Places - St Mary LAGenWeb

Map courtesy of Widipedia, where the larger, original map is available

1911 map courtesy of My Genealogy Hound, where the larger, original map is available

Map courtesy of University of Louisiana, where the larger, original map is available

Adeline, a post-village of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 10 miles northwest of Franklin, the nearest banking town. It is in the great sugar district and has considerable sugar manufactories. The population is about 500.

Amelia (R. R. name Boeuf), a village in the extreme eastern part of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 8 miles east of Morgan City. It has a money order post office, an express office, and a population of about 200.

Ashton, a post-village of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 8 miles northwest of Franklin, the parish seat. It has a money order post office and is the trading center of a rich farming district.

Baldwin, a village in the western part of St. Mary parish, is at the junction of the main and a branch line of the Southern Pacific R. R., about 6 miles northwest of Franklin, the parish seat and nearest banking town. It has a money order post office and varied industries such as sugar manufactories, shingle mills, etc. Its population is about 700.

Berwick, a town in the eastern part of St. Mary parish, is on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 2 miles west of Morgan City, the nearest banking town. It has a money order post office, telegraph station and express office, and is a trading center for a rich farming district. Its population in 1900 was 713.

Calumet, a village in the northern part of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 10 miles southeast of Franklin, the parish seat. It has a money order post office, an express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and does considerable shipping.

Centerville, a town in the central part of St. Mary parish, is on the navigable Bayou Teche, 5 miles below Franklin, the parish seat, and about 2 miles northeast of Bayou Sale, the nearest railroad town. It is situated in the center of a rich sugar district, has large sugar industries, a money order post office, one bank, several mercantile establishments, and a population of 414 in 1900.

Charenton, a village in the northeastern part of St. Mary parish, is situated on the Bayou Teche, about 3 miles northeast of Baldwin, the nearest railroad station and 6 miles north of Franklin, the parish seat, in a rich sugar district. It has sugar industries, a money order post office, and in 1900 had a population of 200. The estimated population in 1908 was 540.

Crawford, a post-hamlet and station in the western part of St. Mary parish, is on a branch of the Southern Pacific R. R., in a rich sugar district, is a trading and shipping point of some consequence, and in 1900 had a population of 210.

Foster (R. R. name Bayou Sale), a village in the central part of St. Mary parish, is situated at the junction of two divisions of the Southern Pacific R. R., 4 miles southeast of Franklin, the parish seat. It has a money order post office, express office, telegraph station and telephone facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 86.

Franklin, the parish seat of St. Mary parish, is one of the old towns of southern Louisiana. It was laid out in the year 1800 by Guinea Lewis, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, a great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, in whose honor the town was named. When the parish was organized in 1811, Franklin was made the seat of government, and it was incorporated by act of the legislature in 1830. The first house there was built by a man named Trobridge before the town was laid out by Lewis. Franklin is situated in the northern part of the parish, on the Bayou Teche, which is navigable for boats of moderate size, in the midst of a rich sugar-producing country, close to large deposits of salt, and near enough to the gulf for the sea breezes to modify the temperature. It is on the main line of the Southern Pacific R. R., 100 miles (by rail) west of New Orleans; is the southern terminus of a short line of railroad called The East & West Franklin that runs north to Irish Bend, and is the eastern terminus of the Franklin & Abbeville R. R. It is also connected by the Franklin drainage canal with Cote Blanche bay, an arm of the gulf 10 miles distant, and this canal is navigable for ordinary craft, hence the town is well supplied with channels of transportation in all directions.

Formerly Franklin was a port of entry for the Teche district and had a large trade with the country to the north until the completion of the railroad diverted a large portion of this traffic to New Orleans and Galveston. The Franklin of the present day is one of the active and prosperous cities of Louisiana. It has extensive lumber and brick industries, an ice plant, wagon and buggy factories, 2 banks, 2 large sugar refineries, 2 newspapers, good hotels, a fine waterworks system, an electric lighting plant – installed in 1900 and owned by the city – well kept streets, a sanitarium and a public market. Educational facilities are afforded by a good system of public schools and St. Anthony's school for boys. The population in 1900 was 2,692 and the estimated population in 1908 was over 4,300.

Glencoe, a village in the western part of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 10 miles west of Franklin, the parish seat. It has a money order post office, some sugar industries, and in 1900 had a population of 150.

Irish Bend, one of the principal villages of St. Mary parish, is located on the Bayou Teche, about 5 miles northeast of Franklin, the parish seat, with which it is connected by a short line of railroad called the East & West R. R. Further transportation facilities are afforded by the Southern Pacific steamers on the bayou. The village has a money order post office and telephone connections with the surrounding towns, and in 1900 reported a population of 100. A battle was fought here on April 14, 1863, in which the Federals were at first defeated, but received reinforcements and rallied, when the Confederates were in turn forced back and the gunboat Diana was blown up and burned.

Louisa (R. R. name Cypremort), a village in the southwestern part of St. Mary parish, is a station on a branch line of the Southern Pacific R. R., 16 miles west of Franklin, the parish seat. It has a money order post office, an express office, a good retail trade, and in 1900 had a population of 100.

Morgan City, one of the principal towns of St. Mary parish, is situated on the Southern Pacific R. R., where it crosses the Atchafalaya river, about 20 miles east of Franklin, the parish seat, in the midst of one of the richest sugar districts of the state. It was first incorporated in 1860 as Brashear City, but after some years the name was changed to Morgan City and the town received a new charter of incorporation under that name. Among the industries are sugar mills and refineries, oyster canning establishments, and large quantities of fish and terrapin are shipped to New Orleans and to northern markets. Morgan City has two banks, an international money order post office, express, telephone and telegraph accommodations, a number of first class mercantile concerns, good schools, churches, etc. Iin addition to the transportation afforded by the Southern Pacific R. R., the steamers of that company touch at Morgan City, and the Atchafalaya & Bayou des Glaize packet company also runs a line of steamers that furnish good shipping facilities by water.

Patterson, one of the largest towns of St. Mary parish, is on the Bayou Teche and the Southern Pacific R. R., about 15 miles southeast of Franklin, the parish seat. It is in one of the richest and most productive sugar districts of the state, has sugar refineries, lumber industries, 2 banks, an international money order post office, telegraph and express offices, telephone facilities, good schools, churches and a number of mercantile establishments. Large quantities of fish and oysters are shipped to New Orleans and exported to northern markets. The population in 1900 was 2,480.

Ramos, a money order post-town in the northeastern part of St. Mary parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., 24 miles east of Franklin, the parish seat. It has an express office and telegraph station, is the center of trade for the rich sugar district, by which it is surrounded, and in 1900 had a population of 220.

Rhoda, a post-hamlet of St. Mary parish, is situated in the southeastern part, about a mile north of Wyandotte, the nearest railroad station, in a rich sugar district. It has a money order post office, and in 1900 had a population of 45.

Teche, a post-village in the northern part of St. Mary parish, is a station on the East & West Franklin R. R., a short line running from Franklin to Irish Bend. It is located in the midst of a rich sugar district, about 3 miles north of Franklin, the parish seat, and in 1900 reported a population of 42.

Extracted 2020 Jun 24 by Norma Hass from Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, edited by Alcee Fortier, published in 1909, volumes 1 & 2.