The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-07-12
Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish,
La

MAN, 1hE dlLhlNS.
Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish,
La.
Lake Charles has 1900 inhabitants,
and is the parish seat of Calcasieu
parish. The parish is bounded on the
west by St. Landry, west by Texas,
north by Vernon, and south by Cam
eron. The Sabine river forms its
western boundary, and Mermentau
and Nez Pique the eastern. The
prairie region lies east of the Calcasieu
river, and the pine woods to the west.
The parish is well watered by beauti-
full rivers and creeks of clear water.
The population is Is, $50, nine-tenuhs
white, and is rapidly increasing, hav-
ing nearly doubled in the last ten
years. The leading industries are
stock raising and numbering. The
climate has been called perpetual
spring" 1t is delightful. and vege-
tables may be grown at any time of
the year. The heat of summer is
tempered by the sea breeze from the
south, which prevails during the sum-
mer.
The prairie is partly level and partly
rolling. very productive, and i'm
proves with cultivation. The level
prairie is even richer than the rolling.
The lowest fiat lands afford a natural
meadow of rich, wild grasses, and
feed thousands of cattle, which run
at large and are raised without atten-
ton or care, except marking and
branding the young
The land in the pineWoodS section
is thin, except that bordering the
creeks, which is a rich, sandy loan.
The settlers of the pinewoods live
chiefly along these streams.
The northern part of the parish is
billy, covered by eXhauStless forests
of pine.
Timber-Large quantities of pine
and cypress lumber are exported from
the Sabine, Calcasieu and Mermentau
rivers to Texas ports. Besides cy-
press and oak, the bottoms are heavily
timbered with gum, hickory, maple,
mulberry, sassafras, magnolia, pecan,
black walnut, beech, sycamore, hact-
berry, linn, dogwood, persimmon, iron
wood and numerous small growths.
The parish has over five hundred
miles of waterway navigable all the
year, and much greater extent du-
ring the winter. Lake Charles is a
basin of the Calcasieu river.
The shores of the lake rise in bluff
banks. The lands bordering the lake
and rivers are very fertile, and are
admirably adapted to the growth
of fruit trees. The water of the
streams is soft and good for all pur-
poses; the northern part of the parish
abounds in fine natural springs. The
field products are cotton, sugar, rice,
corn. potatoes, oats, rye, barley, and
tobacco for home consumption, There
are four rice mills in the parish, which
are sufficient to mill the crop now
made. but more mills will be required
in future, as the profits Of rice culture
are inducing a more extensive cult
walton. Unlike the prairie region Of
the northwest, the rainfall here can
be depended upon. 1t is always suffi-
cient for vegetation.
TO the immigrant this parish pre-
sents rare attractions, climate, soil
and good health. Products are more
and more varied than in any part of
the United States. Fruits Of the trop-
les and of the temperate zones. Facil-
tiles for travel, and market both by
water and rail. The land, timber,
sulphur and petroleum in the parish
offer inducements to capitalists to in
vest their money.
The religious denominations which
prevail in the parish are Roman Cath
Ollie and Baptist and Methodist.
Sheep-raising pays and is increasing
in Importance with the introduction
of fine bucks.
The parish seat, Lake Charles, is a
lumber manufacturing town. 1t is a
healthy town. having eight churches,
six schools, four hotels, a number of
stores and two live newspapers, the
Echo and theCommercial. Within three
miles are eleven saw and five planning
mills, one grist and one rice mill.
The streets are graded, paved and well
drained. The corporation is out of
debt, with surplus on hand.
Game and fish abound in the woods
and streams, bear, deer, turkeys,
ducks and geese, prairie chickens,
woodcock, plover and spipe.
Fine fish, oysters, crabs and shrimp
are afforded by the bays bayous and
rivers.
The principal lumber mills at Lake
Charles are the following: The Lake
Charles Lumber company, which COM
pany has in stock raw material and
cut about 100000 feet of lumber;
they employ about forty men at the
mills, and including raftsmen, ETC.,
about 200; they saw 10000 feet day.
Their planer is worked day and night
at present and turns out $4,000 feet a
Doi1
for shipment, machinery the very
latest, and about 100000 feet of
lumber on hand purposely for plan
ing, this sterling concern is conducted
by MesSrS. Peter PlatZ, E. l.. Riddick
and Clement Brothers.
VIM. Meyer & Bro, manufact lrers
of shingles, employ eleven hands and
saw 10000 shingles q day. Their
shingles are called the "creole" shin
giles. This firm are owners of the
creole brand, which brand finds a
ready market in Texas. Meyer &
Bro. use fine machinery and they do a
very large business.
Messrs. Ryan & Geary employ in
their single mill about twenty men,
can manufacture about $4,000 shingles
a day, and their principal market is
Texas.
Thomas Hansen keeps busy in his
single mills seventeen men, and
makes, at an average, $4,000 shingles
day, Principal market, Galveston,
Texas. Mr.. Thomas Hansen owns
also a hourishing rice mill.
Miller & Perkins, West Lake
Charles, which is on the other side of
of the lake, run a fine lumber mill, in
which can be found the finest ma
chinery. They employ from forty to
fifty men. They do large business.
Hompton, Miller s. Co., at Edgerly,
La, about thirteen miles from Lake
Charles, have in operation lumber
mills which saw about $4,000 feet a
day, and employ about thirtv-five
men. They control large trade in
Texas.
hope this letter will be acceptable
to the many readers of THE STATES
MAN, the circulation of which paper
rapidly increasing in Louisiana.
GRAvANAP.
The New Addition.
The increased value of property in
the city is confined to the business