Venture into Vernon: Historic Sites

HISTORIC BUILDINGS & SITES

Downtown Historic District

The Lyons Building, 1907
The Lyons Building, located at 115 South 3rd St., is Italianate in style. The flat roof, imposing cornices, and arched windows combine to form one of Leesville's oldest and most elegant buildings. It is remembered by many as the location of both the famous "Happy Hour Cafe" and the office of Dr. I. O. Winfree, a dentist who practiced for over 50 years in the same location. In fact, several of the windows on the upper floor still bear Dr. Winfree's name. More Information...

The Lyons-Stelly Home, 1900
The Benson H. Lyons House (c. 1900) is a large Queen Anne Revival style residence with prominent Eastlake features. The double wraparound gallery which outlines three sides of the home is bedecked with elaborate woodwork which makes this one of the most pretentious homes in Vernon Parish. More Information...

The Merchants and Farmers Bank, 1928
The distinguished Merchants and Farmers Bank building is built in the English Revival style. Hallmarks of this style are corner quoins and classical architectural devices such as the egg and dart molding across the main façade. The bank originally had a bronze clock on the front and still has its beautiful white marble counters.

The Vernon Bank, 1904
The Vernon Bank was located in the large commercial building built in 1907 by George R. Ferguson of Nona Mills Lumber Company. The bank portion of the building had a Romanesque style façade with arches over the windows and a corner entrance with a Corinthian column. During the 1950's and 60's the facade was replaced with tile, although this has since been replaced using windows and siding which are very similar to the original.

The First National Bank, 1907
Built in the style popular for large commercial buildings at the beginning of the 20th century, the lower floor housed the First National Bank and several retail stores. The upper floor was occupied by an opera house, known as the National Theatre. The bank closed during the depression but the Opera House continued to present traveling Vaudeville shows, symphony orchestras and opera companies for many years. After the Sliman family donated the building to the parish, the interior was renovated for use as the Vernon Parish Courthouse, although the exterior has been completely preserved.

The U.S. Post Office, 1936
Built by the W. P. A. (Works Progress Administration) during the Great Depression, the U.S. Post Office is built in the Art Deco style. Above two of the windows in the main façade are bas-relief sculptures which herald the advent of air mail. Inside the lobby is another bas-relief sculpture depicting a farmer leaning against a hoe and his wife, seated reading a letter. The interior sculpture was created by a New York artist, Duncan Ferguson, who was first brought to Louisiana by Huey Long to start the art school at Louisiana State University.

Dreamland Theater
The original theater at this site was an open-air theater called the Aero-Dome. There were no walls - the roofed area was surrounded by a fence. In the 1920s, the building was re-modeled into a Moorish movie palace with Spanish tile, twisted columns and niches on the second floor facade, and called the Dreamland. Later renamed the Vernon Theater, this movie house played movies from the years of Tom Mix to those of Jane Fonda before it closed and was reopened as Celebrations, a hall currently available for parties and special occasions.

The Leesville Hotel, 1907
This hotel had thirty-five guest rooms and was the latest in high style when built in 1907. Combining Mission and Classical styles, the hotel originally had a large, two-story porch with Roman columns in the center of the main facade. As was the custom with hotels, located on the first floor in front of the main entrance was a brass compass. According to legend, the infamous Bonnie and Clyde were among some of its most notorious guests.

Vernon Parish Courthouse, 1910
This is the third courthouse to occupy this site. The courthouse is the only Beaux-Arts style building in Vernon Parish. The columns are of the Corinthian architectural order. The pediments above the entrances have elaborate floral decoration. The bell from the courthouse dome has been removed and is located in the gazebo on the north side of the building. The bronze bell was cast in Baltimore, Maryland. More Information...

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Other Notable Leesville Sites

Wingate House, 1904
The Wingate House, a Queen Anne Style structure located on West Harriet Street, is a private residence which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ferguson House, 1890's
The Ferguson House is a Victorian Style house located at 406 N 6th Street. The house was home to G.R. Ferguson, who was the General Manager for the Nona Mills Lumber Company.

Smart Plantation House, 1850's
The Dr. E.E. Smart House, located on the corners of First and Lula Streets, is a prime example of the Southern Planter Architectural Style. It was built in 1855 and is the oldest house in Leesville. More information...

Kansas City Southern Railroad
The Kansas City Southern reached Leesville in 1897 and built a roundhouse for repairing and switching the steam locomotives. The first diesel passenger train, pulled by Engine #7, arrived in Leesville April 21, 1938. The last passenger train departed Leesville on May 19, 1968. The old depot, located on Third Street, houses the Museum of West Louisiana and has a model of the old roundhouse and train yard, along with many other railroad pictures and memorabilia.

First United Methodist Church, 1920
The First United Methodist Church, located on Hwy. 171, was established by the Methodist families of the Nona Mills Lumber Company. Built in the Mission / Spanish Revival style, the church has retained all of its original stained glass windows.

Booker-Lewis House, 1904
The Booker-Lewis House and Restaurant, located at 102 East North St., offers a graceful balance of elegance and country charm. Built in the Queen Anne Colonial Revival style, the house retains many of the original windowpanes and all of the original Louisiana yellow pine door casings and floors. It was built in 1905 for Mr. H.T. Booker, a bookkeeper at the Nona Mills Lumber Company. More Information...

Howerton-Reid House, 1904
Originally built as a Victorian structure in 1904, the house was extensively remodeled in the 1920s. Located on the corner of Lula and 8th Streets, it was originally the home of Dr. W. E. Reid who established Leesville's first hospital, the Walter Reid Memorial Hospital which was located where the big parking lot on Lula Street, across from the Vernon Parish Sherriff's Office.

Old Leesville Cemetery
The Leesville Cemetery features some of the last surviving late 19th-century unusual brick grave houses. It is located at 601 East Mechanic Street on the grounds of the Family Worship Center.

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Other Notable Historic Sites

The New Llano Cooperative Colony
The New Llano Cooperative Colony was founded in 1917 by Job Harriman. It was located two miles south of Leesville on 20,000 acres of cut-over land. The people of the colony were self-sufficient, farming the land and operating various manufacturing and specialty businesses. They had their own school, infirmary, hospital, and recreational facilities. The colony was closed in 1937. This building, standing across the railroad tracks from Hwy. 171 in New Llano, housed the commissary for the community.

The Christian Commonwealth Colony
The Christian Commonwealth Colony was founded in 1931 by Dr. Samuel W. Irwin. It was located five miles south of Leesville and consisted of numerous five-acre plots which could be leased after 5 years. The colony was headquartered in this two-story log cabin which still stands on LA Highway 171 South near Fort Polk Entrance Road.

Joint Readiness Training Center & Fort Polk
Fort Polk covers 198,963 acres in permanent building, housing, and training ranges. It was part of the famous "Louisiana Maneuvers" which took place in the early 1940s, and was the largest training maneuver of its kind staged before or since. The army base has the second largest payroll in the state, employing over 4,600 civilians (DA, contract, PX, and other). With over 37,000 military retirees and their family members living in the area (including southeast Texas), Fort Polk is a most welcome resource. The U.S. Army's elite national Joint Readiness Training Center for the Department of Defense has found a home at Fort Polk. Soldiers from the international community as well as our own forces train in rotational cycles throughout the year in various settings to prepare them for all types of warfare situations. Also circulating through the JRTC and Fort Polk are the multitude of reserve components such as ROTC, National Guard, and Reserves. More Information...

Fullerton Mill Site, 1907
The old Fullerton Sawmill site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It was one of the largest sawmill operations in the south. Its ruins and foundations may still be seen on the 1.6-mile Fullerton Mill Trail in the Kisatchie National Forest. More Information...

Talbert-Pierson Cemetery
The Talbert-Pierson Cemetery is located on Hwy 277, next to Pine Grove Methodist Church in Cravens, LA. The cemetery contains some unusual wooden grave houses. Traditionally, covered graves were often used to protect the deceased from hungry animals. Although modern burial practices have made this unnecessary, some families continue the tradition today.

Burr's Ferry Bridge
The Burr Ferry Bridge was built in 1936-37 by the W. Horace Williams Company under the Works Progress Administration. It spans the Sabine River and connects Texas Highway 63 with Louisiana Highway 8. The design of the Burr's Ferry Bridge addressed difficult site conditions and employed innovative solutions, including the use of long spans and a slightly curved alignment.
BridgeHunter.com.

Confederate Breastworks at Burr Ferry, 1864
The Confederate Breastworks at Burr Ferry are one of the few remaining earthen fortifications in Louisiana and the only Civil War site in Vernon Parish. The Breastworks were built in 1864 to protect the area from a suspected Federal invasion from Texas along the old Texas Beef Trail. This site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and on Louisiana’s Civil War Trail. It is the only known surviving example of “tetes de pont” or head of bridge, a design element for defending roads leading to river crossings. The site is owned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans Louisiana Division and is located near the Burr's Ferry Bridge. It is open to the public and has a pavilion with picnic tables and grills.

Holly Grove Methodist Church, 1834
Holly Grove Methodist Church was founded in 1834, and is believed to be the oldest protestant church in continuous operation west of the Mississippi. It is a simple frame church which characterized much of rural Louisiana at the turn of the century. It is located 4 miles southwest of Anacoco on Holly Grove Road.

Old Mitchell Graveyard
The Old Mitchell Graveyard is the first known cemetery to exist in Vernon Parish. Two Revolutionary War soldiers and an ex-slave are known to be buried there. It is located east of Anacoco.

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