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1969 Map of St. Bernard

Name: 1969 Topographic Map of St. Bernard
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1970
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1970

About this map

Chalmette and its neighboring riverfront settlements define the cultural and industrial landscape along the Mississippi River in the late 1960s. This survey captures a period of suburban transition, shown in the residential grids of St Claude Heights and Chalmette Vista set against the sprawling U S Coast Guard Reservation. The map details the transition from the dense habitation near the river to the vast wetlands of the Big Mar and Lake Borgne, where a complex system of canals and bayous, including the massive Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, facilitates maritime commerce.

Further south, the landscape shifts toward older parochial roots in St Bernard and the isolated fishing community at Delacroix. Significant historical and academic sites are noted, from the Chalmette National Historical Park and the ruins of Martello Castle to the Tulane University Research Laboratories. The presence of the Southern Railway and various waterworks underscores the engineering required to maintain these communities below the prominent English Turn Bend.