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1892 Map of Gibson

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

USGS Topo · Published 1892

About this map

The low-lying wetlands of southern Louisiana are defined here by a intricate network of waterways and the emerging industrial footprint of the late nineteenth century. Surveyed under the direction of H. L. Baldwin Jr., this region shows the critical intersection of natural bayous and iron-rail commerce. The Southern Pacific Railroad cuts a straight line across the landscape, connecting the small settlements of Gibson, Chacahoula, and Schriever.

Settlement patterns strictly follow the higher ground adjacent to the major watercourses. Long, narrow property divisions are visible along Bayou Black and Bayou Terrebonne, reflecting the traditional French long-lot survey system. Smaller nodes like Mc. Bride and Ellendale appear as established points of habitation in an area dominated by Bayou Chacahoula and the surrounding marshy terrain of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.