Polmer Store - Schriever, LA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Privately owned plantation store. Looks like it is in good condition, outside painted. Grounds were in good condition. It is located on a VERY busy highway, so please be cautious. Right across street is NHR Ardoyne Plantation. I could not find any information on store, except from the register application located here.

Very little is known of the early history of the Polmer Store. It was chosen as the post office for nearby Ellendale Plantation in 1882. According to Rai Porche Pellegrin, her father, Vital Porche, went to work there as clerk in 1915. Although Raoul Toups actually owned the store at that time, it was Porche and his family who lived in the residence. Toups apparently sold the store to Samuel and Leon Polmer, brothers who established a chain of four stores in Terrebonne Parish during the 1920s. The facility primarily served the workers on nearby Ardoyne and Ellendale plantations, although the presence of a delivery truck in a historic photograph indicates that the store also had a wider clientele. Documents in the possession of the current owner indicate that Ellendale's owners paid their workers with credit vouchers. After making their purchases, the shoppers received change in the form of store tokens which could be used to purchase additional merchandise but were of no use outside the store. Although most plantation stores declined after the 1930s, the Polmer store remained in operation in the above described manner until after World War II. Then it became a general mercantile store. The Polmers sold the business to employee Vital Porche around 1940. He retired and sold the emporium to Whitney Arceneaux in 1959. Arceneaux and his family also resided in the former clerk's house. Arceneaux closed the store in 1984 and sold it to his son Gary in 1994. The store is now leased to a tenant who operates an antique and gift shop; the clerk's house is rented to a local family not associated with the store. In assessing the significance of plantation stores, it should be noted that almost every plantation of any size either had one or was served by one such as the Polmer Store. If an average of 50 to 100 large plantations per parish is accepted, it can be seen that they were once numerous within the rural landscape. However, the Division of Historic Preservation's Historic Standing Structures Survey of Terrebonne Parish and staff knowledge indicate that the Polmer Store is the only remaining plantation store. In addition, the store is particularly important because it is so remarkably well preserved.

Street address: 1849 LA 311 Schriever , LA USA County / Borough / Parish: Terrebonne Year listed: 1996 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic. Sub - Department Store, Single Dwelling Current function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic, Vacant/Not In Use. Sub - Single Dwelling, Specialty Store Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/04/2009 scrambler390 wrote comment for it

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