1893 Map of Rigolets

About this map

Ft. Pike and a nearby Hospital stand at the edge of The Rigolets, guarding the vital deep-water passage between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. This late nineteenth-century landscape is defined by the complex hydrology of the Pearl River delta, where the Mississippi Louisiana Boundary Line weaves through the West Pearl River and various passes. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad cuts a straight path across the marshlands, spanning St Catharine Pass and Little Rigolets via Rabbit Island. Notable coastal features like Shell Pt. and Alligator Pt. mark the transition into the gulf waters, while smaller settlements such as Claiborne sit near the winding Bayou Isle aux Pois. The map details a wilderness of cypress swamps and tidal passes before modern coastal erosion and engineering significantly altered the shoreline.