A beautiful and historical piece of property is being offered in one of Louisiana’s oldest community settlements, Bayou Chicot. The unique Dudley Johnson home at 3596 St. Landry Hwy is located between Bayou Chicot and St. Landry near Chicot State Park and the Louisiana Arboretum. This turn of the century farmhouse sits on 6.22 acres with owner access to a 5-acre pond teaming with bass, bream, perch and catfish with 1000 ft of shoreline full of mature oaks & pines providing beauty and shade to this tranquil location. Wrap around porches, with 2,400 sq ft of living area with central air and heat. Only 3 miles from Bayou Chicot and 11 miles to Ville Platte for shopping. One of Louisiana’s designated streams, Bayou Cocodrie is 2 miles away and Crooked Creek recreational area is also nearby. There is access to hunting with many of the local hunting clubs. This could possibly be one of the most serene and beautiful homesites in Central Louisiana. The home will need some restoration and will not quality for VA or Rural Development loans. Air B &B, Event Center, Wedding venue or an amazing forever home, this house is full of possibilities!
TIMBER WAS KING
It is reported that Bayou Chicot may be the oldest English-speaking community west of the Mississippi River. English settlers arrived in the 1720s, but the friendly Choctaw Indians had already settled here along the streams and bayous. The area was covered with massive timber stands, abundant wild game, fertile soil and good water from springs and bayous. Pine was the dominant timber stand, followed by oak and other hardwoods, red cypress, and tupelo gum. Thus, the attraction of the sawmills after the Civil War for the ever-expanding railroads followed by the oil boom in the early 1900s. Cross ties, oil derricks and board roads were the main products. Goddard Johnson moved a mill from Bayou des Cannes to Bayou Chicot between 1895 and 1905. His relatives Edious Johnson, Dudley’s father, moved from a sawmill in Elton, La. to become a sawyer at his relative Goddard’s mill. Dudley later took over the mill from the late 1930s until the 80s and also served as superintendent of Chicot State Park. The mill was one of the last family-owned commercial mills in southwest Louisiana when it closed. At one time in the mid century there were 12 to 13 mills operating in Evangeline Parish with 9 or 10 near Bayou Chicot. The Dudley Johnson homesite is steeped in history and full of possibilities.
