Plaquemines Parish Memoir, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
File prepared and submitted by Sherry Sanford (SSanf51819@aol.com)



**********************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
**********************************************
  

"Biographical And Historical Memoirs of Louisiana", Vol. II
The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1892

The parish of Plaquemines is a peninsula.  Nearly two-thirds of
the lands of this parish are either swamp lands or sea marsh; of
the remainder nearly the whole is located upon the banks of the
Mississippi.  The arable land extends from the northern boundary
of the parish to within about thirty miles of the passes at the
mouth of the river..  The parish was originally heavily timbered.
The soil of the parish is all alluvial -- sandy loam, with some
"black land."  The staple productions of this parish are sugar,
rice, oranges, corn and farm and garden vegetables.  The area
cultivated in 1890 according to the assessor's returns ws 18,870
acres in cane, twenty-four acres in cotton, 15,746 acres in rice,
1,400 acres in corn, 500 acres in potatoes.  The products of the
same year were 8,100 barrels of molasses, 13,000,000 pounds of
sugar, thirty-six bales of cotton, 141,000 barrels of rice,
21,000 bushels of corn, 7,500 bushels of potatoes.  The cultivation
of oranges has been carried on ever since the organization of
parochial government.  The oyster fisheries of Plaquemines have
long been famous throughout the state, but it is only of recent
years that the industry attained the prominence it now holds.
The size and quality of the oysters found in the numerous bayous,
bays and indentations of the coast have created a market for them
in other states.

The settlement of Plaquemines parish was accomplished early in the
eighteenth century, the first settlement being made at Pointe a
la Hache in 1820.  Among those who came at that time were Jacob
Hingle, the Crosses, Martins, Dennex, Barrois, Dobard, Salvant,
Fontanelle, Jeaufreau, Ragas, La France, Rouquillo, Wilkinsons,
Dominique, Nagos, De Latour. The first church was erected at Pointe
a la Hache about 1850, and the first child christened in it was
Robert Hingle.  The jail erected in 1885 is a large, substantial
two-story brick building.  The courthouse, just completed, is
large and handsome.  The parish is reported out of debt, the
tax valuation is $1,933,740.  There are no towns in Plaquemines
parish.  There are villages at Pointe a la Hache, the parish seat,
located near the central part, Jesuits Bend in the northern part,
and Buras settlement in the southern part.  Port Eads and Pilot
Town are at the mouth of the river.  The religion most largely
represented I the parish is the Roman Catholic.  There are churches
of that denomination at Jesuit Bend, Pointe a la Hache and Buras
settlement.  There is an Episcopal church on the west bank of the
river opposite Pointe a la Hache.  There are thirty-eight public
schools -- twenty-three white and fifteen colored.  The number of
pupils enrolled is 1,364.  Prior to the war a newspaper was established
at Pointe a la Hache by F.S. Caro.  It was called "The Rice Planter."
The paper was suspended during the war, but resumed publication in
1865 or 1866.  Mr. Caro continued in charge until 1885, when the
paper passed into the hands of its present owner and publisher,
Robert Hingle.  In 1886 a stock company started a paper which was
called the "Plaquemine Protector," and published it until 1888,
when it was purchased by Mr. Hingle and combined with "The Rice
Planter" and published as the "Plaquemine Protector."  It is a
bright, newsy seven-column quarto, devoted to local interests.