1892 Map of Donaldsonville

About this map

The Mississippi River anchors this late nineteenth-century landscape, carving a deep arc through the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St James. The survey reveals a distinct plantation-style settlement pattern where narrow strips of cultivated land cling to the river's high banks, backed by the vast swamplands of the New River and Blind River basins. Critical transport infrastructure is visible in the competition between water and rail, with the Texas and Pacific Railroad and the Louisville New Orleans and Texas Railway paralleling the river's course.