Prior to the incorporation of the village of Grand Cane in 1899, the settlement of four families (Thomas Abington, Israel Rogers, Wright Hobgood, and John Wagner) influenced the development of the area around two wagon trails that intersected in the sparsely populated area known as the Grand Cane Territory.

171 and 3015),a business community developed which included seven stores, a dentist, bank, post office, blacksmith shop, livery stable, two hotels, four doctors (Drs.

The community was enhanced by the first accredited public high school in Louisiana, and a Presbyterian, Methodist, and two Baptist churches.

The steady decline of agricultural industry, the lack of new businesses, the loss of the public school, and a general movement away from the rural area saw the end of the village as a center for trade.

Grand Cane, like so many small towns left behind by progress, simply went to sleep until 1993, when the village used funds from a rural development grant from the state of Louisiana to purchase the Hicks & Richardson building.

This action spurred the passage of a preservation ordinance, creating the Grand Cane Preservation Commission, which resulted in the subsequent listing on the National Register of Historic Places of several buildings in the Historic District (Platt, Old Post Office, Cook & Douglas, Hicks & Richardson, & Ricks Bros.).

These buildings joined the Village Hall and the Grand Cane Methodist Church that had obtained earlier listings.

The Historic District status recognizes the fact that the exterior of the buildings in this short block and a half have remained much the same as when they were built around the turn of the century.

The George N. Parker Company building (1910) was a general merchandise store advertised as "The Shoe and Hat Specialist".

The Hicks & Richardson Building, circa 1902, housed an established "General Merchandise and Plantation supplies" store.

Today, these buildings house shops, restaurants, the village hall, a community theater and a "mall" of diverse businesses.

Also located in the Hicks Richardson Building is the Back Alley Theater and the Raven Book Store.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.