1955 Map of Constance Bayou

About this map

The Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve dominates this mid-1950s coastal landscape, where the marshlands of Cameron and Vermilion Parishes meet the Gulf of Mexico. The map illustrates a complex hydraulic environment of tidal bayous, such as Constance Bayou and Josephine Bayou, and large coastal lakes like Big Constance Lake and White Lake. Amidst this wilderness, the burgeoning petroleum industry is evident through the development of the Deep Lake Gas Field and Little Pecan Lake Gas Field, marked by numerous gas wells and a network of canals. Elevated ridges or "cheniers," including Grand Cheniere and Pecan Ridge, provide the only firm ground for human activity, supporting scattered structures at Refuge Camp and small groupings of Windmills used for drainage or local ranching operations before the more intensive industrialization of the Louisiana coastline.