HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 110-year-old Charpentier District mansion with three reported ghosts — including the historian who saved Lake Charles's records from the 1910 Great Fire.
504 Ford Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Private residence in the Charpentier Historic District; drive-by or walking tour visit only. Downtown Lake Charles ghost tours may include the site.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Residential street in a historic neighborhood; flat pavement
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1910 · Associated with D.J. Reid, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff · Maude Reid's role in saving archives from the 1910 Great Fire · Charpentier Historic District anchor property
The John Reid House at 504 Ford Street has been a fixture of the Charpentier Historic District — Lake Charles's preserved turn-of-the-century neighborhood — for more than a century. The house was associated with D.J. Reid, who served as sheriff of Calcasieu Parish, and his family.
The 1910 Great Fire of Lake Charles is the defining historical event connected to the building. When the fire threatened to consume the city's paper records and historical documents, Maude Reid — a family member who served as an unofficial local historian — made efforts to save key archives from destruction. Her role in preserving Lake Charles's civic memory during a genuine crisis is a documented part of local historical accounts.
During the fire emergency, Sheriff Reid reportedly used the upper floors of the mansion — including the third-floor attic — to temporarily house inmates from the jail, given the threat to the normal detention facility. The house's three-story height and position in the district made it a practical refuge during the disaster. The Imperial Calcasieu Museum's Haunted Histories exhibit has documented the property and its connections to the 1910 fire as part of a broader survey of Lake Charles's haunted heritage.
Sources
The John Reid House carries three distinct haunting accounts, each with a specific locus in the three-story building. On the upper floors, residents and visitors have reported hearing footsteps attributed to Maude Reid — the family member who worked to preserve Lake Charles's historical records during the 1910 fire. Her connection to the house during a crisis event gives her ghost particular narrative weight in local accounts.
On the main living floors, a former owner's wife is said to make her presence known through scent: the distinct smell of Chanel No. 5 perfume drifting through hallways when no one is present. This type of olfactory haunting — specific enough to name the perfume — is one of the more unusual details in the city's paranormal accounts.
The third-floor attic carries the darkest story: Sheriff D.J. Reid reportedly housed inmates there during the 1910 Great Fire when the normal jail was threatened. Local tradition holds that an unidentified prisoner either fell or jumped from that level during the crisis. The identity of this figure has never been established, and local accounts describe the presence as unknown and unnamed. The Imperial Calcasieu Museum has documented the John Reid House in its Haunted Histories exhibit series, giving institutional recognition to the site's reported phenomena.
Notable Entities
The John Reid House at 504 Ford Street stands in the Charpentier Historic District. Walk or drive by this three-story mansion and view its distinctive early 20th-century architecture from the street. Interior access is not available.
Ghost tour operators list the John Reid House as a primary stop on walking tours of Lake Charles's haunted Charpentier District, with guides covering all three reported hauntings and the 1910 Great Fire history.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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