Berwick Family Residence Ruins
James C. Berwick, Jr. (1902-1963) was born in St. Mary Parish, where members of the prominent Berwick family settled that area in the 1700s and later founded the Town of Berwick. After moving to Pineville in the early 1920s, he met and later married Martha Catherine Blum (1902-1994), daughter of German immigrants who owned and operated a florist business in Pineville. In 1927. James Berwick remodeled a building at 630 Main Street in Pineville to serve as the Berwick Drug Store and his family residence, just in time to welcome the birth of their daughter Mary Cecillia. Quickly realizing the need for larger living space. Berwick purchased the tract of land at this site from Oscar and Maggie Shanks in 1931. Next he commissioned noted central Louisiana architect Max Heinberg to design the dwelling and hired Edgar Laborde as general contractor. Although the work began in 1933, it was only after many long interruptions, including WWII with limited supplies, that the family completed the home and moved in around 1946. After James Berwick died in 1963, Martha Berwick continued to reside here until a disastrous fire caused by a lightning strike completely destroyed the house in May 1993. No one was injured, but the house remained uninhabitable. Martha Berwick died in December 1994.
