History of Bayou Manchac, also called the Iberville River, Akankia, Ascantia,
Manchacque, or Massiac
First, the name... "Bayou" is derived from the Choctaw word bayuk,
which means "river." "Manchac" is derived from the Choctaw term imashaka,
which means "back entrance." Other sources have "Manchac" being derived from the
language of the Bayougoula Tribe.
6000 BC -
The Arrival of Native Americans
Early hunter-gatherers appear in the rich Bluff Swamp area near
Alligator Bayou, Spanish Lake,
and Bayou Manchac.
500 BC - 1500 AD -
Native American Seat of Power
The area where Alligator Bayou joins Bayou Manchac served as a
Native American seat of power and trade between 500 BC and 1500 AD. The Native
Americans named this place Anatamaha or "fish place."
1699 -
European Discovery
Pierre le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville made the first recorded European use of the
Bayou Manchac and Amite River route to the Gulf after learning of it from
the Bayogoula Indians.
They entered Bayou Manchac from the Mississippi in Canadian bark
canoes on March 24, 1699 and spent their first night on the banks of Bayou
Manchac in the area of Alligator
Bayou. Iberville wrote in his journal, "This place where I am is one of the
prettiest spots I have seen, fine level ground, beautiful woods, clear and bare
of canes..." Fallen logs and floating debris required the Frenchmen to make over
50 portages along Bayou Manchac before reaching the Amite River.
The fact that Iberville's journey took place during the spring flooding of
the Mississippi misled him into thinking that the Bayou could easily support
commercial navigation. They would later discover that the 9 miles between the
Mississippi and Alligator Bayou were only navigable during the Spring
floods when the Mississippi was high enough to flow through a notch in its
natural levee.
1702 -
Iberville River The first map to include the Bayou Manchac-Amite River route is
published in France in 1702 by Guillaume de L'Isle and calls the entire route
from the Mississippi to Lake Maurepas "River d'Iberville."
1705 -
Commercial Trade Route
The Iberville River (Manchac-Amite) utilized in the French fur
trade by 1705. "10,000 deer and 5,000 bear skins" are transported from Northern
territories, down the Mississippi, to the Iberville River, and out
through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf.
1719 -
First Settlers
The first settlers of Louisiana to be recruited by John Law's Company of the
West (called the"Company of the Indies" after 1719) utilized the well traveled
Iberville River route to reach Paris Duvernay's granted land, opposite
the Iberville River, on the Mississippi in 1719.
New Orleans
A site for the location of a city to be named New Orleans needed to be selected.
French officials and the Directors of the Company of the West selected a
location near the junction of the Iberville River and the Mississippi in
1719. They gave these instructions to Louisiana's Chief Engineer, who died in
Havana en route to Louisiana. Bienville and others then choose the site of New
Orleans to be where the French Quarter is today.
1762 -
InternationalBoundary between French and Spanish
Territories
France saw its New World Empire threatened by the potential loss of the Seven
Years (French and Indian) War to Great Britain and signed over Louisiana west of
the Mississippi plus the Isle of Orleans (a triangular "Island" bounded
by the Bayou Manchac-Amite-Maurepas-Potchartrain corridor on one side,
the Mississippi on one side, and the Gulf of Mexico on the other) to Spain in
exchange for military support through the secret Treaty of Fountainbleau in
1762.
1763 -
International Boundary between British and Spanish
Territories
The Seven Years (French and Indian) War ended with the Treaty of Paris, signed
February 16, 1763. France ceded Canada and Louisiana east of the Mississippi
(exclusive of the Isle of Orleans) to Britain. Spain signed over Florida to
Britain in exchange for regaining Cuba. Louisiana west of the Mississippi and
the Isle of Orleans remained under Spanish control.
1764 -
The British Advantage
The British established a trading post called "Manchac" and Fort Bute
to protect it at the confluence of the Iberville River and the
Mississippi. Traders and cargo boats travelling down the Mississippi could save
10 days by trading with the British at Manchac instead of the Spanish at
New Orleans. The value of trade at this point in 1764 was estimated at 100,000
pounds sterling.
The Iberville Canal Project
The British discovered problems with year-round navigation along the
Iberville River. Their engineers determined that the Iberville River
isn't really a true distributary of the Mississippi, but rather a channel carved
out where the Mississippi had overflowed a low spot in its natural levee had
found and joined the "old" river near Alligator Bayou. They attempted to
remove trees and deepen the stream bed in the nine-mile stretch between the
Mississippi and Alligator Bayou, but a poor understanding of the
Mississippi's annual cycle led to the reclogging of the Iberville Canal and the
eventual abandonment of the project. Instead the British constructed a carriage
trail to move goods from the Mississippi to Alligator Bayou where they
could be reloaded onto boats for the remainder of the journey down the
Iberville River.
In August of 1764 Manchac and Fort Bute were raided by a party of about 50
Indians. The Indians broke into the stores and stole all of the Indian Gifts
stored there, broke into the powder magazine, took or destroyed all of the
weapons, and killed the livestock. The British fled to New Orleans but
re-established the post in October.
1766-1767 -
The Acadian Arrival and St. Gabriel de Manchac (Manchak)
or Fort San Gabriel.
It was on September 28,1766, that an English ship arrived in New Orleans from
Maryland, carrying 224 exiled Acadians, including 150 women and children. They
were penniless, starving, and scared. Ulloa, the Spanish Governor of the Isle of
Orleans, immediately gave them what aid he could.
Spain recognized the value of the Acadian settlers. She needed warm bodies to
populate the Louisiana colony. The exiles were also good soldiers, as they had
shown "against the British as well as the type of warfare conducted against the
Indians." Such citizens were important to Ulloa, "in this colony which must
always depend upon the settlers for its defense." In July 1767, Ulloa sent 210
of these Acadians (about 50 families) to present-day St. James Parish and up the
river to its intersection with Bayou Manchac, where they helped the
Spanish establish a new fort called St. Gabriel de Manchac (Manchak).
1769 -
St. Gabriel Church
The oldest church in Louisiana, St. Gabriel Catholic Church was built in 1769
near Bayou Manchac's juncture with the Mississippi River by Acadian
settlers.
1770 -
Bayou Manchac
A 1770 British survey revealed that the Iberville River was a tributary
of the Amite River and not the other way around. Some maps of this time period
also begin referring to the Iberville River by its present name "Bayou
Manchac."
1775 -
William Bartram
The famous naturalist and botanist on his historic trek through the Southeast
traveled Bayou Manchac on his way up to Point Coupee and again on his way
out in 1775. Bartram described the area along Bayou Manchac as a "grand
forest; the trees of first order in magnitude and beauty" and listied species
that still line the banks of the bayou: magnolias, sycamores, green ash, red
mulberry and others. Some States have turned the route traveled by Bartram
during is 1770's expedition into historic trails. Although not well know in
American history, Bartram explored more of America than any other scientist of
his time. Bartram later traveled with Lewis and Clark during their exploration
of the Louisiana Territory and recorded many botanical observations.
1772-1773 -
St. Gabriel Church Moved
Partly to escape Bayou Manchac and Mississippi floodwaters, the St.
Gabriel Catholic Church was moved in 1772 or 1773 to its present location
further south. The whole town of St. Gabriel is today located further south and
away from Bayou Manchac.
1777 -
The Revolutionary War in Louisiana
From Natchez to Manchac Captain James Willing, USN, pillaged and burned
plantations, killed livestock, stole slaves, and forced the inhabitants to flee.
On February 3, 1777, he and his men attacked Manchac, seized a British
Ship, and took its crew as prisoners. The Americans then proceeded to destroy
most of the settlements between Manchac and the Amite and back up the
Mississippi to Point Coupee. They succeeded in practically clearing the British
side of Bayou Manchac of all of its inhabitants, forcing many to flee
into the Spanish Territory taking all of their possessions and slaves with them.
On March 14, 1777, the British sent a small detachment of fifteen soldiers up
Bayou Manchac from Pensacola. In the only land clash between
British and American forces to take place in Louisiana, the British
killed and wounded five soldiers and took thirteen hostages. The Americans
withdrew with their prisoners and offered the fort up to the Spanish at San
Gabriel.
1778 -
The Establishment of Galveztown
The Spanish were not pleased with the amount of commerce that was bypassing New
Orleans via Bayou Manchac. The Spanish Governor of the Isle of Orleans,
Don Bernardo de Galvez, allowed Americans fleeing the hostilities in the
colonies to establish a village on high ground they discovered just below the
juncture of Bayou Manchac and the Amite River. The grateful villagers
named their settlement "Galveztown."
1779 -
More Revolutionary War Battles on Bayou Manchac
The British brought troop strength at Fort Bute up to 300 men in 1779 and
brought in two galleys to protect British navigation on the Mississippi. Plans
were again made to clear Bayou Manchac.
Galvez realized the strategic importance of Galveztown and began bringing in
Spanish Settlers from the Canary Islands. He also had troops move in a garrison
constructed around the town. On August 19, 1779, Galvez officially recognized
America's independence from England and decided to help the Americans. Between
August 28 and September 10, men from Galveztown captured 7 British Ships and 110
prisoners on Bayou Manchac. Galvez went on to take Fort Bute on
Bayou Manchac, the Fort at Baton Rouge, and finally the Fort at Mobile. This
brought West Florida back under Spanish rule. He continued battling the British
until he ultimately recaptured all of Florida.
On a side note, shortly after these battles on Bayou Manchac,
Galveztown was abandoned and the settlers moved to Baton Rouge. The area they
settled there became known as "Spanish Town" and is where the Pentagon Barracks
now stand. Many moved back to the Galvez Town area after the West Florida
Revolution of 1810 and were assimilated into the French culture. Galvez was
later stationed in Texas where the city of Galveston still bears his name. He
ultimately became the Spanish Govenor of Mexico. The present day community of
Galvez, Louisiana is located just west of the original Galveztown.
1800 -
International Boundary between French and Spanish
Territories (again)
In 1800 Spain retroceded Louisiana including the Isle of Orleans to Napoleonic
France. Bayou Manchac becomes an International Boundary between French
and Spanish Territories.
1803 -
Louisiana Purchase and the Pirate Jean Lafitte
In 1803, Louisiana West of the Mississippi and the Isle of Orleans were sold by
France to the United States. Bayou Manchac continued to be an important trade
route. Despite the fact that the citizens of New Orleans considered Jean Lafitte
a hero for robbing Spanish ships and selling the booty at bargain prices,
Governor Claiborne declared war on Lafitte. The Governor had the mouth of the
Mississippi so locked up against him that Lafitte began running his ships along
the Bayou Manchac - Amite River - Maurepas - Pontchartrain route.
1814 -
The War of 1812
In 1814 Lafitte pointed out to General Andrew Jackson that the British could
sneak in through Bayou Manchac and attack New Orleans. Jackson then
ordered Bayou Manchac closed where it joins the Mississippi in such a way
that it would be impossible for the enemy to navigate it.
1826 -
The "Kleinpeter Closure"
After Bayou Manchac was cut off from the Mississippi in 1814, the area
experienced fewer floods and was settled. Legislation passed in 1826 allowed
James Neilson, John Kleinpeter, and W. Webb of East Baton Rouge, and Charles De
Armas and P. Winfree of Iberville to permanently close Bayou Manchac in
order to reduce flooding into their fields. The earthen dam was completed in
1828.
1829 -
Plan to Construct First Intercoastal Canal
The first portion of the present Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to receive the
attention of the federal government lay east of the Mississippi River. Almost
twenty years before Florida and Texas were admitted to the Union, legislation of
March 3, 1826 authorized a survey of a canal route between the Atlantic Ocean
and the Gulf of Mexico. In 1829, Brigadier General Simon Bernard, a member of
the Board of Internal Improvements, and Army Engineer Captain William Tell
Poussin, functioning as an assistant to the board, reported their survey
findings. The last stretch of the Intercoastal Canal wouuld be the re-connection
of New Orleans to the Mississippi via Bayou Manchac. Congress failed to
appropriate funds for the project.
1835 -
Another Plan to Reopen to the River
In 1835 the Louisiana Legislature instructed the Board of Public Works to
perform a feasibility study on reopening Bayou Manchac for navigation to
the Mississippi.
1862 -
Civil War
The Confederates regained Baton Rouge in 1862, but not before the Yankees looted
the city, burned large portions of it, and released all of the convicts from the
state penitentiary. Some of these convicts headed down into the Amite River and
Bayou Manchac swamplands, which had attracted a criminal element who
exploited the absence of civil authority. Although it had gotten so bad that
Union troops would no longer visit (Butler's troops regularly forayed into the
countryside to rape, steal, and pillage) Confederate authorities dispatched
their scarce troops to the region to bring relief to citizens from the bands of
desperados.
1868 -
Reconstruction
After the Civil War, the War Department Engineers prepared a detailed
engineering report, complete with maps, diagrams, and cross-sections, for the
straightening and improving of the Bayou Manchac - Amite River route for
"First Class Steamboat Traffic." The project was never realized.
In October 1868 the 118th Illinois Infantry made an
expedition to Bayou Manchac.
1879-1880 -
Congress Falls Short
The U.S. Congress appropriated funds to undertake navigational improvements
along the Bayou Manchac - Amite River route in 1879-1880. The project
went unfulfilled.
1891-1893 -
The Corps of Engineers' first real work on the
Bayou
Between 1891 and 1893, the Corps removed snags, logs, and trees along Bayou
Manchac.
1895 -
Ward's Creek Turning Basin
In 1895 a turning basin for small steam boats travelling Bayou Manchac
was dredged out of Ward's Creek.
1909 -
The Delatour
In 1909 the Corps of Engineers constructed the Delatour, a combination
dredge and snag boat built specifically for the Bayou Manchac - Amite
River route.
1914 -
Beginning of theEnd for Steamer, Schooner, and
Packet Boat Commercial Delivery Traffic
The arrival of the automobile and the 1914 erection of a bridge over Bayou
Manchac for the gravel road to New Orleans brought a sharp decrease in the
amount of commercial water traffic bringing supplies to the plantations and
businesses along Bayou Manchac from New Orleans. Raw materials continued
to be shipped out via Bayou Manchac and the Amite River for some time
while the supply deliveries slowly dried up. The bridge was a drawbridge and was
opened and closed to let the steamboats through by John L. Dixon, manager of the
Hope Villa Mercantile Store.
1916 -
Height of Raw Materials Export
Raw material transport to New Orleans along Bayou Manchac and the Amite
River hit an all time high in 1916 (although data from the intense logging of
the 1920's is not complete and could have been much greater). Traffic including
cotton and logs was estimated at 109,117 tons for 1916.
1920 -
Cypress Logging
During the 1920's, the Lyon Cypress Lumbering Company of Garyville logged the
Amite River - Bayou Manchac (mainly Spanish Lake and the Amite
River Basin) corridor to exhaustion. Deep scars did not occur with the aerial
(overhead-cableway) skidders of the time.
1926 -
Obstruction Removal
The dredge, Grosse Tete, removed 1,354 obstructions from the Amite River
- Bayou Manchac route in 1926. The project only went as far as Ward's
Creek.
1927 -
The Great Mississippi River Flood
The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 forever changed the nation and led to
the construction of the continuous Mississippi River levee system.
1928 -
The Flood Control Act of 1928
Following the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, congress enacts legislation
in 1928 directing the Corps of Engineers to contain the Mississippi with levees
below Cairo, Illinois. This gives Federal control over the isolation of Bayou
Manchac from the Mississippi.
1931 -
Plan for Barge Traffic
It was the dream of Louis U. Babin, that Bayou Manchac would once again
be joined to the Mississippi through the use of locks so that barges could save
125 miles by taking this short cut to New Orleans. Luckily this was before oil
was discovered in the area and he had little popular support. He did leave a
"monument" though. He was so positive that the Bayou would one day be opened
that he was instrumental in having the Hwy. 73 bridge built so that barges could
pass under it. The bridge still exists today on the "Old Jefferson Highway."
1932 -
Beginning of the End for Raw Materials Transport
Trucks began to take over as the primary raw materials transport vehicle in
1932. The Amite River - Bayou Manchac route traffic dropped from nearly
22,000 tons in 1931 to approximately 6,000 tons in 1932.
1936 -
Mastodon Jaw Discovered
In 1936 a Mastodon jaw was discovered on the bank of Bayou Manchac behind
the summer home of Mrs. S.G. Cooper in Sec 15, T. 85., R. 2E. "C. Cooper Place"
(Howe et al., 1938).
The "C. Cooper Place" was identified as the first house on the south bank
downstream from the railroad bridge on the 1953 7.5 minute Quadrangle Map.
Mastodons arrived in North America about 20 million years ago, while
mammoths, a relative of mastodons, didn't appear until about 1 1/2 million years
ago. They both lived throughout the United States. They, along with many other
species, disappeared about 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.
1951 - Camps Begin to Appear
Louisiana Department of Highways 1951 "Traffic and Planning Maps" show only 7
camps along the Amite River - Bayou Manchac corridor. Two in Ascension,
two in Livingston, and three in East Baton Rouge Parish.
1953 -
Flood Control
Two severe floods occurred in May of 1953 causing an estimated 1/2 million
dollars in damage along the Amite River - Bayou Manchac route. During the
1950's Alligator Bayou and the Spanish Lake basin were isolated
from Bayou Manchac by flood gates meant to protect Iberville Parish from
Amite River - Bayou Manchac backwater flooding (Alligator Bayou is the
border between Ascension and Iberville Parishes).
1954 -
Camps Increase
By 1954 there were seventy-two camps along the Amite River - Bayou Manchac
corridor.
???? -
Dredging Wards Creek
Sometime in here Wards Creek was dredged, widened, and straightened. The
lower section of Wards Creek is identified on maps today as "Diversion
Canal," not to be confused with the Amite River Diversion Canal. Wards Creek
is a tributary to Bayou Manchac on the maps, but geologically speaking,
Wards Creek is the main channel that becomes Bayou Manchac.
1957 - 1964 -
Amite River Diversion Canal
Amite River Diversion Canal project was initiated in 1957 and completed in 1964.
The area below French Settlement benefited the most, however some flood relief
occurs upstream.
1964 -
The Prince William Sound, Alaskan Earthquake of 1964
Longtime residents claim that the Amite River and Bayou Manchac were "sucked dry
for several minutes" by the world-wide wave generated by the Great Alaskan
Earthquake of 1964. Though we have yet to verify that the waterways were
"sucked-dry," several reports do state that seiche action from the 1964 Alaskan
Earthquake traveled up tidal bayous and streams all along the Gulf Coast. Please
contact us if you have any knowledge of this event.
1969 -
Plan for Barge Traffic
L. D. Kelleher's graduate work at LSU in 1969 included a feasibility study on
opening Bayou Manchac to barge traffic. He got the attention and support
of State Senator A. L. Stewart of Livingston Parish.
1972 -
Camp Explosion
By 1972 the number of camps along the Amite River - Bayou Manchac
corridor had exploded to over 600 and was climbing at a rate of 50 to 60 per
year.
1973 -
Major Flood
A major flood occurred along the Amite River causing backwater flooding on
Bayou Manchac in late March 1973.
1975 -
Trapping Wanes
Nutria, some mink, and an occasional bobcat were still trapped along Bayou
Manchac in 1975 but were of little commercial value.
1977 -
Major Flood
A major flood occurred along the Amite River causing backwater flooding on
Bayou Manchac in April 1977.
1979 -
Major Flood
A major flood occurred along the Amite River causing backwater flooding on
Bayou Manchac in April 1979.
1983 -
The Big Flood
The biggest flood on record occurred along the Amite River causing backwater
flooding on Bayou Manchac in April 1983.
Bluff Swamp Wildlife Refuge & Botanical Gardens
In 1993, the co-owners of Alligator Bayou Tours learned that hundreds of acres
of bottomland hardwoods in the Spanish Lake Basin adjacent to Bayou Manchac
would be cut for lumber. This valuable habitat was saved by Frank Bonifay, Jim
Ragland and community members working in cooperation with local, state and
federal government.
Today, Bluff Swamp
Wildlife Refuge & Botanical Gardens, a national
non-profit organization, protects 901 acres of land adjacent to Bayou Manchac
that is home to giant cypress trees, alligators, snakes, turtles, owls,
white-tailed deer, and more than 250 species of birds.
Tropical Storm Allison caused major flooding along the Bayou Manchac -
Amite River Corridor in 2001. On June 11, 2001 the Amite River at BayouManchac crested at
17.5 ft. Property damage claims from Tropical Storm Allison in through June 2001
cost insurance companies
$1.2 billion, including $65 million in Louisiana. These preliminary estimates
did not include flood insurance, which is handled through the federal
government’s National Flood Insurance Program
2003- A manatee was spotted at the junction of the Amite River and
Bayou Manchac and 0.2 miles up stream
