413 East and
West Street The Webb Home dates of construction vary
from 1850-1854 by Junius Webb. This home was
built as a town home for the family before he went to
the Civil War. The Webb family lived 18 miles from
Minden.
The Webb-McDaniel
Home located at 413 East & West
Street was built with slave labor as a town house in the
Carolina "I" Design by Junius Y. Webb, a prominent merchant
and planter of what was at that time Claiborne Parish.
Estimated dates of construction vary from 1850-1854.
Williamson Jones, Parish Surveyor, map of 1851 shows J.Y.
Webb a
s
the owner of this location approximately 373’ wide x
533’ deep. Webb Court is shown on the survey and is said
to have been the original carriage drive to the rear of
the house. The house is distinctive in that it has three
stories on two levels, for the original hand hewed
random width cypress boards on the front gallery, its
solid 3 inch thick cypress interior walls and the
original hand made doors and facings over the windows.
Three of the original four fireplaces remain. Their
small size seems to indicate that they may have used
coal, which though low in quality was available in the
area, as a fuel. This home has had only three owners.
The last Webb family occupants of the house were Captain
Webb’s two elderly unmarried daughters, Ida and Sally
and their youngest brother ,Stephen, who required
special care. Upon their death, M.P. Hodges purchased it
from the Webb family and resided there until 1968 when
it was purchased by the present owner Carolyn McDaniel
and her husband at that time, Joe Warren, and preserved
just prior to being
demolished. She and her present husband ,Jim , now
occupy and maintain the home. The basic plan is the same
as originally built.
Junius
Y. Webb was born in Marengo County, Ala., on
July 22, 1832, and was a son of Samuel S. and
Ann M. (Dickens) Webb, both natives of North Carolina.
When still a young man and before achieving his majority
he had successfully established himself in the
mercantile business.
In October 1854 he married Miss Annie E. Grigsby,
a native of Alabama and daughter of Dr. Samuel Grigsby.
After his marriage, Mr. Webb continued as a merchant and
planter. During the Civil War, he
enlisted in 1862 in an independent cavalry company, the
Minden Rangers. At the reorganization of the company in
1863, First Sergeant Webb was elected Captain, serving
in that capacity until the close of the war.
Captain Webb’s
primary residence is said to have been located about 18
miles north of town at Flat Lick Plantation ,where he
farmed large acreage, and it was here that he sent his
family to be cared for by his slaves during the war. The
town house remained vacant until his return at wars end.
At
the close of the war Captain Webb continued as a
successful merchant and planter. He owned many very
large tracts of land. Some that extended
to Red River. Court records reflect his involvement in
sale and purchase
many acres in this area. Mineral analysis of some of
this land showed fifty-two per cent iron ore which was
said to be of the quality needed for the manufacture of
steel. Captain Webb was anxious to have this mineral
developed, but did not succeed in getting support for
the project. He and
his son Samuel G. Webb founded Webb Hardware &
Mercantile in which Samuel was active until his death in
1954.
Captain and Mrs.
Webb had 12 children: an unnamed infant who died at
birth, Annie, Ida, Samuel Grigsby, Mary
Irene, Sally, Junius Young, Mildred, John Webb, Eva,
Rhydon Dickens and
Stephen Webb.
Captain Webb and family, with the exception of the
youngest child , were members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
Records indicate that in addition to his business
responsibilities Captain
Webb also served as Alderman and Treasurer of the Town
of Minden for many years.
His wife
Annie died August 03, 1906 and he died two years later
on August 04, 1908. They and
several of their
children are buried in a fenced plot in the Old Minden
Cemetery.
He was considered one of the most reliable and trusted
men in the parish.
