History of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana Contributed by Margaret Rentrop Moore Source: Southwest Louisiana Biographical & Historical by William Henry Perrin; published 1891 pages 243-256. Submitted January 1998 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Parish of Vermilion - Topography and Description - Soils and Crops - Agricultural Statistics - Fruit Culture -Pecan Island - Shadowy Traditions Concerning it - Opinion of an Ex-Governor - Settlement of the Parish - Act Organizing the Parish - Town of Abbeville - Change of Parish Seats - The Catholic Church - The Seat of Justice Finally Located - Abbeville Incorporated - Business Men's Directory - Perry's Bridge - Military History - The War of 1812 - Soldiers in the Late War - Schools - The Bench and Bar - Benevolent Societies, Etc. RECURRENCES of the past, with the recollections and associations which make it pass in life-like review before our mental vision, especially when they connect themselves with incidents reflected back from our own experiences. These reminders vanish with the life of the participants, where no landmarks remain to save us the pictures faintly delineated in the tablets of memory. To preserve these from forgetfulness before they have lost their distinguishing originality is the work devolved upon the historian. History fails in its great mission when it fails to preserve the life features of the subjects committed to its trust. Local history, more than any other, commands the most interested attention, for the reason that it is a record of events in which we have a peculiar interest, as many of the participants traveled the rugged and thorny pathway of life as our companions, acquaintances and relatives. The parish of Vermilion is the last one sketched in this volume, though it is by no means least in wealth and importance. It comes last in the list perhaps because it is written in "the book of the law and testimony " that " the last shall be first and the first shall be last." Vermilion is one of the richest parishes in Southwest Louisiana, though a considerable portion of it is sea marsh. Even that, when reclaimed by the proper drainage, will make the very finest of rice lands. It lies on the gulf coast, with the parish of Camemeron bounding, it on the west, Acadia and Lafayette parishes on the north, and with Iberia parish, Vermilion Bay and Marsh Island on the east. It has about eleven hundred and fifty square miles, and some ten thousand inhabitants. Topography and General Description - Vermilion parish is generally level of surface, with considerable prairie and sea marsh. Not more than four or five hundred square miles is tillable woodland, prairie and cypress swamp. About one quarter of the tillable land is on the east side of the Vermilion River, and about three-quarters on the west side, extending to Lake Arthur and the Vermilion. The timbered land is principally on the Vermilion River, extending on both banks from the Lafayette line nearly to Vermilion Bay. The timber is narrow above Abbeville, but it becomes broader below the town, extending out a mile and a half on each side in places. Below Abbeville there is a creek on the west of the river lined with a heavy body of timber, and there is another on the east side, the line of forest trees extending across the New Iberia and Abbeville road. There is a line of cypress timber on land a little higher than the prairie at the edge of the sea marsh, north of Marsh Lake, twelve miles long and three quarters of a mile wide. And there are islands of timber in the edge of the sea marsh east of Vermilion River. Soil and Crops Ä The soil of this parish is a dark vegetable mould, with a large portion of sand, sand from to twelve inches deep. This rests on a subsoil of grayish clay. The soil along the Vermilion River has a larger proportion of sand than that further back; this gives the soil a lighter color. On account of the larger proportion of sand here than in the Teche lands these fields are more easily cultivated, and the roads need but little workingÄin most instances none at all Ä to keep them good the year round. The bottom of ponds and ditches are not boggy. One may pass over any of them on horseback without any inconvenience to the horse or rider. There are natural ponds in all these prairies, where the stock cattle are supplied with water. These ponds are from twenty to fifty yards in diameter. Being forcibly struck with the convenience of those natural ponds, as they are called by the residents, I made inquiry as to whether they had been made for reservoirs for the purpose of holding the supply for the stock during the dry season. The only answer I received was, " they had no recollection of any of them being made by the hand of man." Prairie Gregg, which lies next to the sea marsh southeast of Abbeville, is a beautiful sheet of land, level and rich, the soil darker than that east of Abbeville. The gulf breezes sweep over it uninterupted by forest trees. There are but few of the old inhabitants here who cultivate their land to any extent, relying principally on fruits, poultry and stock raising, which yield them a revenue with which they seem to be perfectly satisfied. Viewed from an elevated position of the Queue Tortue, half way between the Vermilion and Lake Arthur, the scenery is the most perfect of its kind that fancy can describe. Facing the south, one may here turn to the right or to the left and as far as the eye can reach there is one vast extent of natural meadow. Here and there may be seen a herd of cattle or horses, almost hidden in some places by the tall natural grass. The prairies east, west and south are dotted with little groves of trees, which shade the cottages of the resident population, who live principally by hunting, fishing and stock raising. The soil is good for sugar cane, cotton, rice, potatoes, and all the products of the Attakapas parishes. The yield of cotton is not as large per acre as in higher latitudes. The parish is peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of rice. It may become the leading rice parish in the State. Large yields of sugar have been grown in the parish; as large as three thousand pounds have been prolaced; from eight hundred to one thousand pounds of rice. The capacity of the soil is strong, but has been neglected on account of the great attention paid to stock raising. Oxen are generally used in breaking up new ground, and creole or native horses in cultivating it. They are not put to work until the grass rises in March, since but few of them are fed on hay or corn. It is surprisirg to see so little attention paid to making hay, when it could be gathered in great abundance. Millions of tons are trampled under foot and go to waste, for the number of cattle that are raised in this section can not consume the great quantity of grass in the growing season. Agriculture has received less attention here than in the other parishes. Good well water can be had in this section at a depth varying from twenty to thirty feet. A large quantity of poultry and eggs are shipped to the New Orleans market from this section. This parish abounds in wild game, such as duck, geese, brent, quail, wild hogs, prairie hen and deer. Agricultural statistics from the assessor's books, given below, will be found if interest to the reader for 1885: Acres of land in the parish, 677,667; uncultivated 653,732; cultivated, 23,955; acres in cane, 1675; in cotton, 6830; in rice, 930; in corn 13,840; in potatoes, 660. Yielding the following products: 462 barrels of molasses, 462 hogshead of sugar, 1082 bales of cotton, 303 barrels of rice, 121,269 bushels of corn, I7,700 bushels of sweet potatoes. In 1889 there was produced 2755 bales of cotton, 1962 barrels of rice, 287,696 bushels of corn, 14,540 bushels of potatoes. In 1890: 2600 barrels of molasses, 1500 hogsheads of sugar, 2750 barrels of sugar, 2750 bales of cotton, 3924 barrels of rice, 32,151 bushels of corn, 14,600 bushels of sweet potatoes. Value of live stock in parish in 1890, $360,371; total assessment of property in parish $1,805,662. Fruit Culture - Vermilion parish grows fine peaches. The soil on the tanks of most of the bayous and in much of the prairie, is admirably adapted to this fruit. And the general appearance of the peach trees justifies this conclusion. Oranges and the mespilus do well in the lower part of the parish. This section of country as yet is in its infancy as regards the planting, fertilizing, pruning and cultivation of fruit trees. It is evident to our mind that the past year's experience has benefited every one in Southwest Louisiana in fruit culture. One fact has been demonstrated, we think, to the satisfaction of every one Ä the planting of fruit trees of every variety on perfectly drained soil. This is the first thing to be looked after when you determine to plant an orchard. The drainage should be perfect, and if tile is used, so much the better, as it has a tendency to give warmth to the soil to the depth of the tile. The next thing is the cultivation and fertilization. The cultivation should be principally to keep down weeds; a growth of peas that will shade the land during the months of July and August is a good crop to grow in a young orchard as it serves to shade the land, and at the same time acts as a mulch and a fertilizer. As winter approaches, everything should he done to stop growth. Whatever fertilizer is used should be used in spring after the blooming of the trees. The less growth during the winter months, the less liable is the tree to be injured in any way by cold. Says Catherine Cole in the New Orleans Picayune: "Everything that is here has been placed here within a twelvemonth. The vines, fruit trees, young groves of China trees Ä the future shade and fuel of the home Ä the luxurious gardens and flowers, all are less than a year old. The vineyard is planted as it is done in France, Germany and California, and the vines are already at the tops of their poles. In the gardens are magnificent melons, egg-plants, cucumbers, tomatoes, and what not. These fruits and vegetables equal in size and surpass in quality the best California products. The wells on the place give cold and delicious water at a uniform depth of twelve or fourteen feet. The pretty porches are shaded by vines, and the garden is gay with the glory of marigolds, zimnias, petunias, and crysanthemums. All about is the prairie, with its roaming herds of cattle, its silver coolees that never go dry, and its islands of trees showing where some settler has made him a home. New settlers, mostly from the west, are coming into this parish, and are settling up these small farms that are to be the nucleus of a new civilization, of education, and of a truer prosperity than the State has ever known. A prosperity builded on the substantial foundation of small farms will endure forever. The small farmer never goes to the wall, and between his hedges and his well-kept fields, churches, schools and factories are certain to spring up. The great fertilizers of the new South will be the small farm. "A prairie home is like an oasis. Riding across the level lands toward a hanging garden. The gray roof and red chimney floating its blue flag gleam cheerfully under the deep shade of the grove of umbrella China trees that the settler has planted as shade for himself and cattle and for his fuel in the future. His crops of cotton, corn, rice and cane stretch away in a wondrous mosaic luxuriant color. The oranges hang heavy on the trees about the house and pigeons are pluming themselves by the gray rim of the well. About the front door are banana trees and pink-plumed myrtles. The cattle stand belly-deep in the lakes that are scattered here and there in opulent profusion, as if riotous nature had flung down with generous hand so many huge silver coins. They are linked over the tawny breast of this prairie like a necklace of silver coins strung over the bosom of an Indian princess, making her beautiful and picturesque. The dreamy crooning of the pigeons, the buzzing of the bees in the alder bushes, the faint low of the cattle or neigh of a young filly in her field, the sweet smell of the hay fields, the burnished gold on the heavy corn, the wondrous bottomless depths of the blue sky Ä who that has seen and heard and felt all these can forgot how sweet is Louisiana as it is ?" | Opinion of an Ex-Governor. Ä Ex-Governor Riddle, of Kansas, after a visit to Southwestern Louisiana, wrote and published his views, as follows: Under the old system it took a mint of money to run a sugar plantation. There was a vast body of land to buy, a sugar house costing, from $40,000 to $IOO,OOO to build, quarters for the neoroes, etc. Then would come the cost of planting,,, cultivation and manufacture, all of which had to be borne by the planter, without a cent of returns until he marketed his crop. There are numerous instances where men have purchased plantations on credit and paid for them in a year or two, and there are instances where a single disaster has swept away the accumulations of years. The dangers attendant upon the business of sugar planting were mostly to the planter under the levees of the Mississippi, where his crops were ruined by floods. These the planters in Southwest Louisiana escape. Nevertheless, the future of the sugar business scents to be in the new system, which, in brief, is to separate the agricultural part of it from the manufacturing part. They speak of it in Louisiana as the Central System. A man or a company puts up a sugar house in some convenient center and buys the cane brought to him. This enables the planter to farm on either a large or small scale. Land can be purchased, when unreclaimed, for seventy-five cents to $1.50 per acre Land with improvements and under cultivation can be bought for from $4 to $10 per acre, or may be rented for either a cash rent or share of the crop. An acre of good land will produce from fifteen to twenty-five tons of cane, and the cane will sell from $3 to $5 per ton, according to the season. It is selling this season for $5 per ton. It was further provided that a mayor and four aldermen should form a town council, and the ten oldest citizens, voters, of the town should preside over the first election. At a meeting, May 17, 1866, H. C. Read, mayor, councilmen: Stephen Hall, Leo Landry, Voorhies Trahan, Leon Broussard, and E. Guegnon, secretary. He was also made the public printer of the council. and for his services he was to receive one hundred dollars per annum, payable monthly George Caldwell was elected city constable for one year at three hundred dollars for his services, and also one-half of all fees. At the same meeting it was ordered that all persons bringing beef to town for sale must bring along the hides and brands, that they might be inspected by the constable to see that they were the rightful owners. A fine of fifty dollars was the result of non-compliance with this order. The present council: James B. Petty, Ophelias Bourque, Mozerolle, C. J. Edwards, and J. J. Abadie, secretary; Euphemon Leblanc, town marshal. The town has two fire companies: Hook and Ladder Company, and Fire Company No. 2. A social club has been in existence two years, called the "Merry Boys." Stock Raising. Ä Horses, cattle and sheep in large numbers have grazed upon the prairies of Southwestern Louisiana for many years, receiving no care from their owners except the annual round-up. Where more care has been given, better stock has been produced. By paying some attention to the im- provement of the stock, and feeding a few weeks in the winter, valuable animals could be raised, for which there are ready markets at remunerative prices. The chief difficulty in improving cattle lies in acclimating Northern cattle. Import- ing Northern cattle is so unsafe that we advise against it in all cases. It is safe to bring mules and horses if care be exercised. There are several large stock raisers in the parish of Vermilion. Among them may be noted J. P. Guydon. He owns about forty-six thousand acres of land, twenty-nine thousand acres in a single pasture. Adrian Nunez is said to be the largest stock raiser in the parish. He is on Vermilion bayou. Frank Minston, and Felix Broussard are also stock dealers, together with many others on a smaller scale. Ä Perrin