Historic Resources Study: The Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park

Holmes, Barbara; National Park Service

This is the report on the Historic Resource Study of the Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park (Map 1). A National Register nomination form for the area has been prepared as a part of this study and is attached as Appendix C. The report consists of an overview history of the Barataria Basin and an inventory of the historic resources found within the unit. The overview history not only describes the historic resources but also aids in interpreting their National Register significance. The Barataria Basin is bounded by the Mississippi River on the north and east, Bayou Lafourche on the west, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. As will be described in Chapter I, "Effective Environment, "this large drainage basin tends northwest to southeast and is characterized by numerous lakes and small drainages bounded by the levees of one previous and one current course of the Mississippi River (Map 1). In terms of water drainage and topography, the study area is a well-defined and relatively closed system, which is mainly why it was first chosen as the study area. The Barataria Basin can also be defined as one region for historical and cultural reasons, which are crucial for the ongoing interpretation of the historic resources. Historically, exploitation of the area was facilitated by easy transportation along the numerous waterways, and whether they lived on the levees of the west, north, or south, inhabitants of the basin have participated in one resource system. Competition and cooperation were common between settlements bordering the basin. Multiple overlapping ties of economy and society, as well as a distinctive, shared history, built a sense of regional identity. While concentrating on the events and people of the park and adjacent areas, the overview history makes interpretations pertinent to the whole basin. The heart of the basin is found in the communities of Crownpoint, Barataria, and Lafitte. These people maintain a lifestyle dating from the colonial period or earlier, live along the arterial waterways, and identify most strongly with the basin. The Barataria Unit of the park borders on these three communities; the people and processes that shaped the park also touched their lives. The history begins with Chapter II, "Prehistory." There are two reasons for treating prehistoric resources the same way as historic resources. First, relationships between people and the land are a dominant theme in the settlement of the area, and the inhabitants of the basin approached their environment similarly in both the prehistoric and historic periods. Second, most of the historic resources are not standing structures, so the obvious distinction between architectural history and archeology does not apply. Both considerations enhance continuity in subsistence and settlement patterns between the prehistoric and historic periods.

Historic Resources Study: The Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park

Series

Collections