Along the River Road: Past and Present on Louisiana’s Historic Byway

Terms, People, and Places

Terms, People, and Places Note: The most commonly used phrase in this book, the River Road, refers not only to the separate east- and west-bank roadways that follow the Mississippi River, but also to the settlement and culture that evolved in the area. Acadian: The Acadians, today colloquially called “Cajuns,” were people of French descent who had lived in Nova Scotia—Acadie—until they were expelled in 1755 by the British, who took over their territory in 1713. The exiles were widely dispersed along the Eastern Seaboard and elsewhere. Some began arriving in south Louisiana in 1764 and 1765, drawn because the colony was French, despite its recent cession to Spain. Of several thousand Acadians who had made their way to France, about 1,600 were induced to immigrate to Louisiana in 1785, and others came later. The Acadians were Catholics, most of them small farmers, artisans, or traders. They settled along the river in St. James, Ascension, and Iberville parishes, as well as in other parts of south Louisiana. Acadian Coast: The term encompasses both the east and west banks of St. James and Ascension parishes, heavily settled by Acadians. In St. James, the Acadian Coast was later infiltrated by Americans and a large contingent of Italian immigrants. Descendants of John Law’s original German settlers also moved to St. James and were absorbed into the French culture. allée: French for “alley.” Two parallel rows of trees planted to form a lane, often leading from the river or a road to a plantation house or between two other points. 17 18  Along the River Road arpent: A French measure of land, either linear or areal. A linear arpent, sometimes known as an arpent de face, was approximately 192 feet. (Fractions of an arpent were often broken down into toises, a toise equaling about 6.4 feet.) Land grants were made along the river based on their arpent frontage and with a standard depth of forty arpents or a double depth of eighty. In square measure, an arpent equals roughly five-sixths of an acre. back: Along the River Road, the word back applied to a town or settlement often denoted, and sometimes still denotes, the part situated away from the river—for instance, “back Brusly.” batture: Thought to have been derived from the French battre, “to beat.” On the lower Mississippi, the term denotes the land that lies between the levee and the river. In high water season, it is flooded and often disappears, returning only when the river recedes. bayou: From the Choctaw bayuk, for “creek” or “river.” In south Louisiana , the term applies to a sluggish stream that can change direction according to amounts of rainfall. Bayous intersecting the lower Mississippi River were distributaries, flowing away from the river. belvedere: From the Italian bel, “beautiful,” and vedere, “to see.” A railed, rooftop platform on a plantation house, originally used as a vantage point from which to see steamboats on the river or to view the fields. Sometimes a belvedere is enclosed with a cupola. bend and point: Where the river curves, the curve itself is called a “bend,” as is the land that follows the outside of the curve. The thrust of land on the inside of the curve is called a “point.” Deepest water is usually on the outside of a bend where the river tends to cut away the bank. benevolent society: a membership institution that developed in the African American community in the late nineteenth century to serve many of the same functions as an insurance company. Benevolent societies raised funds to be used for the emergency needs of their members—paying doctors , buying medicine, food, and clothing for the destitute, and burying the dead. Societies purchased property for use as cemeteries and owned a Terms, People, and Places  19 hall or meeting place, which could range in size from one room to a twostory building with a large meeting room on the second floor. Some societies held an annual event called a “turning out,” which included a church service followed by a parade to the hall, where participants enjoyed refreshments amid socializing. Many benevolent societies have continued as social organizations. borrow pit: The excavation that results when dirt from the water side of a levee is “borrowed” for the purpose of constructing the levee. Borrow pits were dug more or less haphazardly until the United States Army Corps of...