Terrebonne County Louisiana Archives News.....An Excursion!! (part 2) April 26, 1873
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Savanna King savanna18king@gmail.com August 11, 2023, 6:14 pm

The Thibodaux Sentinel April 26, 1873
Bayou Sara, which has been burned down twice during the last fifteen years, is 
again rebuilt, but less extensively and is a very pretty little place. On the 
upper side of the Town is the Bayou from which its name is taken.

It is navigable but a short distance, but near the mouth is as wide as the 
Lafourche. About 200 yards from the river it exhibits a decided disposition to 
get out into the Town and has already washed away a square or more. The whole 
place is leveed in, and drained, during high water, by a steam draining machine. 
A railroad connects Bayou Sara with Woodville Mississippi, upon which the cars 
make daily trips during the winter, and tri-weekly during the summer, bringing 
in large shipments of Cotton and other agricultural products. Bayou Sara is the 
landing point for the Town of Jackson Louisiana, between which two places 
communication is kept up by wagons. It has several fine stores which are well 
stocked with goods. St. Francisvillle is on the hill in the rear of Bayou Sara, 
forming a continuous town for more than a mile from the river.

It contains many neat buildings and nice stores, but no system of banquettes is 
maintained, and I was very sorry, as I was coming down the hill after the rain, 
that the professional growler of Thibodaux was not with me. It would certainly 
have been edifying in the extreme, to have listened to his encomiums on the 
corporate authorities. I was told that by a late Legislative enactment, these 
two villages and the country for two or three miles around have been 
incorporated into one town.

Shortly after landing on Sunday our friends took us around the Hotel where as 
dinner was prepared for us, when we took a stroll through the two 
villages.Passing upon the Hill we first came to the Episcopal Church, a most 
elegant and costly edifice, which yet bears the marks of the late war. Several 
shells were thrown into the building, one or more of which exploded within the 
Church, causing sad havoc with the plastering and windows. The plastering 
overhead is entirely down, and the memorial window still exhibits the effect of 
the shot which passed through it. The surrounding cemetery is one of the 
neatest, and best arranged burial places that it has ever been our fortune to 
examine. There are several fine monuments which have cost thousands of dollars, 
and the whole cemetery is filled with beautiful shade trees, nice pathways being 
laid off with much care and system. Among the many handsome cemetery lots I 
noticed one containing the remains of our late fellow citizen Andrew Collins, 
and several other members of his family. The Catholics and Methodists have each 
small congregations in St. Francisville and neat churches, but our party did not 
enter their grounds. 

The courthouse is a neat handsome edifice, but owing to the effect of several 
shells which were thrown into it during the war, it is not considered safe, and 
is consequently not occupied. The Masonic Order has a good Hall, and a Jewish 
order occupy the same one that is used by the Odd Fellows. 

This town is quite hilly, standing at an elevation of 200 feet above Bayou Sara.

Among the many persons with whom I had the pleasure of meeting was my old friend 
Major John Henshaw, formerly Quarter Master of the 11th Louisiana Regiment, and 
who was my immediate Superior in the dismal days previous to the evacuation of 
Corinth in 1862. We travelled together across the mountains from Tupelo to 
Chattanooga at which point we separated, he to accompany Gen. Bragg into 
Kentucky, I to return to this side of the Mississippi, since which time we had 
never met. 

He has been wandering about, settled for some time in Mobile, then in St. Louis, 
but finally returning to his old home, seeks to obtain a competence for himself 
and family among the friends of his earlier and happier days. He is engaged in 
the Livery Stable business, in which so far as I could see he had no 
competition.

I also met Dr. J.W. Dedrick who resided for many years in Thibodaux but who is 
now farming some two or three miles in the rear of Bayou Sara.

On Monday after an elegant and sumptuous dinner given us by our Brethren, the 
members of the Grand Lodge of the I.O.O.F proceeded to institute Bayou Sara 
Lodge No. 50, to dedicate their Hall, and install the officers for the current 
Term.

This Lodge starts off with about twenty efficient members with a bright prospect 
before it.

My visit to this little town will always be remembered as one of the most 
agreeable episodes in my life, and the kindness of its hospitable citizens will 
not soon be forgotten by our little party of visitors.

Bayou Sara and St. Francisville combined, have a population of about 2000. The 
people appear to be very quiet, peaceable, and agreeable. In the rear of the 
village cotton is the chief production, which is hauled to this place for 
shipment. 

The merchants have well assorted stocks of goods but they seemed to be, most of 
their time, occupied as our merchants are here, sitting on the boxes, whistling 
Yankee Doodle or gossiping on politics, horse races, or what boat will next land 
at the Wharf.

There is only one thing that I regret, which I fear has left a bad impression on 
my reputation and that is that I was accused of introducing a new drink, called 
rain water, which I was largely inquiring for when I landed, as the river water, 
instead of slacking, only increased my thirst. Some of them said that such a 
drink was never heard of before in that town, but, be it true or not I know that 
I never saw any one during my visit that appeared to have drank anything 
stronger. The rain, falling all the morning on Tuesday kept us housed up, until 
about three o’clock when we embarked on board the Steamer Indiana and bade our 
kind friends in Bayou Sara adieu. 

Although this was the first time for fifteen years that I had been in “Indiana” 
I felt perfectly at home and had an excellent time until seven P.M. when the 
captain landed us in Baton Rouge where we were taken charge of by a number of 
Brothers who were waiting for us on the Wharf.



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