Loading map...

1892 Map of Cut-Off

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Cut-Off
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1906
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1906

About this map

Bayou Lafourche serves as the primary artery for settlement and commerce in this late 19th-century survey of the wetlands. Dense residential structures and small plots are concentrated along the banks of the bayou, reflecting the traditional ribbon-lot settlement patterns common to south Louisiana's alluvial ridges. This map reveals a complex hydraulic landscape where natural waterways like Bayou Vacherie and Bayou Catahoula are increasingly integrated with man-made infrastructure, such as the Company Canal and the Harang Canal.

The vast, marshy expanses of the Grand Prairie des Allemands and Trembling Prairie dominate the interior, punctuated by isolated landings and settlements like Gheens and Shell Banks. Along the bayou, specific family-named locales including Lacroix and Harang lead toward the Cut Off point, documenting the early footprint of these communities before modern coastal changes and industrialization altered the terrain. The transition from these prairies into the wide waters of Lake Ouacha or Salvador highlights the delicate balance between the land and the surrounding gulf-adjacent waters.