Rekindled: The Original Nacogdoches Cigar Company (Part 8)

From Cigar Factories to Modern Landmarks

As a result of increasing tobacco production, tobacco storage warehouses and cigar-rolling factories began to increase in number and populated the area in and around Nacogdoches County. Tobacco proved to be a moderately successful crop for East Texas. In 1906, a cigar company was in operation at 106 N. Church Street, likely the home of Nacogdoches Cigar Company. This building was built in 1900.

The building that Nacogdoches Cigar Company reportedly operated in back in 1906 is quite literally around the corner from our present location on Main Street in downtown Nacogdoches.

Discovering Downtown Nacogdoches on the 1906 Sanborn Map

A Sanborn Fire Map from 1906 verifies that this location was a cigar factory too. Today, the 106 N. Church Street location houses the Alex Shaw Photography.

On the 1906 Sanborn Fire Map that was reviewed, two other cigar related businesses operating out of downtown buildings were found. Unfortunately, those business names aren't available, but since they are part of an official record, they are mentioned here. The first one is on Pecan St, right across from the Old Tobacco Warehouse. It's a small dilapidated structure currently owned by Commercial Bank of Texas. Years ago, it was use to be a restaurant called Blank & Co, too.

The Nacogdoches Tobacco Growing Company - A Legacy of East Texas Agriculture (1907-1932)

The Nacogdoches Tobacco Growing Company was incorporated on January 21, 1907 with a capital stock of $6,500, by E.A. Blount and D.I. Cason, of Nacogdoches, and William Taussig, of Taussig & Co., of Chicago, Illinois. The company officers were the following: E.A. Blount, President, William Taussig, Vice-President, and Robert Lindsey, Secretary-Treasurer, and J.L. Gill, Superintendent.

The Nacogdoches Tobacco Growing Company was officially dissolved on January 21, 1932.

The Texas Tobacco Growing Co. was probably around from at least 1898, possibly even earlier. It's hard to know for sure as I haven't found any records pertaining to its founding, other than a list of the elected officers. The elected officers were the following: E.A. Blount, President, William Taussig, Vice-President, Robert Lindsey, Secretary-Treasurer; Directors: E.A. Blount, D.K. Cason, Robert Lindsey, William Taussig and D. K. Reed.

The reason for my 1898 date guess is that the Texas Tobacco Growing Co. was the subject of a lawsuit in which a lien for wages was put against them. The case was Mudgett v. Texas Tobacco Growing & Mfg. Co. and it was heard in the Court of Civil Appeals of Texas on January 17, 1901. In reading the case details, the lien for wages was for work performed during the year 1899 - hence, my best guess of the year 1898 for the year Texas Tobacco Growing Co. was formed.

J. Thomas Hall and A.P. Moran - Uncovering Tobacco Cultivation in Nacogdoches

I've only included this section because I came across this in an archived newspaper. J. Thomas Hall is a name I came across several times during my research associated with different tobacco companies. While I'm not sure as of yet which company Mr. A. P. Moran represented, I thought it best not to exclude them from this list.

The article states, "A. P. Moran, who is associated with J. Thomas Hall in cultivating shade and sun-grown tobacco at Nacogdoches, Texas, was in town showing samples of their 1909 and 1910 crops. Mr. Moran states that his company will grow forty acres under canvass this season."

The Rise of Nacogdoches Cigar Company - A Legacy of High-Quality Cigars and Local Tobacco Production

Founded in 1905, by Louis DeMouche (a famed cigar maker from Belguim who had also overseen cigar factory operations in Fort Worth, Portland and Victoria), Dr. J.E. Mayfield, and Wilton Ratcliff, the Nacogdoches Cigar Company was reported to have produced 50,000 "high grade cigars" every month. It was officially incorporated on January 26, 1905.

Their brands included Senate Chamber, Challenge, Dictator, Morse-all-Texas, Red Field, Little Jap, and Old Stone Fort.

Tobacco for many of these lines, including the Red Field, was grown and processed in Redfield, about 4 miles north of Nacogdoches on North Street (Highway 59), and produced in the Nacogdoches Factory #216. The Redfield area and the nearby tobacco fields were accessed by a spur of the Houston, East and West Texas Railroad.

Discovering Louis Pierre DeMouche - The First Manager of Nacogdoches Cigar Company

The very first manager of Nacogdoches Cigar Company was a man named Louis Pierre DeMouche. Doing research on this part of our history was very fun. Before we jump into his background, you'll find a couple photos of the man himself below (dates unknown).

Mr. Louis Pierre DeMouche and his family are pictured above. Most of the these photographs are believed to have been taken when he and his family lived in Portland, TX, but the dates are unknown.

Pictured above are Mrs. Louis DeMouche, his wife, and his three children. In the picture on the top right, his mother-in-law, Mrs. Melissa Ann Fisher Smith, is pictured sitting next to him, while his wife and two adult daughters stand behind them.

The picture in the lower right corner is of the DeMouche family home, built in 1915, which overlooks Corpus Christi Bay.

The Life and Legacy of Louis P. DeMouche - From War Torn Europe to South Texas Industry

Louis P. DeMouche was born in Brussels, Belgium to French parents in 1854. His father, Louis Pierre DeMouche, was a general in the French Army and was killed in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. When DeMouche was in his teens, after his father died, he, along with all the women and children, suffered from the tortures of war, often left besieged in Paris without food or water.

After the war was over, Louis, Jr., joined the standing army in France and became a lieutenant and fought for French possessions in Africa. He was one of just 50 men, out of an original 500 men army, who returned alive, the others having died from hardships and fever.

DeMouche then went to London to learn the cigar-making trade. He also began the study of music and finished in Leipzig and Rome, later singing in the grand opera in many foreign countries.

Coming to America, he joined the Boston Ideals and sang in most of the larger cities in this country. The Boston Ideal Opera Company, later The Bostonians, was a comic opera acting company based in Boston from 1879 through 1905.

At one time he sang with Adelina Patti in a concert in Fort Worth. Adelina Patti was an Italian 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914.

It was in Fort Worth that he was married to Miss May Fisher, daughter of Mrs. Melissa Smith. Tired of travel, he established a large cigar factory, first in Fort Worth, then in Portland in 1891.

Then in the late 1890’s, he and his family moved to Victoria, where he, along with a Mr. Hedenskog, partnered in a new cigar factory that they operated from approximately 1899 to 1905, before being succeeded by George H. Hauschild (another source said that Hauschild’s son, George, took over the Victoria Cigar Factory in 1903, assumed its management, and renamed it the George H. Hauschild Cigar Co.) The cigar factory in Victoria, which was known as the Victoria Cigar Factory, was located at 305 W. Santa Rosa, and it produced such brands as the Portas, I.C. (Intercoastal Canal) and the “All Stock and No Style”. The Intercoastal Canal cigars were named such for the organization which was started in Victoria in the early 1900’s. The factory sold its products throughout South Texas and DeMouche proved to be a very successful drummer for them.

“DeMouche was known throughout South Texas, and was a very well liked and respected Victoria businessman.” - Victoria Advocate, April 21, 1986

[Eventually, W.D. Wacker bought out Hauschild in 1919. Wacker started out by working with Hauschild when he was only 15 years old, in the year 1912 (Victoria Advocate, April 23, 1993). A conflicting article states that this George H. Hauschild Cigar Factory was sold in 1927, as opposed to 1919, as stated above.]

Louis P. DeMouche in the Headlines - A Life Woven into the Fabric of Victoria

As I searched through archived newspapers for mentions of Louis P. DeMouche, I was surprised to find just how many hundreds of times his name came up. From reading through papers from that time period, it’s obvious that he was an active and valuable member of his community.

Louis P. DeMouche received today from the government experimental station at Nacogdoches, 2000 lbs. of tobacco plants, the finest in the county. Anyone wishing plants should call at the cigar factory Monday and secure them. - Victorian Advocate, June 13, 1903

The Victoria Social Club ... wishes to thank Louie DeMouche, the jovial manager of the Victoria Cigar Factory, for his generous donation of a large number of fans. - Victoria Advocate, June 13, 1901

Louis P. DeMouche, manager of the Victoria Cigar Company, was busy placing calendars among the business houses of the city today. - Victoria Advocate, December 1, 1901

L.P. DeMouche yesterday put 1,090 tobacco plants, and will put out 4,000 more. If any person or persons wishes to see how the work is done, and will go to the cigar factory, Mr. DeMouche will take pleasure in telling when he is going to plant in the field near town. - Victorian Advocate, April 22, 1899

Louis P. DeMouche is in Yoakum. - Victoria Advocate, December 21, 1904

John C. Dernell of Chicago, financier of Cigar Makers International Union of America, came in last evening and left today on the Houston train after making Victoria headquarters for Branch No. 364 with L. P. DeMouche as president. - Victoria Advocate, November 14, 1900

Louis P. DeMouche, the rustling cigar drummer for the Victoria Cigar Factory, came up from Lavaca, where he has been putting in the Victoria brand of cigars. - Victoria Advocate, April 19, 1902

L.P. DeMouche was a passenger to Nacogdoches this morning and will be absent until Saturday. The Business Men's Association has appointed a committee on the cigar factory and will use its best efforts to induce Mr. DeMouche to remain here. - Victoria Advocate, January 25, 1905

L. P. DeMouche left for Corpus Christi today to play the "Mischief" with the "Buffalo" cigars. - Victoria Advocate, July 27, 1901

In 1905, Mr. DeMouche moved his cigar factory to Nacogdoches, and became the manager of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company. You can see just how incredibly beloved he was by all the efforts the people of Victoria went to to try to induce him to stay.

The Daily Sentinel says that Louis P. DeMouche addressed the Nacogdoches business men's club upon the subject of establishing a cigar factory at that very place. The idea was very favorably received. - Victoria Advocate, January 16, 1905

Louis P DeMouche informs us that he has decided to locate to Nacogdoches. - Daily Advocate, January 28, 1905

We see it stated in the Houston Post that Louis P. DeMouche is considering moving his cigar factory from Victoria to Nacogdoches, having received handsome inducements from the latter place. Mr. DeMouche is one of our most enterprising and patriotic citizens, and is always at the front of any movement concerning the public welfare. His removal would be a great loss to our city, both as a citizen and business man. Victoria should do Nacogdoches one better to the end that he remains here. How could we do without bighearted, progressive, princely Louis P. DeMouche! We know he would hate to leave Victoria, but business interests demand it, and it is up for our people to make it interesting for him to stay. The matter will likely be discussed at the special meeting of the Business Association Tuesday night. - Victoria Advocate, January 18, 1905

Newspaper articles confirm that Mr. DeMouche left Victoria in the Spring of 1905 and moved to Nacogdoches. Conflicting newspaper articles list the original incorporators differently, but both published articles I was able to find are below. Both articles state that when the charter was filed for Nacogdoches Cigar Company, capital stock was $10,000.

Nacogdoches Cigar Company of Nacogdoches; capital stock $10,000. The incorporators are S.L. Miller, F. C. Ford, J. E. Mayfield and E. C. Branch. - Austin-American Statesman, January 28, 1905

The charter of the following has been filed with the Secretary of State: Nacogdoches Cigar Company of Nacogdoches, capital stock $10,000. Incorporated by John Schmidt, S.L. Miller, F. C. Ford, J. E. Mayfield and E. C. Brand. Louis P. DeMouche will manage the concern. Hedenskog & Company will continue the manufacture of cigars here, notwithstanding the report to the contrary in a local contemporary. - The Weekly Victoria, February 4, 1905

An elaborate banquet was given at City Hall last night complimentary to Louis P. DeMouche, who will leave in a few days for Nacogdoches, where he will manage a cigar factory. - Victoria Advocate, February 1, 1905

The Golden Era of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company - A Legacy in the Headlines

Some interesting newspaper articles published during the golden years of Nacogdoches Cigar Company illustrate how incredible the business was and how far a reach it had.

The entire 1903 crop of filler tobacco raised in Nacogdoches County was bought by the Nacogdoches Cigar Company of Nacogdoches at 28 to 40 cents per pound. - The Houston Post, February 6, 1905

Nacogdoches Tobacco Area: Fifty Acres to Be Put Into Vuelto Abajo - Mr. George McManus, one of the strongest land and immigration agents of the Southern Pacific, arrived in the city today from a trip through East Texas. He says there is great activity in the tobacco and fruit growing around Nacogdoches and Woodville. At Nacogdoches there will be fifty acres of Vuelto Abajo tobacco planted. The Nacogdoches Cigar Company has contracted for all the tobacco to be grown there this year, and will make it up into cigars. - The Galveston Daily News, March 12, 1905

The Nacogdoches Cigar factory delivered its first order to the city customers Saturday morning, consisting of 40,000 cigars. The team on horses and the vehicle on which the first product was placed were decorated with elegant taste and paraded the town. The turnout attracted the attention of everyone. L. P. De Mouse, general manager, Dr. J. E. Mayfield, secretary and treasurer; and Wilton Ratcliff, bookkeeper for the company, formulated the plan of delivery. The factory now works twenty-five hands and has orders ahead that will take six months to fill. With the bright prospects ahead, the management will increase the force from time to time until prompt shipments can be obtained. - The Houston Post, April 17, 1905

Texas Tobacco on the Rise - Louis P. DeMouche’s Bold Vision for a Southern Cigar Empire

"TOBACCO OUTPUT SHOWS INCREASE: Prediction Made That It Will Soon Lead Texas Crops - Louis P. DeMouche, general manager for the Nacogdoches Cigar company, and a former citizen of Fort Worth, was here Saturday renewing acquaintances formed thirteen years ago when the conducted the first cigar factory ever established in this city. Mr. DeMouche, while connected with a factory, is also engaged in growing tobacco in Nacogdoches county and is cultivating 125 acres that he says will give returns of from 800 to 1,000 pounds of tobacco.

Speaking of tobacco growing in Texas, he said that tobacco raised in this state is attracting much attention from the manufacturers of cigars and chewing tobacco in the north and east. Besides, he says that the Federal government is paying considerable attention to the tobacco industry in Texas and is encouraging it as much as possible. "It is the greatest business in Texas and while the industry is still in its infancy, in five years I believe that will beat Cuba in the output and quality of her tobacco," said Mr. DeMouche. "The quality is the regular Havana filler, and is grown from seed brought direct from Cuba.

The soll in Texas is peculiarly adapted to tobacco culture and the production is encouraging. indeed. In a very few years the whole country will look to Texas for its tobacco, for it beats any that is grown in any other state in the union. The acreage is increasing rapidly every year, and the yield is large per acre. There was a time when cotton and cattle were king, but tobacco rules in South Texas these days. Already northern buyers are on the ground contracting for the Texas output before it is harvested.

It takes from one to one and one-half years to mature tobacco so that it will be ready for the manufacturer." Mr. DeMouche has established an agency in Dallas for the sale of his goods and is here for the same purpose. - Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 10, 1905

Wilton Ratcliff, representing the Nacogdoches Cigar Company, was in Houston yesterday. - The Houston Post, January 19, 1906

The Tobacco Trailblazer - DeMouche’s Mission to Put East Texas on the Cigar Map

The Herald received a call today from Mr. Louis P. DeMouche, general manager of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company, manufacturers of Nacogdoches tobacco. Mr. DeMouche is here selling his goods to Palestine merchants, who are meeting good sales with this cigar. He is a very pleasant gentleman, and reports the East Texas tobacco is growing more popular every day. - Palestine Daily Herald, March 15, 1906

Louis P. DeMouche, general manager of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company, is in the city on a business trip. He is an enthusiast on the East Texas tobacco crop, and says no better tobacco is grown anywhere. While he visited the big tobacco farm on the Fort Houston property. That crop, being grown under shade, is doing nicely, and the promoters are expecting good results. - Palestine Daily Herald, May 24, 1906

Nacogdoches Tobacco Crop - Mr. Henson, the government tobacco expert, is now having the product stripped from the stalk and tied in bundles predatory to going through the sweating process. Part of the crop will be carried to Palestine to cure, but a majority will remain here and will be handled by Nacogdoches Cigar Company.

Mr. Henson states that the quantity and quality is superior to anything raised since the establishment of the experiment station by the government. The farmers in this county seem slow to take hold of the tobacco raising question, but it will continue to grow and in a few years will be one of the principal crops in the county. Tobacco growers from other states have their eyes on this country, and will invest largely in tobacco lands this fall and winter.

The ordinary farmer is not financially able to engage in the industry on account of not being able to build barns to take care of the crop after harvest, but this will be overcome by stock companies among themselves, and barns and warehouses will be erected centrally in each community in order to properly house and cure the crop. Tobacco lands can now be purchased cheaper than by waiting for future progress and development. - The Houston Post, August 1, 1906

Mr. De Mouche Spoke: Lewis P. De Mouche, one of the best performed tobacco men in Texas, delivered an address that was very interesting, his theme being that the tobacco industry in order to be a success needed a large number of tobacco farmers to come to the State from the older States and teach the people here how to raise tobacco. He said that the work of the agents and experts of the government was all right, but as soon as the experts turned their heads the tobacco farmer, as a rule, neglected to follow instructions and so a failure generally followed.

Mr. De Mouche is manager of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company and also one of the most enthusiastic tobacco men in all that section of the country. He is a good speaker, too, and always commands the attention of the audience which he addresses. - The Houston Post, November 14, 1906

Mr. Louis P. De Mauche, manager of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company, and one of the most experienced tobacco men in the state, was in the city yesterday and a caller at The Post building. He brought with him some samples of tobacco raised in his home from Cuban seed, and in the presence of several members of the staff he made a cigar, beginning with the whole leaf, the filler and turning out a finished product in a few seconds. The cigar was smoked by a member of The Post Staff, who declared it an excellent smoking article equal to the genuine Havana. - The Houston Post, November 14, 1906

Louis P. DeMouche - A Pioneer of East Texas Tobacco and Community Leadership

Mr. Louis P. De Mouche, representing the Nacogdoches Cigar Company, was in the city yesterday. Citizens of Palestine are demanding cigars made in Texas and manufactured from Texas tobacco, thus encouraging the tobacco industry. Mr. De Mouse states that the acreage in East Texas has been greatly increased this season, and tobacco growers are finding this crop very remunerative. - The Houston Post, March 25, 1907

Nacogdoches has organized a fire department and elected Louis P. DeMouche chief. - The Weekly Advocate, July 6, 1907

Cigar Factory to Resume Operations: The Nacogdoches Cigar Factory, which at times worked as many as fifteen hands, besides a number of other employees, and counts for considerable importance in agricultural and business circles and which had to lay off its cigar makers on account of the panic, held an official meeting yesterday and decided to resume at once. E.A. Blount, E.C. Branch and I. L. Sturdevant, all leading business men, are to have charge of the entire business, being elected directors. Louis P. De Mouche continues as factory manager and salesman. - The Houston Post, January 26, 1908

Wanted, A Cigar Factory: It Would Help To Boom The Tobacco Industry Around Palestine - The genial, smiling Mr. Louis P. DeMouche, representing the Nacogdoches Cigar Factory, a factory engaged in exploiting and placing on the market the Texas tobacco, is in the city. The Herald learns efforts are being made to induce the gentleman to build and operate a cigar factory in Palestine. Palestine should have a cigar factory. Nothing else would so advertise this section as the center of the tobacco industry. It is an enterprise that would not take a great amount of capital, and one that could be made to pay handsomely. Palestine needs the cigar factory. - Palestine Daily Herald, February 26, 1908

J. Thomas Hall, president Nacogdoches Tobacco Growers' association, and Dr. J. E. Mayfield, president of the Nacogdoches Cigar Manufacturing company, Nacogdoches; J. L. Gill, manager Redfields tobacco plantation, Redfields - The Houston Post, November 8, 1908

It's unclear when Mr. DeMouche and his family moved from Nacogdoches, but from the newspaper archives I found, it seems like mid-1908 is likely. From here, he moved to Colorado where he continued to be engaged in the cigar manufacturing business. He worked in Denver for a couple of years and for a time he was a delegate from the Cigarmakers Union in the Trades and Labor Assembly. "He had been a delegate from Trinidad at two or three conventions of the State Federation of Labor, and was popular by reason of his good nature and sunny disposition."

Unfortunately, at age 63, he fell over a banister, twenty feet to the ground and was instantly killed. He had only recently "returned from a trip to Texas, where he had spent several months in a lower altitude for the benefit of his health. No one saw the acccident and it is presumed that he was seized with a fainting spell, to which he was subject due to heart trouble.

The body was discovered by the porter of the building. He was survived by his widow and three grown children, Mrs. Wilbur Davis of Trinidad, Colorado, Mrs. D. C. Hunter of Taft, Texas, and Louis P. DeMouche, Jr., of Mount Enterprise, Texas. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows."

Visit La Havana Shop and Experience the New Nacogdoches Cigar Company

As we reflect on the rich history of the Nacogdoches Cigar Company and the legacy of its first manager, Louis Pierre DeMouche, we’re reminded of the enduring spirit of craftsmanship and tradition that continues today. We’re excited to see how his influence still resonates in the community.

If you’re in the area, we’d love for you to visit La Havana lounge and experience the new Nacogdoches Cigar Company for yourself. Come in, savor a premium cigar, and explore the history that helped shape this iconic brand. Our team is eager to welcome you!