartments with the entries on 9th Street.

Notice the front top of the building. It still has the same shape that it did back then. I can visualize where Willis Lormand's name was displayed. 

Satellite dishes hanging off of this building were non-existent back then. Television sets were just getting introduced at the 1939 World's Fair, but most people were only listening to the radio in the early 1940's. How times have changed!

The house on the left side still appears to be just like it did when it was built. A few changes include the addition of window covers, the fence has been removed.

The vehicle styles have also changed.

This Google maps photo was taken in 2019.

Share your old photos and stories with the genealogy team on the first Tuesday of the month or email them to us allenghs.contact@gmail.com

We can now accept negatives also.