Residents ready to celebrate birthday

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 7, 2003

By LEONARD GRAY

GARYVILLE – The town of Garyville will observe its 100th birthday this year, with a number of activities throughout 2003, designed to heighten civic and community pride while reflecting on the past accomplishments.

Chairman of the centennial committee Carl Monica of APC Realty Co. said plans include everything from a photo fair to a beauty pageant and from a reunion festival to a celebratory riverboat ride.

Monica said a massive effort is being launched to locate people from Garyville who have old photographs from the town’s heyday from 1903 to August 1931, when the town was the largest between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Founded on the basis of the largest stand of cypress in the state, Garyville was home for what was called the world’s largest cypress lumber company.

That massive stand of cypress, however, was largely wiped out in 15 years and Lyons Lumber finally sold out in 1931.

The area housed several plantations, notably San Francisco, Hope and Emilie, and there already was a good supply of labor when Lyons Lumber opened its doors in 1903 and began building the town.

There came a day, though, when the board of directors sought to name the new company town. Thomas R. Lyon did not want to name it for himself so, at this particular board meeting, Lyon’s son-in-law John W. Gary was absent.

Not being there to object, Gary’s name became perpetuated with the new town.

The company grew and prospered, building a railroad in the process which also built the town of Livingston on its other end. The original boundaries of the company town were West Street and East Street, with Main Street up the middle. In time, during 911 installation, those became Historic West and Historic East streets.

Downtown Garyville was where the action was, including the lumber company offices, now the town museum, the Gary State Bank (now being restored) and a host of amenities, from the post office and school to a distinctive style of homes for company employees, several of which still stand.

The year 1903 saw the establishment of The Big Store, the Garyville School, the Magnolia Hotel and a community club. Soon, the Welcome Hotel, the trail depot, St. Hubert Catholic Church, three barber shops, Masonic temple, three dairies, ice plant, bakery, six boarding houses, auto dealership, two druggists, two baseball parks, movie theater and the Garyville Sentinel newspaper boosted the town’s growth.

Memories such as these are being recalled by Monica and the committee in the centennial observance. Monica’s father, in fact, ran one of the town’s dairies, delivering milk door to door.

Among the planned activities in 2003 include a photo fair in February, the plantation tours on April 13-14, a centennial pageant in September, followed soon by the paddlewheeler ride from Hope Plantation to New Orleans featuring food, music and historical exhibition. A reunion festival is also planned Oct. 13-14.

People who have old photos of Garyville who are interested in loaning them for reproduction should call Monica at 651-0606 or 535-2569.

“It’s been a wonderful town for many years,” Monica said. “It still has a lot of charisma.”