USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 33
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Orleans, Duke of-(See Louis Philippe).
Orleans Parish .- One of the original 12 counties created by the council of the Territory of Orleans at its first session was called "Orleans," and when the second session of the territorial legisla- ture, which met in Jan .. 1807. divided the territory into 19 parishes. the "City of New Orleans and its precincts" became the parish of Orleans. This parish is situated in the southeastern part of the state and is bounded on the north by Lake Pontchartrain and the Rigolets ; on the east by Lake Borgne ; on the south by the parishes of St. Bernard and Jefferson, and on the west by Jefferson. It is the smallest parish in the state, having an area of only 199 square miles, all of which is embraced within the city limits of New Orleans, which city is the parish seat. The little remaining agri- cultural land of the parish is devoted to gardening and fruit rais- ing. The parish is watered by the Mississippi river, Bayous St.
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John and Gentilly, and the streams that flow into Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain. In the lakes and brackish waters oysters, crabs, terrapin and several varieties of fish are found in abundance. Although the smallest in area, the parish of Orleans is the most populous in the state. According to the U. S. Census for 1900 the number of inhabitants in that year was 287,104. It is now esti- mated at 375,000. . The number of farms reported was 836, with an improved acreage of 7,167, and a total of 16,224 acres. The value of land and improvements, exclusive of buildings, was $1,780,960, the value of farm buildings was $749,530, and the value of agricul- tural products was $1,318,396. Orleans leads the list of Louisiana parishes in manufacturing. The number of establishments reported in 1900 was 1,524; capital invested, $46,003,604; number of em- ployees, 19,435 ; value of products, $63,514,505. (See New Orleans.)
Orleans, Territory of .- On March 26, 1804, President Jefferson approved an act of Congress dividing the Province of Louisiana, as ceded to the United States by France, into two territories. All that portion "south of the Mississippi territory and of an east and west line, to commence on the Mississippi river, at the 33d degree of north latitude, and to extend west to the western boundary of said cession," was erected into the Territory of Orleans. By the provisions of the act the executive power was vested in a governor to be appointed by the president and to hold the office for three years unless sooner removed. He was constituted commander-in- chief of the territorial militia ; was given power to appoint all civil and militia officers not otherwise provided for: to grant pardons for offenses against the territory and reprieves for offenses against the United States until the decision of the president could be made known; and was to see that all laws were duly executed. The act further provided for the appointment of a secretary, whose term of office was to be for four years.
The legislative power was vested in the governor and a council of 13 members, to be appointed annually by the president from among citizens holding real estate in the territory and occupying no office of profit under the national government. The governor, with the advice of the legislative council or a majority of the mem- bers thereof, was empowered to modify or repeal the laws in force at the date of the approval of this act. This power was extended to all rightful acts of legislation, but it was provided that no law should be valid if inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United States, or if in contravention of the freedom of religious worship. For these reasons the governor was required to publish annually all laws, and to report them from time to time to the president, who was to lay them before Congress. If that body dis- approved them they were henceforth void. The governor had the power to convene or prorogue the council whenever he deemed it necessary. Both the governor and the council were prohibited from exercising any power over the land, from levying taxes upon the public domain or lands belonging to the United States within
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the limits of the territory, and from interfering in any manner with the many land claims granted under previous dominations.
The judicial powers were vested in a superior court and such inferior courts and justices of the peace as the legislative council might establish. The superior court was to consist of three judges, appointed for four years, any one of whom was to constitute a court. Provisions were made for trial by jury, the right of habeas corpus, admission to bail in cases not capital, and against cruel. unjust or unusual punishments. A district court consisting of a single judge, was created and required to hold four sittings a year in the city of New Orleans. The salary of the governor was fixed at $5,000 a year ; that of the secretary and the justices of the supe- rior court at $2,000, and the members of the legislative council were to receive $4 per diem for the time actually employed.
The act provided that no slaves should be imported into the ter- ritory from foreign countries, and those from the United States could only be brought in by bona-fide owners intending to become citizens of the territory. While the bill was pending in Congress it was made the subject of a spirited and somewhat prolonged debate. Mr. Eustis of Massachusetts and Huger of South Caro- lina stood as the champions of the measure, and the opposition was led by Mr. Macon of North Carolina and Campbell of Tennessee. The principal objections were to the section prohibiting the impor- tation of slaves and to the proposition to give the president power to appoint the legislative council. the opponents of the bill contend- ing for the right of the people to elect their own representatives. In the senate, the fight on the section relating to the importation of slaves was one of the most stubborn and hotly contested battles in the early history of Congress. After more than twenty amend- ments had been proposed and acted upon the bill passed the senate on Feb. 18 and was sent to the house. There it remained until March 17. when it was returned to the senate with several amend- ments, some of which were agreed to and others rejected. It was then referred to a conference committee, and the principal provi- sions of the act as finally passed are outlined above. The act was to take effect on Oct. 1. 1804. and to continue in force "for one year and to the end of the next session of Congress thereafter."
At the time appointed the government of the Territory of Orleans went into operation. The officers appointed by President Jefferson were. Claiborne, governor; Brown. secretary; Belle- chasse. Bore. Cantrelle. Clark, De Buys, Dow. Jones. Kenner, Mor- gan, Poydras, Roman. Watkins and Wikoff. members of the legis- lative council : Duponceau. Prevost and Kirby, judges of the supe- rior court : Dominick Hall. U. S. district judge; Mahlon Dickens, district attorney : and Le Breton D'Orgenois, marshal. The new government was inaugurated amidst intense opposition on the part of the people. Bellechasse. Bore. Clark and Jones declined to accept seats in the council, because they had been active in pro- testing against the division of the province and the establishment of the territorial government. The other members were- lukewarm
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in their attendance, making it impossible to obtain a quorum. For- tunately for Claiborne. the commissions for the members of the council had been sent to him in blank, as the first names of some of the appointees were not known in Washington, and he now took advantage of this circumstance to fill out four commissions with the names of Dorciere. Flood, Mather and Pollock in the place of the four men who declined to serve. By this means a bare quorum was secured on Dec. 4, when the legislative council began its first session.
The territorial government was now under way, but the dis- pleasure of the people continued to manifest itself in various ways, chief of which was a memorial to Congress, signed by 2,000 citi- zens, praying for the privilege of electing their own legislators; that the province be not divided. and that the importation of slaves be permitted. This petition, written by Edward Livingston, was borne to Washington by a committee consisting of Pierre Der- bigny, Pierre Sauve and Jean N. Destrehan, and was presented to the house of representatives on Dec. 3, 1804, by Joseph H. Nichol- son of Maryland. In his message to Congress at the beginning of the session, Nov. 8, 1804, President Jefferson, in referring to the Territory of Orleans, said: "The form of government thus pro- vided having been considered but as temporary, and open to such future improvements as further information of the circumstances of our brethren there might suggest, it will of course be subject to your consideration." This portion of the message was referred to a select committee, and when the memorial was presented by Nich- olson it was referred to the same committee. On March 2, 1805, the president approved an act providing for the establishment of a government for the Territory of Orleans "similar in all respects to that of the Mississippi territory. in conformity with the act of Congress of 1787." Under this act the legislature was composed of a house of representatives of 25 members, elected by the people for a term of two years, and a legislative council of 5 members, to be appointed by the president from among 10 persons recom- mended to him by the house of representatives, their term of office to be five years. The governor, secretary, and judges of the supe- rior court were to be appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the senate : the governor for three years. the secre- tary for four, and the judges "during good behavior." The act also authorized the people of the territory to form a state government for admission to the Union. upon the same footing as the original states, whenever the population should show 60,000 free inhabi- tants. Claiborne was again appointed governor, Graham secre- tary, and Prevost. Matthews and Sprigg judges of the superior court. Martin says: "The people of Louisiana complained that in this form, as in the preceding, their lives and property were in some degree at the disposal of a single individual. from whose decision there was no appeal; the law declaring any one of the judges of the superior court a quorum." Notwithstanding the feel- ing that existed at the beginning, the people as time went on
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became reconciled to the territorial administration, which con- tinued for about seven years. In 1810 a census taken by the United States marshal showed the population of Orleans territory to be 76,556, and steps were taken to form a state government. On April 30, 1812, the territory was admitted into the Union under the name of the State of Louisiana. ( For the leading events during the ter- ritorial regime see Claiborne's Administration, Territorial.)
Orphan Asylums .- (See Asyhims.)
Osborn, a post-hamlet in the southwestern part of Rapides parishi. is situated on Cherrywine creek and the Red River & Gulf R. R., about 30 miles southwest of Alexandria, the parish seat.
Oscar, a village of Pointe Coupée parish, is situated on the west bank of the False river. 4 miles north of Cholpe, the nearest rail- road station, and 7 miles south of New Roads, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice and in 1900 reported a population of 75.
Osceola, a post-hamlet in the eastern part of Tangipahoa parish, is on the Chappepeela creek, about 6 miles west of Folsom, the nearest railroad station, and 12 miles southwest of Amite, the parish seat.
Ossun, a post-hamlet in the northwestern part of Lafayette parish, is located in the center of a rice-growing district near the Bayou Caron Cros, about 8 miles from Lafayette, the parish seat. Scott, on the Southern Pacific, 4 miles south, is the nearest railroad station.
Ostrica, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Plaquemines parish, is on the west bank of the Mississippi river, 2 miles south of Buras, the nearest railroad station. It is a landing place on the river from which fruit is shipped.
Otts Mills, a post-hamlet in the northeastern part of Livingston parish, is about 4 miles southwest of Starns, the nearest railroad station, and 10 miles north of Springville, the parish seat, in a fine agricultural and lumber district.
Ouachita, one of the old towns of Union parish, is situated on the Ouachita river, which forms the southeastern boundary of the parish. A settlement was made here early in the 18th century when the country was practically a wilderness and the lines of settlement and travel were along the water courses. The town was incorporated by an act of the state legislature on Feb. 14. 1877, and for many years, before the railroads were built, was the center of trade for the country to the north and west, but when better transportation by rail was introduced, Ouachita was forced to take a second place. Today it has a postoffice and several stores, but is not the busy town it was in antebellum days. Its population in 1900 was 151. Sterlington, 3 miles southwest, is the nearest railroad station.
Ouachita Parish, established in 1807, is one of the 19 parishes . into which Orleans parish was divided in that year. It was named for the Ouachita Indians, who held this part of the country when it was discovered and explored by the French. Its history
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is most interesting, as it was owned and ruled by savage, king and emperor, within a brief period. The parish of today comprises but a small portion of the original "District of Ouachita" during the French and Spanish regime, and of the "County of Ouachita" which, when set apart by the territorial council of Louisiana in 1805, comprehended "all that country commonly known and called by the name of Ouachita settlements," and which embraced within its original boundaries the parishes of Morehouse and Union and a part of Carroll. (See Carroll Parish). Ouachita is situated in the northern part of the state in the Ouachita valley and has an area of 646 square miles. As now constituted it is bounded on the north by Union and Morehouse parishes ; on the east by More- house and Richland parishes, from which it is separated by Bayou Lafourche; on the south by Caldwell parish, and on the west by Jackson and Lincoln parishes. The Ouachita river was explored by the French at an early day, and Penicaut, in his memoirs of Louisiana, states that "On the 19th of April (1719), the ships Marechal de Villars, Count de Toulouse, and the Phillip arrived.
* * * Among the passengers were M. de Montplaisier, who came with 30 persons to establish a tobacco factory, and an Irish gentleman, who brought with him 60 men, to establish concessions on the Ouachita river, eight leagues above its mouth, in ascending from the Red river." These men were probably the first white men to settle in the region. The French established a post of which Stoddard writes, in his Historical Sketches of Louisiana, "The fort and settlement on the Washita are situated in north latitude, 32° 30', nearly. The first settlement here was made by the French, which was destroyed by the Natchez Indians in 1729, and neither revived till the country passed into the hands of Spain. It now extends about 30 leagues above Fort Miro, and compre- hends between five and six hundred souls." The old fort, called Fort Miro, was built where the city of Monroe now stands. After the Natchez were overcome, settlers began to come into the Oua- chita valley. English, Scotch, and Scotch-Irish immigrants came from Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, some from Tennessee and Kentucky, and a large number came from the Mississippi territory. The settlement had attained a population of about 1.000 when erected as a parish. Some of the early settlers were Judge Henry Bry, Thomas Lewis, who became judge in 1810, Thomas Morgan, who held the same office in 1813. Thomas Barlow. Lloyd Posey. John Dewitt, John Faulk. Charles Bettin, Alexander Lazare, Hypolite Pargoud and A. D. Richardson. After the organization of the parish. Monroe was made the parish seat. The first court- house was a rude structure, but was replaced by a better building, and in 1883 the 4th and present modern courthouse was built. Ouachita parish is drained by the Ouachita river and Bayou La- fourche and their many tributaries, all of which are used in the extensive lumbering industry of the parish. Ouachita belongs to the "good upland" parishes and is an exceedingly rich farming region. About one-half of the parish consists of alluvial river
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bottoms, the remainder is undulating uplands, quite hilly in some places, interspersed with creek bottoms. Water is good and abun- dant, as there are springs and wells all through the upland section. Cotton is the great staple crop, for in the bottom lands of the Ouachita the greatest cotton producing soil in the world is found. The parish also produces corn, oats, hay, sugar-cane, sorghum and tobacco. Dairying, poultry raising and truck farming are all paying industries around Monroe and West Monroe, as the eastern and northern markets supply a growing demand for early vege- tables and fruits. Originally the parish was heavily timbered with oak, gum, cottonwood, willow, cypress, beech, poplar, and hickory, hence for years lumbering has been one of the leading industries and a source of great wealth to the parish. As the forests have been cleared away stock raising has increased. It is a natural cattle country, as stock can range without much care nearly the entire year, and sheep, cattle, hogs and horses are raised in great numbers. There are cotton compresses, cottonseed oil mills, numer- ous sawmills, canning factories and other industries in the parish, all attracted by the abundance of raw materials, cheap fuel, good water, and convenient transportation facilities furnished by the Ouachita river, the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., which traverses the central part of the parish cast and west; the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. R., which enters the north- eastern boundary near Wham, runs southwest to Monroe and thence directly south; a branch of the New Orleans & North- western R. R., which runs from Collinston in Morehouse parish to Monroe, and by the Little Rock & Monroe R. R., which runs northwest from Monroe. The largest and most important city is Monroe, the parish seat, located at the intersection of all the rail- roads. It is the chief market and distributing point of the rich Ouachita valley, and the largest town in all northern Louisiana. Other important towns and villages in the parish are Bosco, Cal- houn, Cheniere, Fouche, Swartz, West Monroe, Indian Village, Lapine, Logtown, Luna, Mill Haven, Okaloosa and Sterlington. The following statistics are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of arms, 1,720; acreage, 181,920; acres under cultivation, 78,150; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $1,323,510; value of farm buildings, $482,150; value of live stock. $426,366; value of all products not fed to live stock, $1.178.149; number of manufacturing establishments, 90; capital invested, $1,569,560; wages paid, $270,429; cost of materials used, $715,756; total value of products, $1.239,012. The population of the parish in 1900 was 7.847 whites. 13,098 colored, a total of 20,947, an in- crease of 2,962 during the preceding decade. The estimated popu- lation for 1908 was over 22,000.
Oubre, a money order post-village in the central part of St. James parish, on the west bank of the Mississippi river, 2 miles north of Crescent, the nearest railroad station, and about 8 miles below Convent, the parish seat. It is a landing place on the river and
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the shipping point for a rich farming district. The population in 1900 was 100.
Overton, Walter H., soldier and planter, was born in Tennessee in 1783. He received a public school education : entered the army May 3, 1808, as first lieutenant of infantry : served during the war of 1812; was promoted on Feb. 21, 1814, to major of the 3rd Rifles, and brevetted lieutenant-colonel, but resigned on Oct. 31, 1815. He settled in Louisiana and became a planter ; entered local politics, and was elected a representative from Louisiana to the 21st Con- gress as a Democrat. He died near Alexandria, La., Jan. 4, 1846.
Oxford, a village of De Soto parish, is situated on Bayon San Patricio and is a station on the Texas & Pacific R. R., abont 8 miles southeast of Mansfield, the parish seat. It had a population of 50 in 1900, and being situated in the western lumber district is the shipping and supply point for a large timber district in the southeastern part of the parish. It has sawmills, a money order postoffice, express office and telegraph station, etc.
Oyster Cultivation .- The oyster is a salt water bivalve mollusk of the genus Ostrea, the best known and most important species of which are the Ostrea edulis, which is found in European waters, and the Ostrea virginiana, or American oyster. Of the latter there are two kinds-sea or rock oysters, which grow in natural beds or reefs, and which mature in about four years, and the cultivated oyster, which requires more time to develop, but which is more highly esteemed for its size and flavor.
At the time the first settlements were made in America, oysters were plentiful along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, but through the destructive methods in taking them and the fact that little or no care was exercised regarding the replenishment of the beds, the natural oyster fields of the north Atlantic coast were ex- hausted more than 50 years ago. With the depletion of these natural reefs attention has been turned to the artificial cultivation of the oyster, with the result that oyster beds are being established in new waters. A handbook issued a few years ago by the state board of agriculture and immigration of Louisiana says: "The great resources of Louisiana in its large production of sugar-cane. cotton, rice, lumber and fruits have hitherto kept in comparative obscurity what are generally deemed the minor-and wrongly con- sidered the less remunerative-fields for the employment of capital and intelligent labor. Prominent, if not the principal, among these neglected industries are the vast fishery interests of the state. which, under energetic labor and scientific cultivation, will in a few years equal, if they do not surpass in the way of pecuniary profit. the aggregate value of the entire state. The extent of the oyster territory is so vast, the supply so abundant and cheap, and so little labor and capital are required for its development, that its wonderful advantages and enormous profits once known, capi- tal and labor will inevitably seek employment in what must eventi- ally become a leading industry, far surpassing that of any state in the Union."
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From the most eastern point of St. Bernard parish to the mouth of the Sabine river the distance on an air-line is about 300 miles. Following the coast, embracing all the shores of salt water bays, inlets, mouth of rivers and bayous, etc., the littoral line is not far from 1,500 miles in length. All along this coast line may be found places to which the oyster may be successfully transplanted, and experts on the subject of oyster cultivation estimate that the state has an area suitable to that purpose of over 7,000 square miles. East of the Mississippi river are numerous natural beds, and the number of oysters transplanted to new grounds is increasing every year. Within the last quarter of a century considerable attention has been paid to this work by the state authorities, and several acts have been passed by the legislature having for their object the protection and encouragement of the oyster industry.
The act of July 8, 1886, provided that the beds of rivers, creeks. bayous, lakes, coves and sea marshes-all that part of the gulf coast lying within the jurisdiction of the state-should not be sold, but should remain in the possession of the state to be made into natural oyster beds. The act also provided for a closed season from April 30 to August 15 of each year; regulated the fees and taxes for oyster fishermen; fixed penalties for violation of the law, and authorized the appointment of an oyster commission. By the act of July 7, 1892, certain waters were set apart as common fishing grounds ; the closed season was fixed from May 1 to Sept. 1; it was made unlawful to take oysters with any other implements than ordinary tongs; all oysters below a certain size were required to be returned to the water; and the office of oyster inspector was established. The general assembly of 1900 appointed two senators and three representatives to examine the oyster industry and report a bill for its improvement to the next session. Following this legis- lative investigation, the act of 1902 authorized the governor to appoint five persons to serve as oyster commissioners, with power to regulate the industry ; made the waters under the jurisdiction of the state a common fishing ground ( under certain restrictions) for all residents of Louisiana; defined riparian rights as extending to low water mark only : provided that no beds of streams bordering on the Gulf of Mexico should be sold ; prohibited the use of dredges and the shipment of oysters out of the state for canning purposes ; regulated the size of the oysters that might be taken, and pro- vided for the settlement of disputes between lessees regarding boundaries.
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