DONALDSONVILLE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana chef and a local foundation are working to preserve a building that was erected in the 1800s and was a grocery store from 1944 to 1991.

Chef John Folse and the Donaldsonville Area Foundation will launch the Historic Donaldsonville General Store & Museum project Wednesday.

A news release says records only date back to the late 1800s, but local lore has it that the building dates back to 1850.

For the most part, records from 1889 to 1944 show only the owners. The news release says some locals believe it was used as an infirmary during the Civil War, and at some point was a saloon and brothel. An 1898 article refers to a possible tenant as running cockfights.