Reed - Eunice

Taken by the Bevan Brothers, this photograph was an early-20th-century image of the nascent prairie town. The large two-story home in the center was that of Eunices founder, C. C. Curley Duson. Built at the corner of Seventh Street and Park Avenue, the house overlooked the Circle Park and its small pavilion visible to the left of the barn. (Courtesy of Bevan Brothers Collection.)

Open prairies surrounding Eunice were paradise for hunters and fishermen, as this 1930s photograph recorded. Wild fowl flocked to farms where they feasted on rice, which fell during harvests. Camps dotted the river banks where Eunice citizens spent weekends fishing and hunting. (Courtesy of Dr. B. R. Reed.)

Mentor Guillory lived in this Cajun-style house on Prairie Mamou prior to moving to Eunice in 1905. Distinctive features of prairie Cajun houses were the high steep-pitched roofs, stairs leading up to the attic where the young boys usually slept, and the built-in porch, which formed a visor for protection from sun and rain. With the passing of time, few original Cajun houses have survived in the area. (Courtesy of Joanne Bradley McGee.)

Eunices first brick school was built to house both high school and elementary students. In 1924, the three-story brick secondary building was completed across the street. The old schools bell tower provided an excellent place for taking photographs. Sadly, the building was demolished in the 1970s. (Courtesy of BBHC.)

Completed in 1927, the old city hall was built at a cost of $30,000. It housed a jail, a fire department, municipal offices, a judges office, and a stage and auditorium upstairs. In the late 1980s, the building was replaced by a modern edifice. (Courtesy of Dr. David Simpson.)

Higgins and Alvera Bordelon, owners of Bordelons Restaurant, made the businesss reputation with their delicious hams. Located near the Missouri Pacific Railroad station on North Second Street, the eatery was convenient to railway employees, travelers, and local citizens. Murals of bayou scenes were painted on the interior walls. (Courtesy of Arnette Tyson Reese and Devonne Reese.)

The Liberty Theater, a movie theater, has been a city landmark since 1924, when it was billed as Eunices first electric theater. During its heydays in the 1920s and 1930s, it hosted appearances by Tex Ritter, Lash Larue, the Bowery Boys, and Roy Rogers. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, it was included in the Great American Movie Theaters Preservation Press Guide published by the Smithsonian Institute. (Courtesy of the authors collection.)

The Claude Drive-In was named in memory of the late J. C. Claude Keller, founder of the Liberty Theater Company, which owned both the Liberty and Queen Theaters in downtown Eunice. It was opened on Christmas night in 1952 on the western outskirts of Eunice about 1.5 miles from town. Pictured at right is Regina Guillory Keller, J. C. Claude Kellers widow, who christened the theater at its grand opening. Her son, J. C. Keller Jr., was in the ticket box. The facility (below) included a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area. The speakers hung on the car windows. Drive-ins reached their peak of popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in the United States. Sadly, the Claude was ruined by Hurricane Audrey in 1958. (Both, courtesy of Reginald Keller and Ramona Keller Stonecipher.)