Plantation Treasures Gift Shop - Natchitoches, LA (The Prudhomme Hughes Building)

720 Front St.

Natchitoches, LA 71457

31.76204,-93.085987

            Along the beautiful Cane River in Natchitoches lies Front Street. Along this old brick street houses the heart of the city's historical district. Here you will find businesses, local shops and great restaurants. During Christmas, this area is known for its endless amount of Christmas lights and decorations. For you movie buffs out there, this area was widely featured in Steel Magnolias. 
            One of these historic buildings along Front Street is the old Prudhomme Hughes building.  The building was constructed in the 1820's by Gabriel St. Ann Prudhomme, a talented and promising young architect. As with most of the buildings in this area, the structure is adorned with intricate iron lace work and has long galleries to the front and the rear.
            After passing through the hands of several families, the first floor of the building was turned into the Hughes and Aaron Saloon and Billiard Hall. This was considered an extremely lavished and classy saloon for young gentlemen to partake in extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean!
            As the saloon was being successfully operated, the north half of the first floor has always housed an additional business. Parker's Shoe Store occupied that part of the building around 1899. After the 1900 sale of the property, Hughes Dry Goods bought out the shoe store and turned it into a mercantile establishment.

            As we have learned in the previous section, Northwestern State University was a fairly new school. During the early 1900's, Louisiana Legislation invoked a law stating that no business could sell alcohol within five miles of a public institution of higher education. This new law was the demise for the popular saloon to the displeasure of many ready and willing young men. The decorative

Example of the beautiful iron work.

interior designs of the saloon were covered up and completely remodeled. The entire first floor now became a large Hughes Dry Goods store.
            In the spring of 1959, the second floor of the Prudhomme Hughes Building was renovated to serve as the home of the KNOC radio station. In 1965, the Natchitoches Broadcasting Co. put the first FM broadcast station in Natchitoches on the air, KDBH. Both of these stations shared studios and offices on the second floor of the Prudhomme Hughes Building.
            Over the next few years, the building would fall under several managements and become numerous different businesses. At the time of our encounter with this historic building, it was known as Plantation Treasures Gift Shop.
            There have been numerous reports of activity over the years at the old Prudhomme Building. The most common are of objects moving in the store area and staff have heard disembodied voices when no one else was around. On numerous occasions, as customers were shopping, they reported hearing someone ask if they needed help, only to turn around and have no one there. There have been sightings of a strange mist on the back spiral staircase. A mirror has broke on its own startling the owner of the shop and an unknown foul odor has been reported from in between the shop area and the stockroom. In that same area, a door to a closet has reportedly opened on its own with its contents being strewn throughout the store.
            Our investigation of the building proved to be quite eventful, even at an early start. Not long after the investigation began, two investigators heard the noise of something hitting the ground. Further inspection showed that a purse had fallen from a display table. Due to the width of the table and the distance the purse was from the table, it was pretty obvious the purse hadn't just fallen. It had literally been flung from the table. During this time, one of the investigators reported feeling and

The building as it appeared during our investigation, which
was under remodeling.

unexplainable cold spot that stayed in a centralized area for only a brief minute. In an attempt at making contact during an EVP session shortly thereafter, an investigator asks, “Was it worth it?”, in regards to the purse being thrown. Immediately after the question is asked, our audio recorder captured a voice saying, “yes.”
            As the night progressed, the investigation moved up into the attic area. An investigator begins the EVP session by asking if anyone else was present with them. They received a response from a female voice saying, “What's this for?” It was as though whatever was with the investigators was possibly inquiring as to what the different electronic devices were. A few hours later, assuming that there would be no more activity for the night, the team members decided to call it a night. As one investigator was in the attic retrieving a camera, something with great force rammed against the attic door. The investigator quickly ran and opened the door to find no one there and that everyone else was down on the ground level.
            Our experiences during our investigation definitely coincided with the years of prior reports. Unaware of any tragic death or event ever taking place in the building, one can only assume that the structure is haunted by a former resident or someone that was once attached emotionally in some way. Then again, as old as the area is, dating back to even before the settling of New Orleans, one can only image what undocumented events could have taken place in this area. That's what is so unique with many of these locations that are haunted. It doesn't have to be the building itself that contains the haunting's origins per say, but the land that it sits on could be the source. With that theory in mind, the origin of these strange events can literally be endless, as documented portions of existence are far overshadowed by the unknown.