1955 Map of Pointe aux Marchettes

About this map

Saint Malo sits at the southwestern edge of this vast coastal marshland, where the solid ground of the Bayou La Loutre ridge meets the open waters of Lake Borgne. This mid-century survey details an intricate network of tidal waterways and brackish lagoons that defined the St. Bernard Parish interior before modern land loss accelerated. The southern portion of the sheet is dominated by the Spoil Bank along the historic Bayou La Loutre, a critical corridor for early settlement and navigation. Inland, the topography is almost entirely level, broken only by subtle rises like Magnolia Mound. From the northern Magill Lagoon to the southern Muscelini Bayou, the map preserves the complex drainage patterns of the Louisiana wetlands, including man-made features such as Jahvickers Ditch and the lighthouse Light guarding the approach to the Saint Malo area.