USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 4
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late Pleistocene date, have been found on Avery island ; bones and teeth of the giant sloth (Mylodon). also of the Pleistocene period, on Avery and Joor islands, and many bones of an extinct species of horse have been found in different places. Most of these bones are preserved in the museum of the Tulane university of Louisiana. On Avery island wood in a perfectly sound state was found with the bones of the mastodon, and on the same island ancient pottery, bones and shells have been found a few feet below the surface by persons engaged in sinking shafts for the salt mines.
There was a tradition among the Indians of the Opelousas country that a great many years ago a huge animal inhabited the prairie in the northern part of the present parish of Lafayette and the eastern part of St. Landry; that when this great animal died the carrion crows came to feed upon the carcass, and that notwith- standing the crows came in large numbers, it was a long time before the last vestige of the body was consumed. It was from this tradi- tion that the Carrion Crow bayou, the district and town of Carencro received their names.
A few relics of past and gone inhabitants have been found, including stone arrow and spear heads near Amite, in Tangipahoa parish ; a carved. stone pipe in the parish of Terrebonne : and a few obsidian knives, though but few historically important specimens of the mound-builders' work have been discovered. Hilgard, in his "Supplementary and Final Report of a Geological Reconnoisance of the State of Louisiana." made in May and June, 1869, speaks of mounds on the prairie between Opelousas and Ville Platte. He says: "On this prairie we first observed, in considerable num- bers, those singular rounded hillocks which dot so large a portion, both of the prairies and woodlands of southwestern Louisiana and adjoining portions of Texas. With a maximum elevation of about 2 feet above the general surface, they have a diameter varying from a few feet to 20 or 30; their number defies calculation. They do not show in their internal structure any vestige of their mode of origin ; or rather, being totally devoid of structure of any kind; they merely prove by their material that there has been a mixing up of the surface soil with from 2 to 4 feet of the subsoil. They are altogether independent of formations underlying at a greater depth, and it seems impossible to assign to them any other origin than that historically known of their brethren in Texas, viz. : that of ant hills. As to the physical or moral causes of the wholesale slaughter or emigration of this once teeming population, deponent saith not. Perhaps some of the aboriginal Attakapas tribes might, if consulted, still be able to bear testimony on the subject." Prof. . George Williamson, of the Louisiana state normal school, and Prof. George Beyer, of the Tulane university, have made important studies in the archeology of Louisiana relating to the Indians. (See also Geology.)
Archer (R. R. name Spencer), a post-hamlet and station in the southeastern part of Union parish, is situated on the St. Louis, Iron
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Mountain & Southern R. R., about 15 miles east of Farmerville, the parish seat.
Archibald, a village and station in the southeastern part of Rich- land parish, is a station on the New Orleans & Northwestern R. R., about 10 miles south of Rayville, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice and is a trading center for a considerable district.
Arcola, a village and station in the northwest part of Tangipahoa parish, is on the main line of the Illinois Central R. R., about 4 miles north of Amite, the parish seat. It has a money order post- office, telegraph and express offices, and is situated in one of the great berry raising districts of the south. Its population is about 250.
Argo, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Catahoula parish, is located on the Black river, about 16 miles west of Bougere, Con- cordia parish. which is the nearest railroad station.
Ariel, a hamlet in the western part of Lafourche parish, is situated on the Bayon Lafourche, 4 miles southeast of Lafourche Crossing. Ewing is the nearest railroad station. It has a money order post- office and a population of about 125.
Arizonia, a town in the central part of Claiborne parish, is situated on a branch of the Bayou D'Arbonne, about 6 miles east of Homer, the parish seat and nearest railroad station and banking town. Arizonia was incorporated on March 1, 1869. It has a money order postoffice and a population of about 60.
Arkana, a post-hamlet and station on the northern border of Bossier parish, is on the St. Louis Southwestern R. R., about a mile south of the Arkansas line.
Arkansas Post .- "This Post," says Dumont in his Historical Memoirs, "is properly only a continuation of the establishment formed by the French around the house which Joutel and his com- panions reached in the month of July, 1687. . From that time to the present the nation has always remained in possession of that territory ; and when M. Le Blanc sent men to take possession of the grant made him on the Yasouz river, 140 leagues from the capital, the little garrison. kept till then by the company (Western) at that place, retired to the Acancas post, then commanded by the Sieur de la Boulaye. There is no fort in the place, only four or five palisade houses, a little guard house and a cabin, which serves as a storehouse. This French post was established as a stopping place for those going from the capital to the Illinois." The post was located some three leagues from the mouth of the Arkansas river, and only a few leagues from where the Arkansas or Quapaw Indians had their habitations. When Law's German colonists came to occupy his extensive grant on the Arkansas, they estab- lished themselves about a league from the post, where was a beau- tiful plain surrounded by fertile valleys, and watered by a little stream of fine, clear, wholesome water. Upon the downfall of Law, all but a few of the Germans abandoned the settlement and re- turned to New Orleans, and the Company of the Indies took pos-
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session of all of Law's effects at his concession. When la Harpe visited the settlement on the Arkansas in 1722 during his journey of exploration up the river, he found the post nearly deserted and iti a struggling condition.
Armagh, a post-hamlet in the western part of Concordia parish on the Black river, about 12 miles west of Fish Pond, the nearest railroad station.
Armant, Leopold L., soldier, was a native of Louisiana. He entered the Confederate army as a member of the 18th La. volun- teer infantry, and upon the reorganization of the regiment in Oct., 1862, was made colonel. A few days later, in command of his regiment, he was with Gen. Mouton in resisting the advance of Gen. Godfrey Weitzel into the Lafourche country. Later he joined Gen. Taylor in the Red river valley and lost his life in the battle of Mansfield, April 8, 1864. Early in the charge of Mouton's division he received a wound in the arm. Changing his sword to his sound hand he cheered on his men, when he was again slightly · wounded and almost immediately afterward a ball pierced his breast, killing him instantly. The Confederate Military History says: "Armant, of the 18th, received three wounds, the last one killing him, while the sword of defiance still gleamed in his hand." Thus ended the life of a brave man. His memory is still honored by civilians and revered by the survivors of his old regiment- men who followed cheerfully wherever he led.
Armide, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of St. Landry parish, is a station on the division of the Southern Pacific R. R. that runs from Port Barre to Cades.
Armistead, a post-hamlet in the western part of Bienville parish, is situated about half-way between Lake Bistineau and Thomas, which is the nearest railway station.
Arnaudville, one of the old towns of St. Landry parish, was in- corporated on Feb. 17, 1870. It is situated in the southeastern part of the parish, on Bayou Teche and is a station on the branch line of the Southern Pacific R. R. running from Port Barre to Cades. It has a money order postoffice and is the trading center of a rich farming district. Its population is about 350.
Ascension Parish .- This parish was created in 1807 when the first territorial legislature divided Orleans territory into 19 parishes and was named after the old ecclesiastical district of Ascension. It has an area of 310 square miles, is situated in the southeastern part of the state, and is divided by the Mississippi river, which flows through the southwestern portion. It is bounded on the north by East Baton Rouge parish, on the east and northeast by Living- ston ; on the south by St. James and Assumption parishes, and on the west by Iberville parish. The surface is about equally divided between alluvial land and wooded swamp, and the soil is exceed- ingly rich and highly productive. It is drained by the Mississippi and Amite rivers, Bayous Manchac and Les Acadians, and otlier smaller water courses. Ascension was first settled about 1763 by a colony of exiled Acadians, and became known as the second
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"Acadian Coast." The descendants of these pioneers are many of the most prominent and influential families of the parish today. "The parish of Ascension," was the name given the ecclesiastical division, by the promoters of the Catholic church, sent to America by Charles Ill of Spain. It formed a part of Comte d'Acadie until the division of the territory of Orleans into parishes in 1807, when it was incorporated as one of the original 19 parishes. Donaldson- ville has been the seat of justice since the foundation of the parish. Ascension has done much for public education ; there are many public schools; two higher academies at Donaldsonville, one for white and one for colored children ; the brothers of the Sacred Heart established a school in Donaldsonville in 1887; the Convent of the Sisters of St. Vincent, founded in 1848, has done much for the edu- cation and training of girls, and the sisters of the Holy Family have a school for the education of colored children. The Catholic religion predominates throughout the parish. Ascension Catholic church of Donaldsonville was founded in 1772 by Angelus a Reuil- lagodos, a Capuchin father. The church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, at New River, was founded by Father Lessaichere, in 1864. The alluvial lands lying on both sides of the Mississippi river are as rich and valuable for the production of sugar-cane as any in the state, and Assumption parish has some of the largest and best equipped sugar plantations in Louisiana. Since 1861 sugar has been the chief product, especially on the right bank of the river, where the production has increased from 50 to 100 per cent. Since the Civil war the growing popularity of rice culture has tended to cut down the sugar produced on the left bank of the Mississippi as rice was not cultivated to any great extent before 1868. The other productions of the parish are cotton, corn, hay, oats, sweet and Irish potatoes, tobacco and garden truck. While horticulture is not one of the chief industries, such fruits and nuts as the orange, fig, pomegranate, plum, pear, peach, grape, prune, and pecan grow rapidly in the mild climate and rich soil. Game is plentiful and fish abound in the streams. Lumber of a fine quality is produced from the cypress swamps, and the ash, oak, willow and cottonwood which grow on higher ground. Transportation is provided through the center of the parish by the Louisiana Railway & Navigation company, in the southwestern part by the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., which runs from northwest to southeast along the east bank of the river, and by the Texas & Pacific R. R., and its branches on the west side of the river, while the steamboats on the Mississippi river afford cheap transportation by water. The following statistics regarding the farms, manufactures and popula- tion of the parish are taken from the United States census for 1900: Number of farms, 1.200; acreage, 115.914; improved, 61,519; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $2,514,980; value of farm buildings, $981.270: value of live stock, $585,697: total value of all productions not fed to live stock, $1,061,033. Number of manufacturing establishments, 66: capital invested, $2.506.546; wages paid, $214,800; cost of materials used, $1.173,404; total value
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of products, $1,634,007. The population for 1900 was whites 12,081, colored 12,048, an increase of 4,597 over the year 1890. The esti- mated population for 1908 was over 28,000.
Ashland, a village near the northern border of Natchitoches parish, is a station on the main line of the Louisiana & Arkansas R. R. It has a money order postoffice and some retail stores.
Ashly, a post-village in the northeastern part of Madison parish, is about 2 miles south of Mansford, the nearest railroad station, and 5 miles northeast of Tallulah, the parish seat.
Ashton, a post-village of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 8 miles northwest of Franklin, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice and is the trading center of a rich farming district.
Ashwood, a hamlet in the northeastern part of Tensas parish, is on the west bank of the Mississippi river and 4 miles east of Somer- set, the nearest railroad town. It has a money order postoffice and is a landing for steamboats.
Assumption Parish is an irregular shaped parish in the southern part of the state. It is bounded on the north by Iberville and Ascen- sion parishes ; on the east by St. James and Lafourche parishes ; on the south by Terrebonne parish, and on the west by Grand lake which separates it from the parishes of St. Mary and St. Martin. The parish has an extreme length of 25 and an extreme width of 18 miles, which gives it a land surface of 485 square miles. It is drained by Bayous Lafourche, Grant and Vincent, and by Grand river and Grand lake, which all flow south to the gulf. Under French and Spanish rule Assumption formed a part of the "La- fourche Settlement." The first permanent settlements in this region were made by the French and Spanish about the middle of the 18th century along the Lafourche, between the present towns of Don- aldsonville and Napoleonville. From 1755 to 1765, the population was increased by the immigration of the exiled Acadians, who had been torn from their homes in Acadia, and sought Louisiana, over which floated the lilied banner of France. To achieve this purpose they overcame many difficulties, traveled overland more than 1,000 miles through a wilderness until they reached the Tennessee river, where they hastily constructed boats and embarked. passing from the Tennessee river to the Mississippi, and down it to Plaquemines bayou, where they were met by friends and kindness. Many fam- ilies settled along the Teche and Lafourche: cleared their lands and built comfortable homes, and their descendants are still numer- ous in the parish today. In 1785 Assumption had a population of 646. By an act of the legislature of Orleans territory in 1807, Assumption was created the 8th parish of the territory. " ... From that portion of the settlement of Lafourche lying nearest the river, to contain one-half the population of the settlement." Napoleon- ville, situated on Bayou Lafourche, at about the center of the parish, is the parish seat. In 1823. John Toley, Augustin and Thomas Pugh and D. M. Williamson were about the only Americans in the parish. Mr. Guillet, Dr. Joseph Martin, Mr. Tournillon, and
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Joseph La Lande were prominent French citizens. The soil of the entire parish is alluvial and divided into three classes ; sandy loam, mixed soil, in which sand and humus are about equal, and black land, in which there is little or no sand. The inhabitants call this "terre gras," which means fat land. Each grade, except "terre gras" has its advantages for different crops. This black land grows fine clover for pasture, is well adapted to rice, and causes cane to ripen earlier than other soil, but is objectionable because it stiffens, making it hard to cultivate and drain. The sandy loam is of a warmer and more durable nature than the mixed soil. The most valuable land of the parish lies along Bayou Lafourche, extending back from 80 to 100 acres; no better land than this is to be found in the state. In proportion to its area, Aussumption parish pro- duces more sugar than any parish of Louisiana. Rice culture has been introduced since the war, and is a large and growing industry. In 1900 there were about four times as many acres in cane as in rice or corn, and considerable in meadow and pasture. In addition to the great staple products, tobacco and potatoes are raised. The uncleared land has a dense growth of timber, among which are the different varieties of ash, cypress, oak, gum, cottonwood, willow, sycamore, maple and wild pecan. Horticulture is not a prominent industry, but the orange, pear, peach, plum, pomegranate, grape, pecan and English walnut grow without a great amount of cultiva- tion. Game and fish of all kinds are very plentiful. Transporta- tion is furnished by the Southern Pacific R. R., which runs through the extreme southern part of the parish and by the Southern Pacific and Texas & Pacific R. Rs. along the banks of Bayou Lafourche, while cheap transportation by boat is afforded on Bayou Lafourche. Besides Napoleonville, some of the important towns are, Albemarle, Avoca, Belle Alliance, Bertie, Labadieville, Paincourtville and Plat- tenville. The following statistics concerning the parish were taken from the U. S. census for 1900: Number of farms in the parish, 456; acreage in farms, 111,180; acres improved, 64.331; value of land and improvements, exclusive of buildings, $4,105,940; value of farm buildings, $1,347.360; value of live stock, $513,913; total value of all products not fed, $1,610,913. Number of manufactur- ing establishments, 51; capital invested, $2,541,648; wages paid, $222,031; cost of materials, $1,976,839; total value of products, $2,513,267. The population for 1900 was whites, 12,181; colored, 9,438; total, 21,620, an increase of 1,991 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was 22,000.
Asylums .- The necessity for public institutions for the protec- tion and care of destitute orphan children has been particularly great in New Orleans, owing to the ravages of the epidemies which have swept through the city. Families deprived of their bread- winners and children bereft of one or both parents were common sights in the wake of these scourges. There is no city in the country which has so many asylums as New Orleans, nor any in which they receive such enthusiastic support. The asylums are managed in some cases by church sisterhoods and in others by
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governing boards, composed of public-spirited citizens. Bequests and gifts from charitable persons, proceeds from sales, fairs, etc., with some aid from city and state, furnish the funds necessary for the establishment and support of these institutions. Of beloved memory in New Orleans will always be the well-known benefactors of the orphan child, Julien Poydras. Alexander Milne, Sister Regis, Margaret Haughery and John McDonogh. The managers of the orphan asylums make a consistent effort to render the institutions self-supporting, but in some cases this is impossible. When children who have one living parent. half-orphans as they are called, are admitted into an asylum, it is customary for the survivor to pay something toward their support.
As early as 1817, a society for the relief of destitute orphan chil- dren was incorporated. probably by means of money bequeathed for that purpose by Julien Poydras. In 1820, the legislature granted the sum of $1,000 for the maintenance of the Poydras female asylum in New Orleans. The first directory of New Orleans, published in 1822, when the population of the city was numbered at 40,000, makes the following statement: "The Poydras female orphan asylum, situated at 153 Poydras St .. is a neat, new frame building with a large garden." This institution commenced its operations in 1816, with 14 orphans, which increased in 1826 to 41. Any female child in want, though not an orphan, may be admitted by consent of the board. The constitution declares "that they shall provide a house for the reception of indigent female orphans and widows, which shall be enlarged according to the income of the society." This institution was established by means of a gift from Julien Poydras of the house and large lot upon which it stands and a grant of $4,000 from the legislature. It is in existence to the present day and has two departments, male and female, the former governed by a board of directors and the latter by a board of directresses.
The next benefactor of the cause was Alexander Milne, by the terms of whose will two asylums were assured to the city. The Milne Asylum for destitute orphan girls was incorporated Feb. 27, 1839, and the board of managers was composed of Mmes. Claiborne, Hennen, F. W. Morgan, Pollock, Clay, Kerr, Daunoy, E. A. Canon, Marigny, Audry, Merle. Nott and Preston, and Misses Bornel and Brunair. The Milne Asylum for destitute orphan boys was incorpo- rated at the same time. with the following directors: Bishop Blanc, Richard Relf, George W. Morgan. Carlisle Pollock, E. A. Canon, Louis Bringier, Charles Cuvellier, Wm. C. C. Claiborne, and Hart- well Reed. According to the terms of Mr. Milne's will, these two institutions were to be established at Milneburg and with the society for the relief of destitute orphan boys at Lafayette. Jeffer- son parish, and the Poydras female orphan asylum in New Orleans, were to share the estate in equal fourths. The trust, so far as the asylum for destitute boys is concerned. is managed by the mayor and the assets comprise a large amount of real estate, which of late has been of little value, and some city bonds worth about $3,000.
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The asylum for the relief of destitute orphan boys. incorporated Feb. 4, 1825, received also benefactions from John McDonogh, who conferred upon the society the buildings and grounds on St. Charles avenue, now occupied by the asylum. In the main building a tablet has been erected in his memory. In 1840 Joseph Claude Mary bequeathed $5.000 to the orphans of the 1st Municipality of New Orleans. At last accounts, this bequest had been turned over to a private corporation maintaining a boys' asylum.
St. Vincent infant orphan asylum, known as the "Baby Asylum," receives the city foundlings. It is located on Magazine street, and is governed by the Sisters of Charity. There is also the St. Vincent home for destitute boys and the St. Vincent half-orphan asylum. From the baby asylum, girls are transferred to the Camp Street female orphan asylum, founded in 1850 by Sister Regis, one of the largest asylums under the control of the Sisters of Char- ity. The baby asylum, the Camp Street asylum, and St. Elizabeth asylum, also managed by the Sisters of Charity, to which girls are transferred from the Camp Street asylum, were all recipients of the bounty of Margaret Haughery. In the last named the girls are taught sewing and such other branches as will fit them to be useful in homes found for them by the sisters.
In 1855 the Touro Almshouse association was incorporated. The latter was made possible by the bequest of Judah Touro of $80.000 "to prevent mendicity in New Orleans." The almshouse was built in 1860 upon the ground given to the association by R. D. Shep- herd, who is said to have saved Mr. Touro from sudden death in an accident. The building burned to the ground while U. S. troops were stationed there in 1864.
The Girod asylum on the Metairie road was the result of a bequest made by Mayor Nicolas Girod. The Fink home on Camp street for Protestant widows and orphans was established about the same time as the Touro almshouse by means of a bequest of a considerable sum in the will of John B. Fink. The Little Sisters of the Poor have an asylum for the aged and infirm on North Johnson street, which is supported entirely by charity. There are two departments, male and female, and the only condition of admit- tance is extreme poverty. St. Ann's asylum, a retreat for indigent gentlewomen, was founded and endowed by the generosity of Dr. Mercer, a wealthy and philanthropic citizen of New Orleans. It is situated on Prytania street in a pleasant residence district.
There is a home for homeless women at 16 Polymnia street and other homes for the aged in different parts of the city.
A home for orphan girls is maintained by a Protestant Episcopal sisterhood on Jackson street. St. Mary's asylum for orphan boys is located on Chartres street, and has a farm below the city. In the home the boys have instruction in manual training. The Jew- ish widows' and orphans' asylum is splendidly managed and sup- ported entirely by the Jewish people. The building is a commodi- ous one located on St. Charles avenue, and the children received in this institution are educated in the Jewish faith.
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