The Dew Drop Dance Hall is a small wooden building built in 1895 in an African-American neighborhood of Mandeville. Shaded by large live oaks, it survives virtually unaltered.

A cornerstone bears testament to the founding of the "Dew Drop Social and Benevolent No. 2 of Mandeville" on May 5, 1885 by Olivia Eunio and the erection of the group's hall in 1895. The building was the meeting hall for the mutual assistance/social organization, as well as the venue for popular dances.

Much of the Dew Drop's appeal is its simple, unaltered state. Raised a couple of feet above grade on brick piers; the rectangular gable fronted building is sheathed in clapboards on the front, and board and batten on the sides and rear.

Amazingly, the interior of the Dew Drop is largely pristine. In fact, the building has never been electrified. There is one large single space with walls of rough vertical boards, an exposed beam ceiling and a wooden floor. At the rear is a simple wooden stage that presumably has been replaced over the years.

The Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall is of local significance as a major center of social life for African-Americans in the Mandeville area. It is also of significance within southern Louisiana as a rare surviving African-American benevolent association hall. Because all available evidence indicates that the building's heyday as a social center and benevolent association hall ended c.1940, that date is being used to end the period of significance for the National Historic Register's listing.

Thus far scholarly and public attention has focused on the Dew Drop's dance hall and general social history. The cornerstone gives the name as the Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall, indicating that the organization was a benevolent association of the type found throughout New Orleans and South Louisiana beginning in the late nineteenth century. The history of these mutual assistance groups is yet to be written, but surviving documents and interviews provide the broad outline. Essentially a group of people banded together to provide assistance in times of need, most notably to pay for a proper burial. Charters were drawn up, providing for a dues structure, officers, and various membership requirements. Dues, and money raised from dances and other functions, were used to finance the funeral of the member in style, sometimes, if desired, with a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral.

Surviving charters also indicate a rigorous regimen for sitting up with sick members and attending to their needs (i.e., each member was required to put in so many hours). Benevolent associations operated under a wide variety of names. Among the most interesting, are the Do Right in Geismar, Beauty Bright in Gonzales, and True Friends in Donaldsonville. Some were men's groups, some were women only, and others were both. All available evidence (admittedly fragmentary) indicates that the Dew Drop was either all female or heavily female in membership.

Historically there were hundreds of these groups in southern Louisiana, whether in New Orleans, in small towns, or serving a rural hamlet. Their halls ranged from large two story buildings (like True Friends in Donaldsonville) to small ones like the Dew Drop. Apparently benevolent associations, or societies, began their decline in the 1930s and '40s as the need for burial insurance was met by African-American owned insurance firms. As the old generation died, so went the benevolent associations. Today, relatively little survives to represent this immensely important institution in African-American life.

Benevolent association history aside, the Dew Drop is best known as a popular social venue for African-Americans in the Mandeville area. As early member Celeste Lee recalled, "The hall was the center of our social life." She continued: "Many things went on in that hall. It was used for anniversaries, entertainments, and concerts. The most popular event were [sic] the balls and dances. . . . I remember the dances. They were my favorite. . . . The bands in those days played all kinds of music; waltzes and everything, but my favorites were the lively jazz numbers. I liked to dance to them. We even gave 'penny parties' to help the society."

Lee's sister, Lillian, 99 at the time of the interview, recalled other social events: "The dances at the dance hall were fun times. There was all kinds of fun . . . There was an event that was called a Tamarama, a musical vaudeville revue like a local talent show. It was real popular. Four of us girls would make look-alike dresses and wear them to the hall. I remember one was pink with frills and laces. My parents made sure that us young girls left the hall by midnight, even though the dance would always last until almost daylight. I remember the delicious gumbo and cakes we served at the dances."

Ella May Payne, born in 1895, reiterated Celeste Lee's comments about the Dew Drop being "the social center for blacks in Mandeville." She continued: "The Negroes were very social minded and the Dew Drop was always having some kind of affair. In 1928 it was going strong and very active." In recollecting some of the bands that played in the area, she observed that black bands played a "different style" for white audiences. "Then when they played at the Dew Drop they played 'hot'- you could really dance to that music."

Additional research remains to be done to fully document the jazz history of the Dew Drop, although Karl Koenig has done pioneering work. It is a prime example of a late nineteenth Century country dance hall - the kind of hall that nurtured early jazz. The building hosted jazz luminaries such as Buddy Petit and his band, famous trombonist Bunk Johnson, and Kid Ory, among others.

In an interview Dr. Koenig had on February 23, 1985 with Celeste Lee, she recalls:" I remember the dances. There were my favorite. We used to sell gumbo and other things outside the hall to make money for the club. I remember many of the musicians that played there such as Buddy Petit. My sister's husband played with him - Papa Celestin, Louis Armstrong, Sam Morgan, the Fritz Brothers Band and so many more." Some musicians were locals and others crossed Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans to play various venues on the North Shore.

When the Dew Drop ceased being a dance hall is unknown. Its heyday apparently was the 1920s and '30s. The organization formally disbanded in 1980, with only five members. As Celeste Lee, among the original members, recalled: "The social club just dwindled away and the young people weren't interested in those kinds of activities - we couldn't even get a quorum for meetings."

Emma Cade Badie, Celeste Lee's niece, bought the building in 1981. In 1993 Jacqueline Vidrine purchased it from Ms. Badie's succession. In recent years the Dew Drop's future was less than secure. Various people were interested in buying the building, but seemingly always with relocation and new uses in mind. Happily, the City of Mandeville purchased the Dew Drop in early 2000 and is committed to leaving it in the old neighborhood and retaining its original character.

Jazz was played at the Dew Drop for the first time in probably over 50 years when in April 2000 a four-hour recording session was held there under the sponsorship of the National Park Service, the New Orleans Jazz Commission, and the George Buck Foundation. As Richard Boyd wrote in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the spirits of former jazz greats who played the Dew Drop "were probably in abundance as the all-star band opened with 'Walking Through the Streets of the City.' " In attendance were about 100 European jazz musicians and enthusiasts, who danced and second-lined. The Dew Drop was once again rocking.