Sawmill Town of Fullerton, La

09/18/2024

It's never to early to make plans to attend Fullerton Sawmill Day. Hope to see you there.

09/15/2024

The US Forest Service paid an LSU Architectural student to map the structures at Fullerton. This is a part of that study,

08/30/2024

As we continue our tour of Fullerton our next stop is the Pavilion. The pavilion was the site public meetings, band performances, dances and other events. Th pavilion was located across the bridge heading west toward the mill pond.

07/24/2024

The power plant which provided electricity to the mill and town had 3 Corliss steam engines that powered 3 dynamos which produced the electricity. The company provided electricity to the town and housing area 24 hours a day. This was very unusual for a company to do this.

07/22/2024

The planer mill was a large-scale operation, conveniently located near the railroad loading docks for seamless loading of milled wood into railroad cars or transfer through an overhead conveyor system to a substantial storage facility.

06/25/2024

Fullerton had four separate housing areas. There was housing for the mill and towns management located closest to the mill. There was white housing located on the east side of La 399. Black housing was located in what is now Dove Field near the black cemetery and hispanic housing located to the west on Smokey Ridge. The houses varied in size but all had indoor plumbing. All the houses had a yard and were painted. These unpainted houses were not yet finished.

06/09/2024

As we continue down the street we will visit the community swimming pool and then on to the hospital. The pool had specific times for women and children to use the pool. Men had their appointed time, but never together.

05/21/2024

Our tour of Fullerton continues with a visit to the hotel. The Hotel Des Pines was the first hotel, but it was destroyed by fire. Its replacement was named the Fullerton Hotel.

04/16/2024

We are going to leave the commissary now, but will return to it later on.
Church life was very important to the people of Fullerton and Rustville. The Gulf Lumber company built both a Protestant and Catholic church for both the white and black residents of Fullerton and Rustville. The Protestant Church at Fullerton was locate near the commissary and was shared by the various protestant denominations. The Catholic Church was located across an inlet of the mill pond near the alcohol plant.

04/06/2024

Continuing our tour of the commissary building we are now at the Drug Store which was also the Soda Shop.

03/28/2024

Oops! This should have been in the previous post about First State Bank.

03/26/2024

As we tour the Town of Fullerton and beyond its boundaries I will be including a map for reference. We will now look a the State Bank of Fullerton which was a branch of the State Bank in Leesville, LA. The bank was located in the commissary building.

03/20/2024

Let us continue our tour of downtown Fullerton. Next to the theater was the Post Office. In this view we are looking east from the little bridge as you enter the Fullerton Recreation Area.

02/27/2024

This theater was located in the business district of Fullerton. The high school can be seen to the left of the theater and the train station was located to the right of the theater. There was also a theater for black patrons in Russville. They were owned and operated by the Company.

01/29/2024

01/04/2024

These are pictures of various ruins at Fullerton.

12/20/2023

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

11/28/2023

Grinding corn into corn meal at Fullerton Sawmill Day using an antique tractor

11/19/2023

What a wonderful day at Fullerton Sawmill Day. Grist mill, sawmill, old tractor, 1926 Model T Ford, live music, good food, free pony rides, free kayaking and so much more. If you didn't make it this year make plans for next year

11/18/2023

Fullerton Sawmill Day is tomorrow starting at 9. Hope to see you there.

11/11/2023

11/09/2023

It's almost here. So get ready to have some fun.

On Saturday, November 18, the USDA Forest Service will host its Annual Fullerton Sawmill Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This FREE event for all ages is held at the Fullerton Recreation Area in Vernon Parish, outside of Pitkin, among the historic ruins of the largest sawmill town west of the Mississippi River. Sawmill Day celebrates many of the activities enjoyed during the time Fullerton was a bustling town from 1907 – 1927. Old-fashioned games, pony rides, fresh-ground cornmeal from a working grist mill, live music, historical exhibits, and guided tours are some of the fun activities to enjoy at the event. The LSU Timber Tigers will be demonstrating axe and knife throwing and cross-cut sawing of logs. Heroes on the Water will also be providing kayaks for attendees to use on Fullerton Lake. The Fullerton Community Association will be cooking up delicious food available for purchase. Make plans to come out on November 18 and spend a few hours enjoying life as it was in the 1920’s! For more information, please call the Kisatchie National Forest, Calcasieu Ranger District at (318)793-9427.

10/27/2023

It's getting close, so make plans to attend Fullerton Sawmill Day. Just found out there will be a grist mill powered by an antique tractor there. So come on out and enjoy the fun.