The first store was in a tent and run by a man named Nelson, and the next was a mercantile business in a box car, operated by Will Martin. The original town, as laid out by Henderson, has recently been designated as the Bernice Historic District by the town council. Nearby was the childhood home of New York Knicks basketball great Willis Reed. In 1938, the Bernice Clubhouse was built in the park, and it remains in use today. It was filled with oak trees surrounding a gazebo where public functions were held during the early years. The Lynn Log House was moved to its present location and reconstructed from an antebellum dogtrot house that once stood across the road.Ĭaptain Henderson donated land to the town to be named Oakhurst Park. The circa 1895 Alabama Methodist Church is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first brick home in town was the Pollock/Martin House, which dates from the 1920s, as does the old Bernice Jail. Other turn-of-the century structures are the Cook/Minter House, the John Roach House and the Rives/Lindsey Hotel. Heard/Laurence/Patton House and the 1904 Thomas Heard House.
Still standing are his own 1900 house, now called the Caldwell Home and said to be the oldest house in town the 1902 Garland/Reeder House the 1903 J.W. He was a contractor who built many of the earliest homes. It also serves as a tourist information center. Restored, today the station is operated as the Depot Museum, displaying a collection of Bernice memorabilia. 1905 interior photograph shows the agent and several local citizens. A 1901 picture of Louisiana Street includes the depot, and a c. On a late spring day, Henderson auctioned lots for the planned community.īernice was incorporated that same year, and the railroad depot was built soon after. He named his acquisition for Lowery's infant daughter, Bernice. Henderson moved south and bought land from Allen Lowery and Dave Cole. Henderson sought to purchase property about a mile north of the present town from Henry Mabry, but they could not agree on the price. Moving south from Junction City, he directed construction of the railroad to Winnfield. Henderson built the railroad to enable harvesting of lumber from the area. The area was known as the "big woods" because of its large stands of huge virgin pine. Also an agricultural trade center, Bernice is the youngest European-American town to be founded in the parish. Henderson built the Arkansas Southern Railroad, the first railway in Union Parish. Moore/Gresham/Stenzel House, known as the "Sweet Onion", and McCuller Log Cabin, both circa 1865.īernice was established in 1899 as a sawmill town after Captain C.C. The Proctors have since purchased the property and continue to operate the saloon today, a piece of Big Rapids history.The area was part of the Louisiana frontier and pine forests, but early houses survive from the mid-nineteenth century: among the oldest homes are the R.T. Proctor's husband and brother started the Sawmill Saloon in January 1969, renting the building which stood vacant at the time. The only part that remained was the main building that still stands today as the Sawmill Saloon. In 1892, the facility was nearly completely destroyed by fire. Lumber could be taken from a rail car, passed into the mill through one door, run through the planer and returned to the rail car through another door in a matter of minutes. The company purchased the right-of-way- to use the side track of the GR&I railroad which enabled them to move lumber in and products out quickly and easily. Jones and Green was established as a manufacturer of building materials as well as a retail lumber yard. With the accessibility of the railroad, sawmills and factories were built in the area to take advantage of the lumber and lumber products industry. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad ran north from Grand Rapids, passing through Big Rapids along the way. As the trees along the riverbanks began to be depleted, the construction of railroads across the state enable the logging industry to move inland away from the rivers, providing better transportation than the horse drawn wagons used originally.
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