Rayne Rice Co. Antique Reclaimed Rice Dryer Pine Lumber in Tongue & Groove

History of the Rayne Rice Co. Antique Reclaimed Rice Dryer Pine Lumber

Pictured Above: Aerial Images of the Rayne Rice Co. Facility, Images of the demolition of the Rayne Rice Co. Rice Dryers, Bundles of Rayne Rice Co. Antique Reclaimed Rice Dryer Pine Lumber in Tongue & Groove.

The Rayne Rice Co. was built during the beginning of World War II. The United States had to become the bread basket to the world, and feed not only our armies, but much of Europe that had not been conquered by Germany. Even Russia, then our ally, who was fighting Germany from the east. Rice had a very important role to play in the war effort. In the late 1930s when Germany started invading other countries, rice was usually harvested by hand and placed in shooks, and allowed to dry in the sun before being milled. it could be harvested by machine, but if it was stored in a bin while it was moist, it would start germinating and even catch on fire.

This wood comes from the demolition of the Rayne Rice Co., which was one of the first facilities built in Louisiana to make rice drying much more efficient. Rice could be harvested mechanically at high moisture of 21%, brought to the Rayne Rice Dryer, which then moved the rice through metal columns with screens where dry air could be blown through it to remove the moisture. The problem was during the war, not only was there no metal to build bins, but it was difficult to find nails to build wooden bins. Accordingly, a number of employees drove around the countryside, calling on grocery stores that were receiving a small allotment of nails every month due to rationing. The metal nails were precious. They allowed the wooden planks to be fastened together to form tall, square, containers, or bins to store the rice. Until 2020, the bins at Rayne Rice Dryer were still used to store rice that had already been dried in the adjacent facility.

The bins have been disassembled very carefully to preserve the texture and structure of the wood and the nails have been removed carefully. The nails have beensaved and are available to anyone buying some of the wood. We suggest keeping them in a place where they are visible so their story and the story of the wood can be told.