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1892 Map of Cut-Off

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Cut-Off
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1921
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1921

About this map

Bayou Lafourche serves as the primary artery for settlement and commerce in this 1891 survey, where a narrow string of homesteads and small landings cling to the elevated banks above the surrounding marshland. Small settlements like Lacroix, Harang, and Cut Off define the human footprint in this corner of southern Louisiana, reflecting a lifestyle deeply tied to the river's path. Beyond the bayou, the landscape opens into the water-logged expanse of the Grand Prairie Des Allemands and the Trembling prairie of Terrebonne.

Water navigation dominates the region's geography, evidenced by the Company Canal and the Harang Canal cutting through the wetlands toward Lake Ouacha or Salvador. These man-made channels provided vital links for transporting goods from isolated outposts like Gheens and Shell Banks to larger markets. The map captures a transitional moment in the delta, where land and water are constantly renegotiated through small bayous like Bayou Vacherie and Bayou Catahoula.