Dubach (population 1,003) is nestled among the rolling hills of Lincoln Parish in north central Louisiana. The coming of the railroad in the late 1890s brought many new residents to an area that had been farmland. One of these residents was Frederick Dubach, who came from Wisconsin and started the Dubach Lumber Company in 1899. The town was officially chartered in 1901, and named for this early industrial leader.
Logging, milling, and agriculture were the early industries in Dubach. Dairy cattle, peaches, and watermelons are the main commodities produced today, and the area boasts half of Louisiana’s broiler growers. These farmers are celebrated annually each September at the Louisiana Chicken Festival in Dubach.
Though a small community, Dubach has a number of groups that work to celebrate and preserve the area’s heritage. Members of the Dubach Area Historic Commission are working to gather information on houses in the area by contacting homeowners of historic properties. The commission is also working on an oral history project to record the stories of long time residents of Dubach, and has recently begun to issue an annual Historic Preservation Award.
The Dubach Restoration and Beautification Organization (DRABO) and the Dubach Revitalization Coalition recently worked to relocate and restore the Colvin House, an 1883 dogtrot style house, to Dubach’s town center to serve as the Dubach visitor’s center. This house was chosen in part because of the importance of dogtrot houses in the area.
Dogtrot homes are a significant style of vernacular architecture in the southeastern U.S., and are particularly prevalent in northern Louisiana. The covered bay, or dogtrot, connecting two or more enclosed rooms on either side funnels cool breezes into the rooms. In addition to the Colvin House, another local dogtrot house, the Autrey House Museum, is open to the public. The 1849 Autrey House is believed to be the oldest building in Lincoln Parish. The Louisiana State Legislature named Dubach “The Dog Trot Capital of the World” in 1990.
Designated a Preserve America Community in October 2007.