1892 Map of Donaldsonville

About this map

Donaldsonville serves as the focal point of this late-nineteenth-century landscape, situated at a sharp bend of the Mississippi River where the Texas and Pacific railroad meets the water. The surrounding riverbanks are defined by long, narrow land tracts characteristic of the French long-lot survey system, stretching back from the river toward the swampy lowlands of the New River and Blind River. This period is marked by recent geological change, most notably the Nita Crevasse, which left a significant alluvial deposit that reshaped the terrain near Welcome and Lilly. Along the eastern bank, the Louisville New Orleans and Texas line connects a string of settlements and plantation landings including Burnside, Union, and Convent. To the southeast, Indian Mounds stand as a reminder of earlier inhabitants, while the network of bayous like Bayou Napoleon and Bayou Verrette illustrates the complex drainage of the river parishes.