{I hated to leave Gibson.}
{Moving west, click the map to get a better look.
It is much larger}
{This...}
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{...was once traversed on this...}
{....an old piece of US 90....which ran through this and still does.....
Kerr-McGee pioneered off shore oil exploration here.}
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Boeuf.
Elevation 13 feet. {not the bridge, it's higher}
Population 300.
New Orleans 74 miles.
...now the road rides on this....
{Before I'm going to let Willy resume his spiel, we're going to
look around. I am in no hurry to cross that bridge. Going
north from US 90 and the railroad is Lake Palourde (pau lure).
This is where Bayou Boeuf leaves the lake.}
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{This may be on the Boeuf. I really like this one.}
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{Climbing up on the bridge..............}
{and down...}
{I went under it to catch some water level shots.}
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{Ok, Willy, take it away.}
The small old settlement of Boeuf is on the bank of an outlet of Lake Palourde, one of the water bodies of the widespread swamp region to the north {The Atchafalaya Basin}. From Boeuf to Morgan City the railroad follows the north bank of Bayou Boeuf on a ridge of alluvium built up by overflows. In this general region the deposition of this material has also developed a series of islands of sufficient elevation for farming. They are not high, and in places the fields have to be protected from overflow by dikes. The soil is rich and mostly under cultivation in cane and other crops. Many scattered cypress trees remain in the swampy areas.
The extensive swamp lands in the Mississippi Valley in Louisiana are mostly useless for settlement without expensive diking, but they are valuable for growing cypress and other lumber. Some areas in the midst of the swamps that are high enough for cultivation are utilized for small farms, but even these are subject to overflow at times of high water.
Morgan City.
Elevation 18 feet.
Population 5,985.
New Orleans 80-1/2 miles.
Morgan City, on the right bank of a bay-like expansion of the Atchafalaya River, is a commercial and lumber center of considerable importance, as it has waterways of moderate depth into many parts of the cypress swamps as well as into the sugarcane country. The wide river here is the outlet of a series of large shallow lakes and numerous bayous occupying the area known as the Atchafalaya Basin. It receives the water of the Red River mixed with some overflow water from the Mississippi River, which joins the Red River by way of the Old River near latitude 31°, 50 miles above Baton Rouge (130 miles above New Orleans). In the great flood of 1927 a large part of Morgan City was under water for two months.
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When the Mississippi River is low and the Red River is high the slope in the Old River is reversed and some of the Red River water flows through it into the Mississippi. No doubt the Red River flowed into the Mississippi River originally, but the gradual growth of a natural levee on the west bank of the big river forced the Red River to find an independent course to the Gulf down the channel now called the Atchafalaya River. This river and the Grand River have long been thoroughfares, and in earlier times many flatboats were used for freight transportation, going mostly by way of Plaquemine Bayou and locks to the Mississippi.
{The Old River Control Structures above Simmesport hold Morgan City's life in its hands. If New Orleans is threatened and no other fix works, MC gets the ax. Not a likely scenario. But, next week the docks at MC will be flooded, a reminder of their precarious condition on the Atchafalaya.}
Morgan City (originally Brashear, later renamed for Charles Morgan) is near the head of tidewater and from 1850 to 1869 was the terminus of the railroad from New Orleans. At that time there were extensive boat connections in all directions by the rivers and bayous, and by way of the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston. The United States Government took possession of these communications during the Civil War. Charles Morgan, who had controlled most of the boat lines, purchased the railroad in 1869; it was extended west to Lafayette in 1880. Formerly the city's lumber business was extensive, but now the principal occupations are agriculture, shipping crabs, and preparing shells for chicken feed and other uses. The shells are brought from the large reef of Pointe au Fer in Atchafalaya Bay, 30 miles southwest of Morgan City. One of the water routes of commerce in the region now is by the Grand River and a 7-foot canal through Plaquemine Lock, which enters the Mississippi River 20 miles below Baton Rouge.
{Morgan City's wealth is directly related to oil. When oil prices go down, the sidewalks roll up.}
Charles Morgan is regarded as one of the most important influences in the development of southern Louisiana. He was born in Connecticut in 1795 and died in New York City in 1878. He inaugurated various early coastwise steamship lines, mainly to places on the Gulf of Mexico, developed the railroad from New Orleans to Cuero, Tex., and dredged a steamboat channel through Atchafalaya Bay. In 1836 he founded a great iron works in New York, and in the same year he sent the first vessel from New Orleans to Texas, stopping at Galveston when that place consisted of one house.
The projected Intracoastal Waterway is to follow Bayou Boeuf into the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City and thence go westward through Wax Bayou.
This waterway is being built by the Government to provide an inside channel along the coast from New Orleans to Corpus Christi (at a cost of $16,000,000) and, eventually, to the Rio Grande at Point Isabel. The bill passed by Congress in 1927 provides for a canal 100 feet wide to carry 9 feet of water. Many natural water bodies are to be utilized, some of them, however, requiring deepening and straightening. For much of its course it is from 10 to 20 miles south of the Southern Pacific lines.
{Thank you, Willy, that was very nice. Here are some shots to add. Morgan City once languished under a terrible reputation as a rough place, but Mr. Charles Morgan saw it fit for his home and base of operations. I'm backing off that. "Base of operations" is correct. I don't know if he ever lived there. I've searched for evidence of Morgan's home. He died in New York, so maybe he was a carpetbagger.
Charles Morgan, Morgan City's namesake. I'm sure there are better links to his bio. I'm cheap.
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And here's the prize of the entire article. It is
listed as "Rose Garden" on the Morgan City
website. That is irrelevant to me. It's the depot
and water tank for the T&NO RR. or priors.
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Remember, Willy said that Morgan City was the end of the
line. To go back, the railroad built a turnaround, the loop
below. I've seen what is left of it. Above, you can see the
loop leaving the station area and going south. The inclusion
of the water tank in the picture causes me to get a little giddy.
I had read that it was near the bridge, but this seals the deal.
A turnaround was real luxury. Other ways of doing it would
be a wye (Y) and a turntable.
That's it, enough excitement for one day. There will be
many more pictures of Morgan City coming on the next page.
You won't believe what a beauty spot it is if you have never
gotten down on the streets around the old town.
Wrong, more excitement. I had to teach my ## something
wife to drive a 4 speed standard shift, no power brakes, no power
steering, 1973 British sports car... gas clutch, gas clutch, stay on
your side, the motor is not running, you are too close to the ditch,
you are in the wrong lane, oh, the turn signal lever just fell off.....?
I'll signal, which way are you going? Why do I ask?