Before the time of the railroad, boats were used to take the cotton to market and to bring supplies and food to the farmers. Farm crops for sale were loaded on keel boats and floated down D’Arbonne Bayou to Old Trenton on the Ouachita River about 2 miles north of where West Monroe is located today and from there exported to other parts of the world.

There was a steamboat names “Sam Jones” which came from New Orleans. The “Sam Jones” was loaded with food, clothing, tools, plows, seeds, medicine, and other things that the farmers needed. The farmers knew when the steamboat was expected to land and they always went to meet it in their wagons. The farmers liked to visit with each other and to get news from the men on the boat. They bought all the things that they could afford and then drove home.

On one of these red clay hills, between D’Arbonne and Middle Fork Bayous, twelve miles north of Ruston, on Highway 167 is the site of Dubach, a quiet, serene small town. It had its beginning with the coming of the railroad and the development of the lumber industry. In 1898 the Arkansas Southern Railway (now Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific) built a line from El Dorado, Arkansas, to Winnfield, Louisiana. With the coming of the railroad the way was opened for development of the lumber industry.

The first train stopped in the town that is now Dubach on July 14, 1899. This was an exciting day for all the pioneer families who lived in this part of Lincoln Parish. The first station agent and telegraph operator was Mr. E. Whitman. He used an old boxcar for his office and the station. When the railroad was built many people came to Dubach from neighboring communities and from other states.

These people wanted a school for their children. As early as 1898, Mr. Dick Crosby sawed some lumber that was used to build a two-room house. This house was used for the first schoolhouse in Dubach. Mrs. Beulah Lindsey from Arkansas was the first teacher. About fifty children went to this school. Part of the teacher’s pay came from public money. The other part of the teacher’s pay came from charging the pupils tuition. Children in the first, second, and third readers paid the teacher $1.50 each month. Children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth readers paid the teacher $2.00 each month. Children above the sixth reader had to pay the teacher $3.50 each month. If a pupil did not pay his tuition, he could not go to school.

The furniture in the first schoolhouse was not very good. This furniture was not at all comfortable. At first the children did not have desks. They had to sit on long benches without backs. After a while, backs were made for the benches. Blocks of wood were used for the little children whose feet could not touch the floor. As soon as possible a long wide plank was made into desks for the pupils.

A two-story frame school building was erected on land purchased from the Arkansas Southern Railway in 1904. Mr Jim Steele was the first principal. By 1918 Dubach had added a two-story brick school building, which housed all grades. The frame building was used for Home Economics and Agriculture classes. With increased enrollment more space was needed so a second brick building was erected on the site of the frame building. This was the high school building with the old one remodeled and used for a grammar school. Fire destroyed these buildings, but they were quickly replaced with more modern ones. These buildings were used until 1968, when a new site was selected and an entirely new plant built to house the school.

The station on the new railroad was not named until October 1899. Some of the Colvin families who lived near the railroad wanted to name the new town Colvin Town. But there was already a town in Louisiana in Winn Parish named Colvin. For this reason many men did not think that it would be a good idea to use the name of Colvin for the new town.

In 1899 a young lumberman of German extraction named Fred B. Dubach from Eau Clair, Wisconsin bought land for a lumber mill in Dubach. Mr. Dubach started the Dubach Lumber Company, which became the largest sawmill in north Louisiana. The town that grew rapidly around this sawmill was named for Mr. Dubach.

Most of the families who came to Dubach in 1900 and a few years after that time were from families who had Anglo-Saxon (English) grandparents. The grandparents of these families had lived in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. The names of some of the first families who first moved to Dubach were Allen, Autrey, Barham, Brooks, Colvin, Cook, Cox, Davidson, Featherstone, Fuller, Green, Heard, Henry, James, Lewis, Nelson, Rainwater, Tubbs, and others. Fred B. Colvin was the first child born in Dubach. Some of the men who had worked on the railroad settled in Dubach. Many more men moved to the new town to work in the Dubach Lumber Company.

A young civil engineer employed by the Arkansas Southern Railway, whose name has been lost, wrote a charter for a town. With few changes, this was accepted and filed with the Secretary of State June 28, 1901. Thus Dubach was legally born. The early settlers had worked hard and now they could organize their town. A post office was soon established with Mr. Colvin as the first postmaster. Mr. Bill McMullin and Mr. Tom Winn who owned most of the land the town was located organized the town of Dubach in 1902. These men gave about fifteen acres of land to the Arkansas Southern Railroad and sold other land for town lots.

Mr Dubach purchased some land across the road from his business and built a lovely, stately home for his wife and two children. The home still stands not far from the railroad and down town area. The Dubach family only lived in it for a short while. A few years later Mr. Dubach died and Mrs. Dubach did not want to try to run the mill, so the business along with the house was sold. Mrs. Dubach returned to St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1907 George W. James and T. L. James purchased the lumber mill, retaining the name Dubach Lumber Co. It eventually, under their able leadership, became the second largest mill in the state. Timber land around Dubach could be bought for as little as twenty-five cents an acre. Much of this land was bought just for trees. The James brothers, Mr. B. H. Rainwater, Mr. V. A. Davidson, and Mr. A. H. Wacker were instrumental in the success of the Dubach Lumber Company. As most of the trees were cut down the sawmill business declined. Finally the sawmill closed down in 1921. In 1922 a company organized by Mr. J. P. Voss and Mr. V. A. Davidson took owner ship and operation of the mill. In 1932 the mill property was sold to G. L. Trammel and Sons.

Churches and religious life were then and still considered necessary for a good life. Since no buildings were available, the first Churches were organized under brush arbors. Later a building was erected which was used as a school and also by both Baptist and Methodist Churches. By 1918 both Churches had built lovely brick buildings, which have since been demolished and replaced with larger and more modern edifices.

The young people interested in social activities found the town a lively place. Sewing clubs and literary clubs were organized. One such, “The Merry Makers”, was organized in 1912 by a group of teen-aged girls. The ladies had their quilting parties and Ladies Needle Club organized by Mrs. R. N. Featherstone. They met each week and each hostess vied with her neighbor for elaborate refreshments. Another social activity was “meeting the train” each day, not necessarily to meet anyone but to see each other and get a glimpse of the outside world. A small park was established near the railway station, which afforded the young people a place to walk and sit while awaiting the arrival of the passenger trains.

The town also boasted a large livery stable for the use of the farmers when they came to town as well as the local inhabitants. There were general mercantile stores, drug stores, and three doctors.

Cotton farming for the most part is no longer profitable and much of the land has been replanted with pine trees. The main commodities produced now are dairy cattle, peaches, and watermelons. Timber is still a main source of revenue as there are still unlimited supplies of pulpwood.

Mineral resources around Dubach have been exploited on a large scale to the advantage of the economic wealth of Dubach. The chief mineral resources are oil and gas reserves, but there are also deposits of gravel and clay. Refineries, pipelines, and booster stations around Dubach have brought about an increase in population and income.

Dubach, at present, has hard surfaced streets, lakes for fishing and recreational uses, a modern water and sewerage system, and many lovely homes. There are several Churches within the city limits. There are civic organizations, which contribute to the welfare of the community. It is a place of quiet leisure, where people have time for each other yet are alert to progress.

Pictures:


Text reads: 1st car in Dubach of 1910 2 cyclinder Buick, shipped from Chicago.  Owner: Walter Farmer family plus 1 neighbor.



Downtown Dubach in 1910.