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The
Chitmacha | Berwick
| Patterson | Franklin
|
Morgan City
The
Chitimacha
The Chitimacha Indians (Sitimaxa—“people
of the many waters”)
were the original inhabitants of the area. Around
500 A.D., the Chitimacha began settling the bayou region
of Louisiana, where they lived in permanent villages in homes constructed
of cane, wood and
palmetto leaves. They raised corn for hominy and meal and were excellent
hunters and fishermen. The plentiful shellfish of the area were an important
part of their diet. Of the traditional crafts practiced by the Chitimacha,
they are most famed for their extraordinary
skill at basketry. Chitimacha baskets
were made from wild cane reed, dyed naturally and woven into geometric
designs.
The Chitimacha in
this area lived along the Bayou
Teche (a Chitimacha word meaning “snake”).
Their legend has it that the bayou was formed when Chitimacha warriors
battled a huge venomous serpent that terrorized the region. The snake
was miles in length and as it twisted and writhed in death, it deepened
the mud where it lay, forming the sinuous course of the bayou.
Wars with the French and Spanish during the early 1700s left the Chitimacha
near extinction. In the mid 1800s, the Chitimacha obtained a governmental
decree establishing title to 1,062 acres of land, but by
the early 1900s there were only 260 acres remaining in tribal hands.
In 1918, Sarah McIlhenny (of the Tabasco family) helped petition the Bureau
of Indian Affairs for the tribe’s federal recognition. Today, the
Chitimacha Reservation encompasses 283 acres of land. Approximately 350
tribal members live on the reservation of a
total tribal membership of approximately 900.
Berwick
The first white settler to trek through the wilderness in this area was Thomas Berwick, a surveyor from Pennsylvania who was working in Opelousas. He settled along the banks of the Atchafalaya River in the late 1700s. Today the town of Berwick is home to several seafood processing plants and numerous boat companies.
Patterson
During the early 1800s, a group
of Pennsylvanian Dutchmen boarded a sailing vessel in New Orleans and
ventured into the Bayou Teche. One of
them, Hans Knight, decided to settle his family in what is now Patterson.
The community was originally called Dutch Settlement, Dutch Prairie and
Dutch Town. In 1832, Captain John
Patterson, a trader from Indiana, settled
there. He built a store and became a prominent citizen. The town was renamed
Pattersonville after the captain successfully moved the post office to
Dutch Settlement. Pattersonville was incorporated in 1907 as the Town
of Patterson.
The town of Patterson was once home
to the largest cypress sawmill in the world,
owned by Frank B. Williams. Two of his sons became prominent citizens
within the community. Kemper Williams was an extraordinary philanthropist,
leaving behind foundations for the support of the Historic New Orleans
Collection and the Kemper Williams Park and Campground in Patterson.
His brother Harry Williams
was a wealthy playboy with a love of speed. He met Jimmie
Wedell, a daredevil barnstormer, in 1927
when he purchased his first airplane. Harry learned that though Jimmie
had very little formal education, he was a genius with engines and had
some innovative ideas about increasing air speed. With Harry’s money
and Jimmie’s know-how, they developed an extremely successful partnership.
The aircraft they manufactured held the
world’s speed record for land planes
as well as transcontinental and international records for flights across
the United States.
The Wedell-Williams Air Service
was originally formed to provide charter trips to New Orleans. The business
expanded to include sightseeing, student instruction and airmail. Jimmie
Wedell became famous for the construction of speed planes and his skill
as a race pilot. He won the Bendix Trophy, the French Government award,
Shell Trophy, Thompson Trophy and many more. Jimmie Wedell died behind
the controls of a plane on June 24, 1934, at the age of 34.
Harry Williams died in 1936. His widow was Broadway and silent-screen
star Marguerite Clark. With the loss of both Jimmie and Harry as well
as other vital members of the Wedell-Williams team, Marguerite could not
keep the air service operational. She sold
it to Eddie Rickenbacker, owner of Eastern Airlines,
then moved to New York, where she died in 1940.
Franklin
Founded in 1808 as Carlin’s Settlement, Franklin
(named for Benjamin Franklin) became the parish (county) seat in 1811
and the first incorporated town in 1820. Though early settlers included
French, Acadian, German, Danish and Irish, the town’s culture and
architecture is heavily influenced by the unusually large numbers of English
that chose to settle there after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Numerous
large sugar plantations
arose in the area, and with the development of steamboating, Franklin
became an interior sugar port. By the 1830s, Bayou Teche was the main
street of Acadiana, with one plantation after another.
The area’s sugar cane planters were among the South’s wealthiest
agriculturists. This is reflected in the grand
plantation homes and mansions they built in Franklin and the surrounding
countryside. Most of these magnificent
structures are still standing and well preserved, giving Franklin its
unique architectural flavor. Franklin’s
Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
and encompasses over 420 noteworthy structures. Many of the spectacular
Greek Revival antebellum homes are along the live oak arcade on the East
Main boulevard. East Main Street retains its distinctive turn-of-the-century
iron street light standards, which have
become a symbol of the picturesque town.
Though a small town, Franklin has produced more than its share of statesmen,
including five governors of Louisiana, four United States senators, a
Chief Justice and a Lieutenant Governor. Franklin
was also the boyhood home of Jefferson Davis,
president of the Confederacy.
During the Civil War, the Battle of Irish Bend was fought near Franklin
on April 14, 1863. Though eventually forced to retreat, the badly outnumbered
Confederate forces cost the Union troops significant losses. Four hundred
men were killed or wounded in the confrontation, which proved to be an
important point in stopping the Union drive to invade Texas.
Today Franklin is a modern town with a population of about 9,000. The
area produces oil, gas, carbon black, salt, seafood and, of course, sugar.
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Morgan City
Morgan City, formerly Brashear City, is the gateway to the Atchafalaya Basin. Morgan City was originally called Tiger Island by surveyors appointed by U.S. Secretary of War John Calhoun because of a particular type of wild cat seen in the area. It was later called Brashear City after Walter Brashear, a prominent Kentucky physician who purchased large tracts of land and acquired numerous sugar mills. During the Civil War, Brashear’s strategic location at the mouth of the Atchafalaya made it one of the focal points of the campaign in the region. In 1876, Brashear City was renamed Morgan City in honor of Charles Morgan, a steamship magnate who successfully dredged the Atchafalaya Bay. The dredging allowed the city to become a booming port, which set the pattern for future growth as a trade center.
The Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico have always been the economic lifeblood of Morgan City. Commercial fishing, particularly shrimping in the Gulf, has provided for generations of Morgan City natives. The natural resources of the Atchafalaya Basin have also been a major contributor to the local economy. The Atchafalaya Basin is over 800,000 acres. It covers one third of the state of Louisiana and is the largest overflow swamp in the United States. The Basin is home to countless species of fish and wildlife. The natural beauty of the Atchafalaya Basin at Morgan City was chosen as the site for filming the first Tarzan movie in 1917, which starred Elmo Lincoln.
In the last 50 years, the offshore petroleum industry has become a major sector of the economy. In 1947, Morgan City gained national recognition when Kerr-McGee produced the first offshore oil well out of sight of land.
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