In 2019, the National Park Service (NPS) awarded federal grant money to the Division of Historic Preservation (DHP) in the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Baton Rouge. This money was intended for use in the nine parishes that were declared disaster areas after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The NPS awarded the “Harvey Grant” money to the DHP to pay for preservation related projects, such as surveys of historic buildings and nominations of National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) properties identified in the impacted parishes.
The DHP offered sub-grants to community and regional agencies and non-profit organizations to conduct historic structure surveys and make NRHP nominations. The Sabine Parish Tourism and Recreation Commission applied for and was awarded an $82,000 sub-grant from the DHP. The tourist commission hired Smith, Parrish, & Atkins Resource Consultants, LLC (SPARC) to complete the standing structure survey of all the historic buildings in the parish.
SPARC began fieldwork in January 2021. Records on file at the DHP indicated that the last time Sabine Parish was surveyed was in the 1980s, when approximately 1600 buildings were recorded. The previous surveys were conducted with paper forms and film cameras, SPARC is using new technology with NPS-approved tablets to record information. The current survey is to determine how many of the buildings recorded in the 1980s are still standing and what condition they are in. Sadly, many of the previously recorded buildings are gone. SPARC also identified and documented a number of buildings that had not been recorded in the 1980s. One of the main factors for recording a building is age. For the Sabine Parish survey, only buildings that are older than 50 years were considered.
So far, SPARC has documented several hundred buildings that were likely built between 1911 and 1930 making them around 100 years old. About 80 structures were likely built between 1880 and 1911. The oldest recorded building is likely a one room house built in 1850; it has had other rooms added on over the years. Additionally, 36 cemeteries were recorded and at least two of them date to before the Civil War.
SPARC was excited to find that several previously unknown log structures were still standing and some were still in use. Log construction mostly stopped by 1940 and very few log structures have been documented by historic preservationists in Louisiana. SPARC was also happy to discover several ‘dog trot’ houses. This house type has rooms connected with an open porch or “breezeway” in the center and they are unique to the Deep South. Before air conditioning, arranging house this way helped catch breezes and cool the house in the hot weather. People generally stopped building this type of houses by 1940 and they are becoming increasingly rare. SPARC was happy to document these building types and materials so a record of them will be preserved for future generations.
While the fieldwork portion of the project is winding down, sorting and interpreting data is still ongoing. SPARC welcomes any input from the public on known historic, especially log, structures or old cemeteries. The survey at this phase is just a general overview of the structures in the parish, the assessment and photo documentations took place from the public right-of-way. Surveyors did not encroach on private property and in some instances, this limited building assessment. Because of this, SPARC still welcomes any information from the public regarding historic houses, barns, outbuildings, stores, etc. Locations, photos, or just memories or knowledge of buildings can be useful and would be appreciated. In some instances, property owners were present and willing to speak to surveyors. They offered valuable information such as remembering the family member that built the house or remembering that the house was moved from another location.
This type of documentation is important because as time moves on and older generations pass away, the knowledge of buildings is lost and forgotten. Collecting and documenting this type of information creates a more personal history for the residents of Sabine Parish and sheds light on what life was like 50- 100 years ago. Even in instances where physical structures are gone or extremely deteriorated, the location, a historic photo, or just description from memory should be preserved.
The final product of this grant sponsored survey, as dictated by the NPS and the SHPO, will be an online database that is accessible to interested individuals and researchers. This type of information can be helpful for students, historians, genealogists, or just the regular person who is interested in the architectural heritage of the parish. While the database will contain information about the physical structures such as type of roof or siding, personal information will not be included unless the property owner provided such information. The purpose is to document what building materials were used in the past and the types of buildings used or constructed by the people of Louisiana. The survey applies to both commercial and residential structures and both rural and intown areas. SPARC will also produce a report of the findings, which will be available to the general public through the tourist commission.
It is the hope of SPARC and others invested in the historic preservation of buildings and cultural heritage that this survey acts as a starting point for future preservation projects. By casting a wide net and beginning with a general overview, areas where buildings are no longer present can be ruled out and buildings with potential can be marked for future research.
The people of Sabine Parish have a rich heritage evident not only in the physical buildings such as sawmill houses, hand hewn log structures, inspiring churches and high style train depots, but also in the friendliness and kindness of residents and local government agencies that SPARC has encountered during survey. SPARC would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Sabine Parish for allowing us to work in your area and to every individual that stopped to say hi, offered to help, smiled and waved, or even offered us water on a hot day. We appreciate the hospitality shown to us and look forward to continuing to work with you as we complete the Harvey Grant survey project.