Almadane, Louisiana

Almadane is an unincorporated community in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States.[1]

History

Early travel in Vernon Parish was very difficult, as the few roads were little more than pig trails. It proved very difficult for farmers traveling to markets for either buying or selling their goods.

The settlement of Almadane first sprang up because its location on the Sabine River made it possible for residents to send and receive goods by steamboat. Lumbermen also made use of the river. They cut down nearby trees and hauled them to "Nacoco" Creek to be "rafted" and floated to the sawmills at Orange, Texas.

Three early settlers in the area were Daniel R. Knight, Al Damereal, and Mann Huddleston. When the first post office opened in 1883, the responsibility fell to Knight, as the prospective postmaster, to come up with a name for the community. He chose Almadane -- a portmanteau of the names of these three pioneers -- "Al" Damereal, "Ma"nn Huddleston, and "Dan" Knight, with an "E" added for euphony.

Soon after the turn of the century, Capt. Samuel Allardyce moved to the area to run the general store, the cotton gin, the grist mill, and the sawmill. He also provided a news source to the community -- on Tuesdays and Thursdays he shared World War I news by reading the newspaper to customers gathered in his store.

In the 1920s, when the railroad replaced the steamboat as the most viable way to transport goods, the sawmills were closed, and many residents moved away to find work.

The Almadane Plantation dog-trot house still marks the spot, nestled among a grove of centuries-old live oak trees. Today the old home is no longer on the main road (Hwy. 111) passing through the site.

The Almadane Cemetery for black workers is located very near the river which once served as a major transportation route for the entire area.

Today, Almadane is now very rural with no businesses at all. It is located on the Myths and Legends Byway.[2]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Almadane, Louisiana
  2. ↑ Leeper, Clare D'Artois (19 October 2012). Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries. LSU Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8071-4740-5.

Coordinates: 30°56′31″N 93°30′18″W / 30.94194°N 93.50500°W / 30.94194; -93.50500


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