Bayou Barbary, Livingston Parish with connections to Orleans and East Baton Rouge
Parishes, Louisiana
File prepared by D.N. Pardue



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From the book entitled "The Free State - A History and Place-Names Study
of Livingston Parish" by the members of the Livingston Parish American
Revolution Bicentennial Committee in cooperation with the Livingston 
Parish Police Jury and the Louisiana American Revolution Bicentennial
Commission, 1976.  Reprinted by permission.  Dedicated to the memory of
Reuben Cooper and Raymond Riggs.

BAYOU BARBARY  This bayou flows into the Amite River some 11 miles from Lake

Maurepas.  The fist settlers in the area were Joseph Thomas, Section 39; Reuben

Denham, Section 38; John Denham, Section 44; and William Denham, Section 37, all

in T8S-R5E.  The bayou branches into three forks, the center branch into three

more forks, all through these sections. (1)

     The English-speaking planters and settlers resented the Florida Parishes' 

exclusion from the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.  When they stormed and captured

the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge in September, 1810, Joseph Thomas led a column

from Bayou Barbary.

     West Florida was an independent republic for 74 days, and John W. Leonard, 

who lived in Section 45, T8S-R6E on the Amite River near Clio, was selected

president pro tempore of the first and only senate of the republic. (2)

     Bayou Barbary became a flourishing port by 1853.  The first recorded schooner 

to visit was the "Pomme D'Or" owned by William Wilder and enrolled on Nov. 17, 1853.

The ship was sold to William Wells in 1863.

     The schooner "Quincy" was built on Bayou Barbary in 1857 with William H.

Wilder listed as its owner and master.  The schooner-barge "Indian Reed" was 

built on the bayou in 1868.  The owner was John Geeks of Algiers and Bayou Barbary,

while the master was Alexander Jubin. (3)

     Bayou Barbary men answered the call to arms on the Confederate side during the

Civil War and the area was a refugee center for many from the New Orleans and Baton

Rouge areas.

     In the late 1800's, Clark's cottin gin and commissary store was a center for the

business affairs of the community.  Located in Section 24, T8S-R5E, the operation

was owned by James Clark who came from Ohio to New Orleans and Bayou Barbary. (4)

     An interesting story concerning the store is that young boys once drilled holes

in the floor of the store, which was built on high pilings.  The holes were drilled 

into barrels which held rice, beans and other items, and the boys often helped them-

selves until Clark discovered what they were doing. (5)

     His schooner made weekly trips to New Orleans for dry goods and freight.

     Leonard Z.T. Gowers was a clerk in the store, a notary public and superintendent 

of Livingston Parish schools.  In September, 1874, Gowers was listed as postmaster

at Bayou Barbary. (6)

     In 1893, the first school at Bayou Barbary was held at Pine Grove Baptist Church,

but the building burned the same year.  The Bayou Barbary School was built in Section 21,

T8S-R5E across from the Pine Grove Church, with Cherie Perrilloux as the teacher.  Before

the school term ended, the school burned.

     The Bulsade Willie Home, Section 18, T8S-R5E was used to complete the school term.

In 1894, school was held at the Holiday house with Rowena Richardson as the teacher.  The 

present site is the Martinez home. (7)

     Harmony School, built in 1895 in Section 42 on property donated by Francois Demars,

was naemd by Jane Demars.  Louise Gowers was the first teacher.  When it was discovered

that part of the school was on land belonging to Henry McNabb, he donated land on the 

southside in 1909 and gave permission for the wast from the artesian well to flow across

his adjoining land. (8)

     On the east side of Bayou Barbary, the Kinchen house was used one school term, with

Lillian Lea as the teacher, but the term only lasted six weeks.  Usually the term lasted

only two to three months when a teacher was available. (9)

     The first school built by the Livingston Parish School Board was in Section 23 on

the east side of Bayou Barbary.  Mrs. Calvin Mitchell was the teacher. --Mrs. Evelyn R. Martin
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(1) Tract Book, State Land Office
(2) Stanley Clisby Arthur, West Florida Rebellion.
(3) Ship Registers and Enrollment of New Orleans, Howard Tilton Library, Tulane University,
New Orleans
(4) Location Tract Book, Livingston Parish Records, researched by Mrs. Evelyn Martin.
(5) Statement by Albert Anderson to Mrs. Evelyn R. Martin.
(6) post Office Information compiled by Clark Forrest, Jr.
(7) Livingston Parish Conveyance Records
(8) Interview with Mrs. Rowena McNabb Jones by Mrs. Evelyn R. Martin.
(9) Interview with Mrs. Louisa Loflin Wells by Mrs. Evelyn R. Martin.

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