Violet Hill History
Dr. Edward G. Lawton
Dorothy Lawton Poleman
Violet Hill was built in 1885 and was originally owned by the Genoe heirs. The property was known as the Natchitoches Ice Company, Ltd.
On October 10, 1904, the property was sold to Dr. Edward G. Lawton and became the Cottage Hospital. In 1917, Dr. Lawton began using the house as his family home. Over the years, he added several rooms to the original four. Dr. Lawton and his wife, Marie Catherine Prudhomme, raised four children there: A.G., Elisabeth, Dorothy, and Ferdinand. Dr. and Mrs. Lawton continued to live in the home until their deaths.
Marie Catherine Prudhomme
In 1921, Dr. Lawton’s daughter Dorothy married George Poleman Sr., the son of Natchitoches Mayor Theodore Edward Poleman, who was assassinated in 1922. Upon returning to Natchitoches, Dorothy and George lived in the home with their children, Mary, Jane, and George Jr. The property was later sold to George Jr., who raised his six children there: George III, Terry Elisabeth, Patricia Ann, Kenneth Lawton, James Craig, and Jennifer Marie. After 84 years in the Lawton family, the house was sold in 1988.
Circa 1944 - Photo taken after a snow storm