1944 Map of Barataria

About this map

Bayou Barataria serves as the primary corridor through this labyrinth of coastal wetlands during the early 1940s. The settlement pattern is defined by thin ribbons of habitable ground along the waterways, where small communities like Barataria and Lafitte are established. Education is rooted in these linear villages at Fisher Sch No 1 and Fisher Sch No 2. Further east, the Mississippi River creates a starkly different landscape of engineered levees and settlements such as Gloria and Ollie, connected by the Ollie Canal. This survey captures the region just as the Intracoastal Waterway was reshaping local navigation, cutting through the tidal marshes near Bayou Perot and Little Temple. The transition from the massive open waters of Lake Salvador to the intimate, winding reaches of Bayou Courage and Bayou Manuel illustrates the complex hydrology of the Mississippi Delta before extensive modern modification.