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Exploring the Stories of Landscape

150 years from Reconstruction to Present in St James, St John

The US Coast Survey (1877) provides the most detailed historical record of property ownership and buildings of the reconstruction era. The composite map has been assembled for the three river parish region of Central Louisiana, now digitally aligned for comparison with recent aerial imagery (2019).

Demo 1 – Tale of two banks

St James south of Sunshine Bridge. The west bank transformed from a handful of plantations (Saulsberg, St Joseph, Lauderdale) into a industrial giants – the Mosaic Faustina fertilizer plant, and Americas Styrenics. The right bank (a community once known as White Hall) remains largely intact – industrialization likely impeded by small land tract sizes and a dense residential settlement pattern.

St James south of Sunshine Bridge. The west bank transformed from a handful of plantations (Saulsberg, St Joseph, Lauderdale) into a industrial giants – the Mosaic Faustina fertilizer plant, and Americas Styrenics. The right bank (a community once known as White Hall) remains largely intact – industrialization likely impeded by small land tract sizes and a dense residential settlement pattern.

Demo 2 – Radical transformation

The Noranda Alumina facility (formerly Kaiser Aluminum) straddles the Parish line, and has grown so large that it can only be comprehended from an aerial perspective. Most of the site is occupied by large evaporation ponds of chemical process water which from the ground appear to be grassy earthen berms. Here the historical map can still be useful – creating a record of property ownership (the plantation to plant accountability), and showing that this land was once much less toxic, and what it has become today was never an “inevitable” result.

The Noranda Alumina facility (formerly Kaiser Aluminum) straddles the Parish line, and has grown so large that it can only be comprehended from an aerial perspective. Most of the site is occupied by large evaporation ponds of chemical process water which from the ground appear to be grassy earthen berms. Here the historical map can still be useful – creating a record of property ownership (the plantation to plant accountability), and showing that this land was once much less toxic, and what it has become today was never an “inevitable” result.

Demo 3 – History is present (semi-transparent)

Oak Alley Plantation in St James – shows an intact plantation landscape. In many cases the ancient structures visible on the 1877 map (look for dark rectangles) are still visible on the 2019 aerial as a cluster of trees or brush. Many of these intact locations are promising sites for an archaeological investigation, and potentially are the location of an unmarked graves. The lateral shift of the Mississippi River bank is remarkable in this example!

Oak Alley Plantation in St James – shows an intact plantation landscape. In many cases the ancient structures visible on the 1877 map (look for dark rectangles) are still visible on the 2019 aerial as a cluster of trees or brush. Many of these intact locations are promising sites for an archaeological investigation, and potentially are the location of an unmarked graves. The lateral shift of the Mississippi River bank is remarkable in this example!

Demo 4 – Color Inversion Overlay

Inversion makes the colors “pop” from the 1877 USCS map – some might think it looks weird. FYI, there are many other image options available – these are just a sample.

Inversion makes the colors “pop” from the 1877 USCS map – some might think it looks weird. FYI, there are many other image options available – these are just a sample.