The Lake Charles, Louisiana office was established in 1883. After 1885, the office was housed in the Watkins Banking Company building, which was headquarters for all of Watkins' Louisiana companies. These business interests include the North American Land and Timber Company; the Kansas City, Watkins & Gulf Railway Company; the Calcasieu Sugar Company; the Lake Charles Sugar Company; the American Publishing Company and numerous land and townsite companies.

Regrettably, most records of Watkins' business activities in Lake Charles were destroyed when the office building was razed during the 1930s. The records that have survived were those random materials which, for various reasons, were stored in the Lawrence office.

This series affords researchers some insight into the diversity of Watkins' interests in Louisiana and his attempts to commercially develop soutwest Louisiana and the gulf coast region.

The Lake Charles office series contains "incoming" materials dating from 1884 to 1929. These papers, correspondence, and financial reports are arranged in chronological order. Most of these materials are copies of reports and financial statements that were submitted to the Lawrence office.

The series also contains miscellaneous materials concerning the disposition and appraisement of Louisiana lands, the interdiction of J. B. Watkins in 1906, clippings and statements. A prominent feature of the series is the materials from various Louisiana land and townsite companies. These include the Gulf Land Company, the East Lake Townsite Company, the Orange Lake Company, and the townsite companies formed along the route of the Kansas City, Watkins & Gulf Railway Company.