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1892 Map of Lac Des Allemands

Name: 1892 Topographic Map of Lac Des Allemands
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1904
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1904

About this map

Lake Des Allemands dominates this late-19th-century survey, surrounded by an intricate network of waterways including Bayou Becknel, Bayou Bassene, and Bayou Fortier. The landscape is a sprawling wetland complex across St James, St John Baptist, St Charles, and Lafourche parishes. Evidence of early habitation and transport is concentrated along the margins, where the Southern Pacific Railroad skirts the southern edge near Raceland Station and Ewing.

A notable Indian Mound is documented near the winding Bayou Chactimaghan, south of the Grand Prairie Des Allemands. The map illustrates the era's reliance on water-based geography, showing how small settlements like Vacherie and Chevreuil were positioned relative to the extensive swamp and lake systems. The detailed depiction of Lake Boeuf and its connecting bayous provides a clear record of the region's drainage patterns before modern engineering altered the Louisiana coastal plains.