1960 Map of Cameron Farms

About this map

The Intracoastal Waterway cuts a straight path across this coastal landscape, serving as a primary corridor for maritime commerce between Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. The marshy terrain is defined by a network of drainage systems, including the Vinton Canal, Bancroft Canal, and the Pirogue Canal, which support both agricultural operations and the extraction of natural resources. Industry is concentrated in the southwest and southeast corners of the sheet, where the Black Bayou Oil Field and the Gum Cove Oil and Gas Field reflect the region's mid-century economic focus. Small islands such as Bird Island and Rabbit Island rise from the wetlands near the meandering Black Bayou, while the Gum Cove Ferry provides a critical crossing over the main waterway. This survey captures a moment when large-scale land management at Cameron Farms and localized dredging transformed the natural Wild Prairie into a structured industrial and agricultural zone.