Hanson Lumber Company Office - Garden City, LA
N 29° 45.942 W 091° 27.987
15R E 648263 N 3293808
Located in the one time lumber town of Garden City, on Louisiana Highway 182.
Waymark Code: WM80H7
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 01/03/2010
Views: 4
Large lumber company office, now used as a private residence. Appeared as some restorations/repairs were ongoing. Located on Hwy. 182, between Franklin and Centerville.
Below is a brief Statement on the building, from the State of Louisiana Register page, located
here, which states:
The Albert Hanson Lumber Company Office (c.1900) is a large two story galleried building
constructed of cypress. It is locate din the heart of the former sawmill town of Garden City. Although
the building makes a rather grand statement and is nicely detailed, it does not fit easily into any style
category. Hence, the term "no style" is being used in the architectural classification section of this
form. Alterations have been minimal.
The Hanson Lumber Company Office has two important elevations. The one now
considered the rear was historically the front because it faced the sawmill. The present front
elevation faces what is left of the sawmill town built by Mr. Hanson. Each facade has a colossal
order gallery beneath a flared roof extending from the main tripped roof. Neither extends the
complete width of the building, with the one on the present rear being the narrower of the two. The
columns are fluted and the capitals are most unusual, featuring a typical Doric capital surmounted
by a block capital with curved cuts and a molded top. They are unevenly spaced on the present rear
to allow for the main entrance. Pilasters define the edges of the galleries. Incorporated into each
gallery is a full width cantilevered balcony. Windows are two over two......The Hanson Lumber Company Office is of state significance in the area of industry because
it is one of a limited number of resources left to directly represent the great Louisiana lumber boom.
The period of significance spans from c.1900, the date of construction, to 1943, the fifty year cutoff
for significance. The building served as the lumber company office until the 1950s, and the lumber
industry remained an important force in the state past the fifty year cutoff.
Industrial lumbering was one of the major historic forces in the development of Louisiana,
and indeed the entire South. In fact, it was about the only bright spot in an otherwise weak post-Civil
War economy. Until the 1880s, Louisiana's vast forests were largely untouched. It was then that
large-scale industrial lumbering began in earnest. During the so-called "Golden Years" of the
Louisiana lumber boom (c.1905-c.1925), 4.3 million acres of timber were cut, with Louisiana
consistently ranking second in the nation in production.