1953 Map of Calumet Island

About this map

East Timbalier Island and its surrounding coastal waters define this mid-century survey of the Louisiana shoreline. The landscape is dominated by the East Timbalier Island Reservation, a fragile barrier landform separating the open Gulf of Mexico from the interior waters of Timbalier Bay. This 1950s record captures the region's industrial infrastructure during the expansion of offshore extraction, notably within the Timbalier Bay Oil Field. Dozens of wells, oil tanks, and a network of submerged pipelines are meticulously charted across the bay and island interior. Navigational markers such as a daybeacon and light provide essential orientation for the era's maritime traffic. Nearby landmasses like Calumet Island and Brush Island appear as small, isolated points of marsh and terrain in an environment increasingly shaped by both natural tides and resource development.