Lifetimes of Lumber: The Story of St. Landry Lumber Co.

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St. Landry Lumber Co. is one of the oldest businesses in the Opelousas area. The oldest transactions can be dated to the 1890s. The story of its early owners quickly grows murky though, as the Opelousas Daily World says O.L. Guidry and his business partner were the first owners, yet the company itself says Alonzo C. Skiles owned it before selling it to Guidry and his partner. By the 1920s, when the stock market was booming, a man named J. A. Perkins purchased all of its stock and became the owner. He navigated the business through the Great Depression before his death in 1942. The Perkins family still operated through the financially perilous WWII, against many odds. As a host of brother-in-laws, sons, and the family members took its reigns, the business became an economic powerhouse for the family and the Opelousas area. (St. Landry Lumber Co. website) It was even able to survive the hardships the many other similar business couldn't. By 1985, St. Landry Lumber Co. was one of only three lumber yards in the area, when previously nine were present (Opelousas Daily World).
As the Perkins family business continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, they became too big for their property. In the early 2000s, the family bought the adjacent property (which belonged to Union Pacific, as it is near a railroad). On this newfound property, they built a massive warehouse which is a sight to behold. It is home to a giant room for millwork, six lumber areas, and a retail store that sells various items. Because of this, they dramatically increased their capabilities and have anchored themselves in the South Louisiana lumber industry. All of this while remaining next door to the old and beautiful house that used to house the business (St. Landry Lumber Co.).
As they supply high quality lumber all around Louisiana, their retail operation is also a magnet for other customers who may not need wood. They have a state of the art lineup for various hunting and outdoors sport supplies. One can even buy deer stands from them, not to mention all of the rifles, shotguns, and knives that are for sale. The Perkins family also states that in the winter, contracting jobs become lackluster due to cold weather and shorter days. Fortunately, this is the time of year that St. Landry Lumber Co leans on their retail as hunting season is in full swing. In the warmer months, hunting season is over, and contracting jobs return. This business model allows the company to have stable sales no matter what month it is.
Since then, the retail section has been expanded numerous times, and the lumber business continues to provide wood to the entire state. (Tim Regan, ProSales Magazine)

Work Cited:

Unknown author, St. Landry Lumber Co. official website. https://www.stlandrylumberco.com/about.html provided much of the story as well as the picture with the wood in it and old picture of business

Tim Regan, "Meet the Louisiana Dealer that Sells Guns and Lumber" unknown date. Prosales by Jrc Magazine. https://www.prosalesmagazine.com/benchmarks/my-yardsticks/meet-the-louisiana-dealer-who-sells-guns-and-lumber_o

Unknown author, “St. Landry Lumber is in 95th Year” Daily World February 24th, 1985, p. 5-C

Ray C. Up close picture of original building https://www.yelp.com/biz/st-landry-lumber-co-ltd-opelousas October 27, 2016

Other pictures were taken by a photographer with the author on fieldwork trips on Mar 22nd 2024