George Caldwell

Deceased Person

1892 – 1966

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Who was George Caldwell?

George A. Caldwell, sometimes known as Big George Caldwell, was a powerful Louisiana contractor who supervised the construction of nine buildings on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, including the university library and the structures housing the dairying and physics departments.

Caldwell was born in Abbeville, the seat of Vermillion Parish in south Louisiana, to Charlie Caldwell and the former Camille LeBlanc. He married Zellie Belle Wahl. In the 1930s, he became State Superintendent of Construction; during his tenure he launched work at LSU. Investigations later revealed that Caldwell was keeping 2 percent of the funds budgeted for the LSU construction. Some of this was spent on a lavish mansion, estimated to cost $45,000, then a large amount, which he built near the university.

As both state and federal investigations into the Louisiana Hayride scandal heated up, Caldwell was asked to resign as superintendent. He and his successor were later arrested for violating the Federal Relief Act.

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Born
Aug 24, 1892
Abbeville
Religion
  • Catholicism
Profession
Died
Mar 12, 1966
Baton Rouge

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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