Plaquemines, A Brief History

Plaquemines Parish is located at the extreme southeastern end of Louisiana and is a peninsula that is split down the middle by the Mississippi River, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and dissected by many canals and bayous.  Within the Parish are a plethora of lakes and bayous which serve as a migratory water fowl refuge and estuary for fish, oysters, shrimp and other seafood.  It’s location along the lower Mississippi below New Orleans makes it one of the nation’s most bountiful seafood, citrus, oil, and gas providers.  Other contributors to the local economy are manufacturing, farming, food processing, hunting, fishing, and fur trapping. The legendary “River Road" begins, and ends in the Parish as is the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Parish boasts of growing some of the best tasting citrus and vegetables that the state has to offer. 

According to the 2000 census, the Parish had a total area of 2,429 miles, 845 miles of land and 1,584 miles of it is water. The total area was 65.22% water. The landmass is dwindling due to erosion, subsidence, dredging and the 2005 and 2008 Hurricane seasons.

Much of the nation’s “Southern” history, such as LaSalle’s claiming of the Mississippi for France in 1682, Iberville discovering the mouth of the Mississippi in 1699, the first fortification on the lower Mississippi, the first non-Indian place name on the lower Mississippi, the first Spanish capital of Louisiana, (and many more), occurred in Plaquemines Parish.  From a security standpoint, it was long been known as the Achilles heel to America’s heartland.  As a result there were nine fortifications, three naval bases, a blimp field, the first joint services naval air station, ten lighthouses, six quarantine stations, a lazaretto, four pilot stations, two wildlife refuges, and many remote towns most of which are now deserted, built on this lower delta.  America’s Atlantis “the sunken city of Balise” is located near the end of the river. Pirates, smugglers, contagious diseases, and enemy fleets frequently attempted access through the lower Mississippi.  As recently as WWII, German submarines attacked at the mouth of the river and sunk Allied shipping.  Geographically Plaquemines Parish coastline protects the city of New Orleans from catastrophic hurricanes and tidal surges.  If Plaquemines Parish is not protected, New Orleans has no protection.

Plaquemines Parish is semitropical.  Due to it’s location on the Gulf of Mexico it has often been ravaged by hurricanes.  Geographically, socially, and politically, Plaquemines Parish is uniquely different from the rest of the territorial United States.  

Since the later part of the twentieth century Plaquemines Parish has been severely affected by erosion, subsidence, hurricanes, depletion of sulfur, natural gas & oil, loss of fisheries, hunting, trapping, marine resources, small businesses, etc.  Once one of the wealthiest parishes in the U.S., it now struggles to maintain its infrastructure and economy.

Rod Lincoln
Plaquemines Parish Historian