(Over the course of the week, the Lincoln Parish Journal is republishing some of its most memorable stories from the past year … some of our readers favorites).
By Wesley Harris
If I asked you to meet me on Brick Row at one o’clock, would you know where to go?
Early Ruston residents certainly knew the location. It was the most important block in town. Maybe still is.
When the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad finally extended west from Monroe to Shreveport in 1883, the value of living in a town with access to this new form of transportation across North Louisiana was evident to many.
Enterprising businessmen who sought new opportunities on the line moved from small towns missed by the railroad like Sparta, Mount Lebanon, Homer, Vernon, and Vienna. New businesses sprang up quickly as the new town of Ruston developed.
Ruston had been laid in perfect symmetry with blocks and lots surveyed and staked in grid fashion and numbered. The lots closest to the railroad tracks were the most appealing. An enterprising hotelier did not want to build his hotel or boarding house three blocks from the tracks, where it was not visible to newly arriving passengers seeking accommodations. A general store in view might tempt a traveler to hurry from the depot and purchase a quick snack or a cigar before continuing to his destination.
If you had money, you could buy any lot or any number of lots. But there was one caveat to build on Brick Row. Owners were required to construct their buildings of brick. No wood frame buildings were allowed on what is now Park Avenue between Trenton Street and Vienna Street. And for a time, Brick Row—the face of new Ruston—was one of the few blocks with a sidewalk extending its length.
In the early days, Park Avenue was first named Railroad Avenue and extended east-west through the town on both sides of the railroad tracks. Brick Row was the row of buildings facing the depot grounds, later known as Railroad Park.
The penalty for not using brick is lost to history, but more than likely new lot owners had to sign an agreement at the time of purchase.
Brick buildings were more resistant to fire. Wooden buildings that caught fire would likely burn to the ground before anything could be done to save them. Ruston’s early fire protection was rudimentary at best. While there was a public well in the street in front of what is now Ponchatoula’s on East Park Avenue, it would be several years before an actual fire department was created. And even then, its equipment was sorely lacking in the ability to put out large blazes.
But the most important reason for Brick Row was pure aesthetics and business savvy. Other towns were sure to pop up along the new rail route and Ruston wanted to create an attractive and enticing draw to those passing through on the passenger trains. Ruston wanted to grow.
And new residents came. Lots of them. They came in droves, opening all manner of businesses from general merchantile and ladies wear to drug stores, barber shops, livery stables and saloons.
Yes, saloons. In Ruston. At least for a time.
The families behind the early Brick Row businesses did well financially. Many of the names are still familiar today—Lewis, Kidd, Marbury, Holland, Mays, Smith, Gullatt. The various stores of the Lewis family anchored the downtown retail scene for over 130 years.
The small towns providing Ruston’s new residents died slow deaths. Little survives save mostly forgotten cemeteries at Mount Lebanon and Sparta and Vernon. Vienna endures because of its proximity to Ruston.
Brick Row remains valuable Ruston real estate. Many businesses have appeared and disappeared from Park Avenue in the past 142 years but few storefronts ever sit vacant. Brick Row and the adjacent park remain the focal point of historic downtown Ruston.
So, when you meet me on Brick Row at one o’clock, we’ll walk over to the park, find a bench, and ponder on how a string of sturdy buildings grew into what Ruston is today.
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