Anna Breckwoldt Fights to Clean the Tangipahoa River, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Sandra McLellan, Mar. 2007
Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives.

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ANNA BRECKWOLDT FIGHTS TO CLEAN THE TANGIPAHOA RIVER

BY JIM PERRIN, Local Historian

About 75 years ago a widow, who lived near the banks of the Tangipahoa River east 
of Hammond made a fight against the gravel companies who were polluting the 
beautiful river.  Her efforts helped provided better water quality in the river for 
the generations who have followed her.

Anna Maker was born in Prussia, Germany, 4 May 1848, the daughter of John and 
Johanna Maker.  She came to America as a child and her family moved to Minnesota.  
Anna met and married another Prussian, Frank Breckwoldt, who was fifteen years her 
senior.  They were farming at Lincoln, Minnesota, in Blue Earth County, in 1870, 
and by 1880 had moved south to Dubuque, Iowa.   Anna and Frank Breckwoldt had three 
sons: Frank, Albert, and Edward. 

Frank and Anna decided to move further south and in Oct. 1894, settled east of 
Hammond along the banks of the scenic Tangipahoa.  Frank operated a local sawmill, 
a trade he had learned in Dubuque, and constructed a comfortable family home.  He 
did not get to enjoy life in Louisiana for long for within a short time he died.  
Anna, now a widow with children to support, stayed by the Tangipahoa River and 
made her own way in life. 

About 1908 someone suggested that Anna build a hotel for others who would like to 
fish, boat, or swim in the river.  She added several rooms to the family home and 
began to take in boarders, gradually transforming the residence into a summer 
resort with 22 rooms and four baths.  

The Baton Rouge, Eastern and Hammond Railroad established a line between Hammond 
and Covington and the Breckwoldt resort became a stop on this line.  The resort, 
which was located about 300 yards from the river became favorably known for its 
comfortable accommodations, good food, and several types of recreational 
facilities.  Guests from New Orleans and Baton Rouge would often spend several 
weeks to Breckwoldt, and local families would come to picnic, swim, or fish.

The resort was a financial success for the family with about 30-40 guests staying 
there most of the time during the summer months.  Anna Breckwoldt made about 
$1,000 a year on the resort, with some years being even more successful.

Problems began about 1918 when the Jahncke Services, Incorporated, and three other 
smaller companies began extensive gravel operation on the Tangipahoa River upstream 
from the Breckwoldt resort.   In removing the gravel from alongside the river, mud 
was washed from the gravel and allowed to run off directly into the river.  The 
vast quantities of muddy water released into the river had several detrimental 
effects downstream.  The muddy water drastically reduced fish populations and also 
made the river unattractive to bathers and picnickers.  The muddy sediment also 
affect the natural flow of the river choking off areas of the river, and after 
periods of high water left everything nearby covered with an ugly layer of sticky 
mud.

The operations of the gravel companies destroyed Mrs. Breckwoldts resort business.  
Summer guests quit coming as no one wanted to swim or bathe in a mud hole, and 
there were few if any fish surviving in the area.  Anna Breckwoldt, who had been 
widowed for many years, and had the resort business for her livelihood complained 
to the gravel companies without success.

The pollution in the river also effected areas downstream from Anna's resort, such 
as the Riverside Park on the Tangipahoa River east of Ponchatoula, which was later 
called Ponchatoula Beach.  The quantities of fish caught by anglers were reduced 
and the overall beauty of the water at Riverside Park was diminished, although the 
damage here was much less than at Beckwoldt's.

After several years of financial struggles, Anna filed suit in 1930 against the 
gravel companies in district court, asking that the companies stop the pollution 
of the river, and for recovery of money for the damage they had caused her.  The 
court ruled in favor of Anna ordering that the companies cease polluting the river, 
although the court did not award damages to Anna.

With this victory in court achieved, the gravel companies halted their operations 
for a time and the river waters began to clear.  Fishing, boating, and swimming 
began to return to normal levels.  A local newspaper reported, "Once again, after 
almost ten years, the waters of the Tangipahoa River are clear and fish are being 
caught down its length."

The story was not over however, for within a year of the court's permanent 
injunction against the companies who had polluted the river, other gravel companied 
in Amite and Roseland began to release large quantities of muddy water.  Anna and 
her lawyers went back to court in the fall of 1931 to stop these operations and was 
largely succcessful.

Anna M. Breckwoldt died 29 Sept. 1933 at her home near the river she had come to 
love, and was buried in the nearby Bankston Cemetery.  Generations yet unborn in 
1933, should salute her struggle to preserve the scenic beauty of the Tangipahoa, 
and continue to be vigilant against current pollution problems.

Anyone with questions, comments, or suggestions for future articles, may contact 
Jim Perrin at 386-4476.