1951 Map of Chef Menteur

About this map

Chef Menteur Pass serves as a critical hydrologic artery in this coastal landscape, connecting the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. The 1951 revision shows a geography defined by intricate wetland networks, where major infrastructure like the Louisville and Nashville railroad and the Nashville and New Orleans Road cross the marsh toward the city. The presence of Fort Macomb (Ruins) at the pass offers a tangible link to 19th-century coastal defense, standing at a strategic junction where the Intracoastal Waterway intersects the natural bayous. This area of Orleans Parish is dominated by names like Bayou Sauvage and Bayou Gentilly, reflecting a complex environment of ridges and swamp before the extensive mid-century developments in the East New Orleans area.