From Wrought to Rot: The Story of J.B. Sandoz

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In the early 1870s, a Quebec-born blacksmith named Joseph Jobin took on an apprentice in Opelousas, Louisiana. The apprentice's name was Jacques B. Sandoz. In 1877, Jobin passed away and left his blacksmithing shop to J. B. Sandoz. J.B married Jobin's daughter, Rosa. Over the next decade, Sandoz built a successful business including blacksmithing, wheel-wright, and a grist mill. He employed his brother, Alexis, as well as about a half dozen employees. By 1889, Alexis moved on and pursued a career in mercantile sales. J.B., meanwhile, opened a new shop across the street. He sold primarily hardware products including wagons and buggies.
In just 3 years, Sandoz was prospering so much that he had to move locations again. He rented the first floor of a building owned by August Perrodin. It was at the corner of Main and Grolee Streets. Eventually, Sandoz was able to purchase the building outright. After continuing to prosper, Sandoz pursued a few different outlets to expand his economic empire even more (such as an undertaking service and building a furniture store). In 1914, the ingenious businessman and beloved community icon passed away. His son, Robert Sandoz, took over the business, operating it as an estate for about a decade before his sudden death in 1927. Robert's brother, Jacques Sidney weaved the business through the Great Depression before he was forced to retire due to illness in 1936. His son, Sidney James, was 20 years old when he took the reigns. The young man caused continual prosperity for J.B. Sandoz Inc. and even commissioned an updated building. In the year 1952, he had a new building built all around the old one. As it was completed, the old walls were demolished, revealing the newer exterior ones. They simply moved the merchandise onto the new walls and continued business. Due to such an unorthodox building method, they were allowed to continue operating day in and day out despite construction.
Sidney James continued to lead J. B. Sandoz in the right direction until his retirement in 1996. He passed away on July 21, 2005. His son, Neal, was manager of the business from 1996 until its demise in 2019. As the industry shifted, it became more and more difficult for Neal to operate the store in a lucrative manner. Much to the disappointment of Opelousas's residence, J. B. Sandoz; the oldest family-owned business in the state of Louisiana, closed its doors in late 2019. All that remains now is an empty storefront with a farewell note taped to the inside of the door.

Hartley, Carola "Parlons Opelousas: A look back at the history of J.B. Sandoz, Inc." Daily World https://www.dailyworld.com/story/news/local/2019/08/09/parlons-opelousas-look-back-history-j-b-sandoz-inc/1967960001/ August 9th, 2019 used for all information and both photos of the buildings.

Modern photos were taken by C.E. Richard with the author on March 22, 2024

Photo of J.B. Sandoz sign was taken by Kallie Johnston, classmate of the author

Dubuisson, Ed "Remembering J.B. Sandoz and His Hardware Stores" Daily World https://www.dailyworld.com/story/news/2018/06/12/remembering-j-b-sandoz-and-his-opelousas-hardware-stores/667730002/ June 12th, 2018 used for portrait, "J.B. Sandoz in the late 1890s" Mary K. Creamer