1964 Map of Humphreys

About this map

Bayou Black defines the historic settlement corridor of this Terrebonne Parish landscape, where the Southern Pacific railroad follows the high ground of the natural levee. In the mid-1960s, small communities like Humphreys and Mandalay remained anchored to these waterways and rail lines, while the surrounding marshlands saw intensive development from the petroleum industry. Numerous extraction sites, including the Orange Grove Oil and Gas Field and Lake Hatch Oil and Gas Field, dominate the wet lowlands south of the bayou. This map provides a detailed view of the infrastructure that supported these coastal communities, from the Bayou Black Sch and St Anthonys Ch to the wide path of the Intracoastal Waterway cutting through the marsh towards Lake Hatch. The transition from plantation-era land divisions at Crescent Farms to modern industrial waterways illustrates the mid-century economic shift in southern Louisiana.