Maritime Commerce and the Founding of Wadesboro, Tangipahoa Parish, & St. Helena Parish, Louisiana Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Sandra McLellan, Nov. 1999 Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ HISTORIC PONCHATOULA Maritime Commerce and the Founding of Wadesboro By JIM PERRIN Special to The Times (Part Two In A Series) Schooners provided access for the citizens of the Ponchatoula area to the markets of New Orleans. These vessels had been plying the area rivers and lakes for many years, sailing on the Natalbany, Ponchatoula, and Tangipahoa rivers. Since each of these waterways are shallow twisting streams, maneuverable vessels with a large cargo capacity were needed. Shallow draft schooners generally of local construction, were used in the Ponchatoula area for well over a century and a half. The St. Helena Parish court records indicate several schooners operated on the Natalbany River in the period from 1811-1820. The sloop Syviana (1811) and the schooner St. Helena Packet (1812) both operated in the Springfield area. The sloop Hornet, of 18 tons, constructed in July 1815, operated from Springfield in 1816 and continued to sail until at least 1822 when the vessel was again sold. The schooner Batchelor, of about 11 1/3 tons, also operated from Springfield from 1816 until at least 1819 when the ship was transferred to another owner. This vessel sailed between Springfield and Bayou St. John in New Orleans. Also sailing in these waters was the sloop Hector, owned by Thomas J. Davidson in 1816. The schooner Jealous was constructed at Bayou St. John near New Orleans in 1813, and was registered in New Orleans in April 1827. This vessel was just over 49 feet long, 14 feet in breadth, and 4'9" in depth, and 30 and 2/3 tons in burden. The Jealous had the typical configuration of a single deck and two masts. It was owned by Robert Palmer of Springfield. The sloop Cichos was built at Springfield and was operating there in 1817. During the 1820's the following schooners were operating in St. Helena Parish at the time of their sale: Admiral (1820, 1827, 1828), Caroline (1825), Little Cock (1828), and Creole (1827). Most of the vessels meantioned above operated on the Natalbany River, but others, probably a much smaller number navigated the Tangipahoa River. A prosperous shipyard operated on the east bank of the Tangipahoa River, near the entrance of that stream into Lake Pontchartrain. Records indicate that as early as 1833, sailing vessels were being constructed at the yard. Four two-masted barges were constructed on the Tangipahoa in the 1830's, as well as a steamboat, the Geneva, in 1838. The 1840's and early 1850's were the busiest at the shipyard, with sixteen sailing vessels, mostly schooners, being built there between 1840 and 1853. Shipbuilding at the Tangipahoa River yard, declined after 1853, with only two additional vessels being indentified as being constructed there during the balance of the 1850's. This decline in activity could have been caused by the competition with the nearby railroad line completed in 1853 in Ponchatoula. Shipbuilding on the Tangipahoa apparently ceased soon after the War Between the States. An 1879 map of the lower Tangipahoa River shows three buildings labeled as "old ship yard" at the site. One area resident who was engaged in commerce on the Tangipahoa was Captain George Mitchell. Mitchell had served in the Louisiana Militia in the War of 1812 and his widow later received bounty land for his brief military service. Mitchell married Emily Brou, widow of Nicholas Ursin Hano (Heneau), Dec 22, 1833 in Livingston Parish. George Mitchell was a schooner captain and sailed his vessel from Mitchell's Landing on the Tangipahoa River to New Orleans carrying barrel staves and naval stores. On April 28, 1835 he drowned in a storm on Lake Pontchartrain. Other landings on the lower Tangipahoa River included Salt Landing, Cooper's Landing, Washla Landing, Parker's Landing, Robertson's Landing, Raiford's Landing, and Lee's Landing. One area resident recalled his father and others rafted logs on the river to a mill located downstream. On the Ponchatoula River early settler Richard Wade had established a location sometimes called Ponchatoula Landing, but usually referred to as Wade's Landing. Richard Wade and his wife Mary Ann Skaggs (Scuggs, Skeggs) settled in St. Helena Parish by 1812, owning land on the Natalbany River, By 1819, Richard had established his landing on the Ponchatoula River. Wade was a cotton planter and also engaged in commerce at his landing. He was listed as owning 960 acres of land on tax lists in both 1824 and 1826 on the Ponchatoula River in what was then St. Helena Parish. He was also taxed as the owner of a tavern in 1826. In later years he was to lay out a town at his landing and begin the settlement of Wadesborough. Other settlers listed as living on the Ponchatoula River, listed on the 1820, 1823, and 1826 St. Helena Parish tax records were: Isaiah and Elizabeth Driggers, Absalom and Benjamin Trailor, Henry Arnold, Samuel Richardson, James Rogers, Mary Sims, Richard and Jesse Hagin, William Hutchinson, the heirs of John Knight, William McGilvery, James Parker, Robert Palmer, and Samuel C. Rankin. Listed as living on the Yellow Water River were: Luther Bradley, John, Margaret, and Hannah Gainey, Jesse Hagin, and Zelotas Tucker. Anyone having information, photographs, or documents on the people, places and events that have shaped our community are invited to communicate with the author, Jim Perrin, at 14187 Randall Ave., Hammond, LA 70403