What’s the deal about The Plains?

 

Zachary is growing really fast and you can bet more than one newcomer has heard talk of a mythical place somewhere near their new hometown called The Plains.

 

But what is it?   More to the point: Where is it?

 

There are no signs defining its boundaries and it does not show up on any map.   The Plains is not an official subdivision of Zachary, but it is a place area natives know well.   There is even a local newspaper that has been published since 1953 called The Zachary Plainsman.  But where and what in the world is (or are) The Plains?

 

Of course nobody knows for sure, but a good guess is that they called it The Plains because it is flat and it is sort of on the way to St. Francisville which is hilly.

 

Pride-Port Hudson Road

Amy Watts said she grew up just across the Pride-Port Hudson Road from The Plains.   “Where I grew up is technically Zachary, but my grandparents lived in The Plains, so I spent a lot of time there,” she said.

 

Though it is just a small, rural settlement on the outskirts of Zachary it is very large in family.  According to Watts the majority of the families who live there, including hers, are related in one way or another.   “And they all have tucked away in their hearts many wonderful memories of the good old days in The Plains,” she said.

 

Watts said some of her fondest childhood memories include the Plains Church Day Camp during the summer every year.   “There was nothing better than sitting under the large oaks at the Plains Church reading Bible stories and enjoying cookies and Kool-aid with all the other children from the area,” she said.   “The Families of The Plains area have strong Christian roots which go right to the heart of the place.   You can actually feel the warmth of each person and that makes The Plains just as God intended, a welcoming place, a wonderful community.”

 

According to Dolph McKowen who did grow up there “The Plains runs from Zachary north to Lindsey at the railroad tracks and from Port Hudson and the Mississippi to Slaughter.”

 

Two Houses and a Pond

McKowen said there was no electricity in The Plains when he was raised up there.   “We lived on Hwy. 68 just north of Lindsey.   There were just two houses and a pond where we went fishing and shot snakes for fun.”

 

The McKowens had a 32-volt Delco system with a generator to charge the batteries.  

 “They had an old store up there that just recently burned,” explained McKowen.   “It was called McKowen’s Store.   They sold everything from hardware, food and clothes to caskets.   At one point they had a cotton gin but they tore it down when the boll weevils put everybody out of the cotton business.”

 

Dolph and Lorene McKowen have been married 57 years.   They had three boys and a girl.   “Our daughter lives in Baytown, TX but the three boys are still here,” she said.       

 

Movie Business

At one point The McKowens went into the movie business in Zachary.   Unfortunately their theater fell victim to television and he went to work for Gulf States Utilities Company.   “I retired 24 years ago after 34 years with GSU.”

 

The telephone book has only three listings in Zachary referring to The Plains.   There is Plains Lodge Number 135 F & AM; Plains Presbyterian Church; and Plains Veterinary Hospital.  

 

Hardee Brian said he and Gilbert Mills never ran out of things to do when they were growing up together in The Plains.   “Gilbert had an old one-eyed grey horse and I had a mule,” he recalled.   “We built sleds and hooked them behind the horse and the mule and went tearing around the countryside.   We even put windshields on our sleds because of the dirt the animals would kick up.”

 

Gum Tree Roulette

Brian also remembers that grabbing a limb near the top of a gum tree and riding it to the ground was fun.   “It was thrilling until the limb broke,” he said.   “That’s when you found out it wasn’t such a hot idea.”
   

He said riding horses, especially at night was also a lot of fun for kids growing up on The Plains.   “Of course I played basketball at school,” he said.   “After basketball practice you had to bum a ride home.”

 

Harriet Troth has been living in The Plains for 50 years.   She and her husband John had four children.   Their son Chip lives in John’s mother’s home which was built in 1915.   “It really is a beautiful place,” she said.   “Of course they have done extensive remodeling, but they have three children 17, 15 and a brand new surprise who is just six months old.”

 

Dad Liked Him

She said her family moved to Baton Rouge from Washington Parish when she was 15   and she knew she was in trouble the first time she kissed John.   “He wasn’t tall and handsome, but dad liked him and that was it.”

 

Troth said it seems like back then everyone in The Plains was related.   “They all called each other ‘cuddin’ because if you lived in The Plains somehow you just had to be a cousin.”

 

Dr. East was John Troth’s grandfather.   “His doctor’s office was in the house and he would treat patients right there in the front room,” recalled Troth.   His grandmother, well known locally as Miss Annie, was Annie Young-East.   She was 95 when she died two years ago.    

 

New People Moving In

“Life has changed a lot in The Plains,” said Troth.   “Once upon a time it was all dairy farms, but the old places have been selling and lots of new people are moving in.   Now we have Beaver Creek, Mills Point and Pin Oak Lane.   More coming all the time.”

 

The centerpiece of The Plains is the beautiful old Plains Presbyterian Church.   Across the street is a lovely old home with an alley of oaks that was Dr. Day’s place.   He was the local dentist.   The Dr. East house that Chip Troth and his wife remodeled is a little further down just before the Christmas tree farm.  

 

This bit of information was supplied by Amy (Troth) Watts whose brother lives in Miss Annie’s old home.   “I spent a lot of time there when I was growing up,” she said.   “It was a tiny bit rural, but so was Zachary back then.   But the people were well served as long as they had the Plains Store and the Plains Church.”

 

Everybody Related to Everybody

The Plains Store had everything anybody might need, said Watts.   “It was run by the Waddels,” she said.   “The church provided day care for the really little children and everybody worked because a dairy farm is a fulltime operation to say the least.   For fun we fed the cows and I remember that for one birthday my present was a brand new baby calf for me to take care of.”

 

Watts said they rode horses over her grandparents’ 250-acre place and they rode horses to the Plains Church.   “We almost never had visitors but I can remember when I was 10 or 12 years old Hardy Bryan would come to see us.   I ran out and opened the gate for him and he gave me a quarter.”

 

The Plains was a nice community, according to Watts, and Zachary was more like the big city where you went to do your banking and your big shopping.

 

Rural Way of Life

Interestingly, while many people are moving into Zachary and The Plains, the Watts are moving out.   “We are in the process of moving to Jena,” she said.   “We hope to get back to a more rural way of life.”

 

Of course, this article does not offer a very deep study of The Plains.   Anyone wanting that will have to find a copy of The Plains and The People by Virginia Lobdell Jennings.  

 

First written in 1962, the 470-page volume begins with the story of the Indians who populated The Plains and the early explorers and first settlers back in the 17^th century.   It takes readers through the 1940’s.  

 

Halfway through The Plains and The People becomes a genealogy of Plains families tracing many of them all the way back to England, Spain, France and Nova Scotia.   The book is highly recommended reading for anyone whose interest in The Plains has been tickled by this article about a place that lives in the memories of so many folks in and around Zachary.