DONALDSONVILLE — A downtown Donaldsonville building owned by the same family for more than 100 years has been sold, The Advocate reports.

The paper reports that the three-story, over 10,000-square-foot brick building at 122 Railroad Avenue, previously owned by the local Masonic lodge since it was built in 1895, has been sold to Donaldsonville local Bill Dawson.

Dawson, the chairman of the West Ascension Hospital Board, bought the building for $265,000 on Friday. 

The building's first floor has two commercial spaces. One of these spaces has been occupied by Cane Sugar Toffee Co. since 2024. The Railroad Avenue building's second floor has a full kitchen, dining hall and meeting room, with the paper reporting that Dawson wants to have the spaces cleaned and repaired to be reimagined into an office space.

The third floor's meeting room will continue to be used by the Masons rent-free for six months. If the group decides to stay after that period, the paper adds, they must pay rent.