The Hunt For The Elusive Route Of The White Castle L & S Co. - Lake Natchez/ Railroad
By Clifford J. LeGrange with assistance from James ‘Fry” Hymel, Rick Phillips, Ethan Joffrion, Jeremey Coupel and Ian Marsac, Jeanerette L&S Co. Land Manager
White Castle Sawmill 1901 - Skidder Loading Logs On Rail car - RailcarsImages used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
Note to the readers: Knowing the history of the Atchafalaya Basin and the Lake Natchez swamp, relative to the use and importance of our natural resources will provide better understanding of how to manage, restore, improve and sustain our forested lands for the future.
Abstract -
The White castle Lumber & Shingle Company, Limited, at White Castle, La.; the Bowie Lumber Company, Limited, at Bowie, La.; the Jeanerette Lumber & Shingle Company, Limited, at Jeannette, La.; the Iberia Cypress Company, Limited, at New Iberia, La., and the Des Allemands Lumber Company, Limited, at Allemands, La. were part of the Henry Downman Cypress Interest.
These companies formed the largest operation in cypress manufacture and were at one time among the six largest lumbering operations in the world, and as such deserves special attention.
White Castle is on the Texas & Pacific railway seventy-four miles from New Orleans and is reached by Western Union telegraph and by the Pacific express.
Situated at this place it was the pioneer "dry land” cypress plant, the plant which was first known in cypress lumber production as a "railroad” proposition. It lasted more than fifteen years as an active mill.
The Lake Natchez Logging Railroad built by White castle L&S is the highlight to this story because it shows the difficulties which had to be overcome by skillful engineering and layout. Where men exposed themselves daily to all sorts of dangers to make a living, Snakes, Alligators, mosquitoes, spiders, fire, steam, mechanical cables and blocks and summer heat.
The White Castle & Lake Natchez railroad has a total length all told, including the spurs in the yard and elsewhere, between 18 and 22 miles. It is fair to say it was the most expensive railroad that has ever been built for the purpose of carrying logs to a mill. —the road to Lake Natchez took two years to build all on high but very solid piles, running straight through the woods.
A Journey through the History of The 'Cypress Queen' of the Atchafalaya Cypress Logging Era.
History buffs and local historians are always excited about learning the hidden history of things, places, and or events. It is amazing how fast the history of something can be lost in relatively short period of time. Many examples exist that have shown how quickly and completely history can be lost in a short period of time. Just ask someone from White Castle, LA., under 50 about the White Castle Lumber & Shingle Co. and the Lake Natchez railroad.
The history of the White Castle Lumber & Shingle Co. and the Lake Natchez railroad is a great example. All firsthand informants are no longer alive to preserve such a historic period for Iberville Parish, White Castle, LA. and the Atchafalaya Basin.
The purpose of this blog story is to document, preserve and educate on the history of the White Castle Lumber & Shingle Co. and the Lake Natchez railroad.
In the late 1800’s, the swamp east of Lake Natchez, Iberville Parish, between the natural alluvial high ridge of the Mississippi River lying between Bayou Plaquemine and Bayou Lafourche, was the furthermost eastern edge of the Natural Atchafalaya River Basin. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s it was a primeval place, no roads just paths / trails through the swamp and only 2 open bayous allowed travel into the interior of this area, Bayou Tegrie at White Castle and Grand Bayou below Donaldsonville. Until the 1840’s the mysterious interior repulsed all but the most intrepid hunters and trappers. The interior of this area remained mostly impenetrable until the era of Industrial Cypress logging in late 1890’s and early 1900’s
USGS Map (base map 1954)
Early History of White Castle Lumber & Shingle Co.
In 1888, Texas businessmen, William Cameron, R. H. Downman, W. B. Brazelton, C. L. Johnson, George M. Bowie and Fred Meyer formed a lumbering interest in the White Castle Louisiana area. The swamp east of Lake Natchez was the location of one the largest stands of Virgin cypress forest on the east side of the Atchafalaya basin.
Capt. George M. Bowie, who was well and favorably known in all the southland as a successful managing man in lumber interests, was appointed general manager.
The first plant which was erected / begun in 1889 and began running in 1890. The first purchase of timber amounted to 12,000 acres in the swamp lands west White Castle, LA. toward Lake Natchez.
After 10 years, Captain Bowie left the management of the plant in April 1901, and at that time R. H. Downman purchased 70% of the White Castle Lumber and Shingle Co. LTD.
Robert Henry Downman Cypress Lumbering Empire
Robert Henry Downman, was building a cypress lumbering empire. He eventually was primary stockholder and the president of five different lumber companies and functioned as general manager of all the business of those companies.
The R.H. Downman cypress interest consisted of the White castle Lumber & Shingle Company, Limited, at White Castle, La.; the Bowie Lumber Company, Limited, at Bowie, La.; the Jeanerette Lumber & Shingle Company, Limited, at Jeannette, La.; the Iberia Cypress Company, Limited, at New Iberia, La., and the Des Allemands Lumber Company, Limited, at Allemands.
The R. H. Downman cypress interest’s office was located in New Orleans, LA. The officers of the company at the time were R. H. Downman, president and general manager; Sam R. Ely, vice president and assistant general manager; W. B. Brazelton, secretary and treasurer, and A. C. Johns, manager.
These companies formed the largest operation in cypress lumbering and is considered among the six largest lumbering operations in the world.
A map of the red cypress territory of southeastern Louisiana was produced by the Downman Interest and deserves special attention. It was first of its kind ever produced in print. At the time of its first publication no government map was obtainable by the public of which accurately portrays the water courses of the Atchafalaya Basin. Heretofore no private enterprise had ever undertaken to make such a map for general circulation. This base map is from the time period 1892 – 1919. .
This map continues to be of great interest even in this day and age. It was made Mr. Downman’s Engineers and Timber Cruisers. It is most accurate map of the Atchafalaya Basin when it was a free-flowing waterway, and the bayous were not altered by man.
Swamp Lands Map of the Red Cypress Territory of Southeastern Louisiana 1892 - 1915
No government map ever was obtainable by the general public which truthfully portrayed the water courses of the Atchafalaya and no private enterprise had ever before undertaken to make such a map for general circulation.
The lands of the R. H. Downman cypress interests were marked by Mr. Downman’s engineers and were shown on the map in regular and irregular squares of black. The map continues to be of great interest. It shows the Atchafalaya River Basin when it was a free-flowing river system.
The cypress timber properties shown on this map cover the parishes of Iberville, Assumption, LaFourche, St. Martin, Iberia, St. Charles and St. John, in the state of Louisiana. The cypress timber holdings of the Downman interests at one time consisted of 161,000 acres in extent.
Map Courtesy of Jeanerette L & S Co. ; Used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
Location of the White Castle L &S Sawmill
The Many Faces of Plaquemine And Its Surrounding Area; A photographic History of Plaquemine, LA.; Collection of Photographs by Anthony Fama Sr. 1999
Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
Think about it, where is a suitable location for a potential mill for timber, in the red circle (Lands of the White Castle L&S Co.) on the above map. Typically, first requirement for a mill, is logistics, ie., deep waterways or railway lines to move the product to market and access to power. There is no optimum river / stream, lake to locate a lumber mill in the White Castle L&S Co. lands. There are just two small bayous, in the area Bayou Tigre, and Grand Bayou . Neither are large enough or connected to a stream or lake or anything to maintain a waterway to a large mill.
For example, The F.B. Williams Mill in Patterson, LA. on the Bayou Teche, or the Schwing Lumber Co. Mill on Bayou Plaquemine, The Jeanerette L&S mill located on Bayou Teche. All located on deep waterways with rail connections and power. Those companies could remove the timber from the interior of the Atchafalaya basin and raft and float the timber to their mill. Where they could then be sawed and processed for customers.
Thus, it was understood by investors that any Industrial Lumbering operation in the White castle, LA. area would be a “railroad” proposition.
White Castle , LA. being seventy-four miles from New Orleans on the Mississippi River with Texas & Pacific - Southern Pacific Railroad Co. running through the length of the town. The plant was built next to the main track. The railroad runs due east and west and from the south windows of a northbound train the plant was the most prominent building in town. Thus the site location offered both rail and marine shipment of product.
The Many Faces of Plaquemine And Its Surrounding Area; A photographic History of Plaquemine, LA.; Collection of Photographs by Anthony Fama Sr. 1999
Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
The Sawmill Facilities
The saw mill was the most prominent building of the White Castle plant. At the time it was pride of the area. Over the north end of the sawmill were the large letters "Cypress Queen."
The sawmill was divided into ground floor, subdeck, engine room, dynamo room and mill deck. There was a boiler house and engine room on the cast side. The building was 173 feet and overall, in length and has a breadth of 103. A series of lumber sheds for storage and shipping.
The planning mill and sash and door factory in a sense were separate factories.
There were two primary dry kilns.
The piling (storage) grounds for the lumber held 15,000,000 feet of lumber in stock.
A track of 40-pound rail over three-quarters of a mile long ran from the plant to the river for convenience in handling lumber etc. and bringing back freight brought by boat from New Orleans.
The White Castle plant had electric lights, 350 16-candlepower incandescent lamps and seven are lights.
The White castle L&S Co, office and mill was located in the area of the current White Castle Catholic Church and White Castle High School.
Site Plan /Layout of White Castle Lumber Mill
Site plan courtesy of Mr. James Fry Hymel lifelong resident of White Castle, LA. Given to him by Mr. Charlton Bajon.
Aerial view looking North / North West towards Southern Pacific Railroad / Mississippi River
Mississippi River at Horizon line
Source - American Lumberman. "A Journey through the Vast Downman Cypress Interests with Camera and Pen", American Lumberman, Aug 5, 1905 pp.43-82. Chicago: American Lumberman, 1905. Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
Site Plan - Door And Sash Factory
Source - American Lumberman. "A Journey through the Vast Downman Cypress Interests with Camera and Pen", American Lumberman, Aug 5, 1905 pp.43-82. Chicago: American Lumberman, 1905. Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
Site Plan – The Main Pond
The overhead picture (above) and the site plan beg an interesting question.
What was the main pond for?
We know from well documented White Castle Lumber Co. records that logs were brought by rail to a log ramp, conveniently situated at the tail of the mill and were moved into the sawmill by a skidder contrivance that was used for that purpose alone.
So, we know they did not use the main pond for maneuverability.
After consulting with several timbermen, we came to the conclusion that Log Ponds were common in that era of logging, and many mills had a "log pond" where they would soak their logs. It was explained that was to keep logs from drying out and warping unevenly. Not to mentione that logs milled better when mud / dirt was removed and damp plus it helped reduced dullness of blades and to control dust in the mill. If there was not a log pond, then the logs had to sprayed with water before entering the mill.
Cypress Logging in the Swamps Pre – Steam Driven Skidder Operations
Prior to large scale industrial era (c 1890’s ) of Atchafalaya Swamp logging , trees were deadened in low water periods and were cut in the spring bucked (cut) into manageable lengths then floated out of the swamp in high water to a staging area.
Deadened (ringed) trees and bucking of logs for removal from swamp.
Pictures from Henry Downman collection,
Images used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
In times of low water, and / or terrain / conditions permitting, logs were sometimes skidded out of the swamp.
These manual skidders were some sort of manmade device that was designed to hold one end of the log slightly above the ground and dragged to a staging area. Sometimes horses / or oxen were used. However, The use of animals in getting cypress out of the swamps was never widespread,
Staging areas were typically on a body of water deep enough, where the logs could be tied to together then towed to the mills in rafts. The constraints of this process typically limited logging to within a short distance of a usable waterway.
As a result, Cypress lumbering remained almost totally seasonal until the pull boat and overhead skidder was developed in the late 1880’s.
Large Scale Industrial Log Skidding c1890
In the late 1880’s mechanical steam driven skidder machines were developed to pull the logs from the forest to a landing point. This method of logging used a mechanical skidder device / structure, which had a system of cables, blocks, iron spools and gears. The mainline was attached to single logs and then wound up on a large spool powered by the steam engine, pulling the timber along skid roads to a landing point.
By the 1890’s mechanical skidders and steam engines had developed enough technology to make it economically viable to harvest the timber from heretofore un-reachable areas such as the Atchafalaya Swamp. Two types methods / systems were developed and used in cypress logging era.
1. The Overhead skidder (high lead logging) and a logging railroad system to move the bucked logs to a landing point or all the way to the mill location.
2. Pull Boat system - a steam engine and cable system mounted on a barge and located in a lake, natural river, bayou, or dredged canal. The logs would be dragged from the swamp interior into the canal (ground lead logging) and moved to a larger navigable stream where they were rafted and towed via a log raft by steamboat through natural waterways to the sawmill.
The White Castle L& S Co. Operating System c1890
The White Castle L& S Co. used the overhead skidder (high lead logging) and Railroad system. Easily distinguished in three ways from a pull boat system.
A. Rail Spur lines are cleared through the swamp
B. The Railway skidder was an aerial operation, one end of the logs attached by cable above ground to pull the cut logs to the railroad spur. There was no need to clear debris from the skid roads( runs) and logs could be transported at rate of six hundred feet per minute, faster than a pull boat system. The logs did not dig deep ditches or runs like a pull boat.
C. Main lines will be present in railroad skidder systems.
Overhead High lead logging required the use of a tall head spar tree for the rigging. See the diagram, below. Rigging a spar tree, a logger used climbing spikes attached to his boots and a wire-cored rope looped around the tree to clear the branches. To climb the tree was dangerous and daring task.
Overhead Skidder set up Next to Logging Railroad, Logs Being Loaded On Railcar
Images used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107 Pictures from Henry Downman collection
High Lead logging - How it works
High Lead Blocks & Pulleys
Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
High Lead Logging Diagram
Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
Steel Spar Tree
Sometimes after 1910, an innovation of mounting a skidder machine on a railcar with a metal tower mounted was used, versus using a spar tree, this system was extremely efficient, i.e.., you would not have to find a good spar tree so the entire overhead (high Lead) system could be set up in a short time.
This speeded up operations significantly and logging railroads became very efficient and safer. The White Castle Lumber Co. more than likely used this system at the later years of the mill.
Railcar With Skidder And With Steel Spar Tree
Image used is available on internet, and is used in accordance with Fair Use, Title 17 USC section 107
The White Castle L& S Co. Operating Methodology c late 1890’s - 1915
Logging railroads are a unique and interesting aspect of the Cypress logging industry that occurred in the Atchafalaya Basin. Why ? Have you ever seen firsthand or walked in a cypress / tupelo swamp bottom? How in the hell would it hold up a railroad? It is quite surprising to most that a railroad could be built in swampland.
Building a logging railroad in the swamp in early 1900’s was a daunting task. Stories about gators, snakes and mosquitos are not myth.
The White Castle L & S Co. Logging Operations was different than the other logging railroads in the interior of the Atchafalaya Basin. Eg., the railroad logging camp on Lower Lake Verrett near 4-mile bayou, where the staging area was located on Lake Verret.
The logs were loaded on the rail cars and towed by the locomotive to the log staging area / landing point. Where they were dumped in the lake they were then rafted and towed to the mill. The same situation existed at F.B. Williams logging camp at located on Grand River - Little Bayou Pigeon.
This required logs to be deadened prior to cutting so they would float.
White Castle L&S loaded green logs on railcars, and they were carried directly to the mill and skidded off the rail cars to a loading ramp at the tail end of the mill.
1914 Map showing rail lines through White Castle, LA. Area
White Castle L & S Co. Logging Operations
The White Castle L & S Co. Logging Operations was different than the other logging railroads in the interior of the Atchafalaya Basin. Eg., the railroad logging camp on Lower Lake Verrett near 4-mile bayou, where the staging area was located on Lake Verret. The logs were loaded on the rail cars and towed by the locomotive to the log staging area / landing point. Where they were dumped in the lake they were then rafted and towed to the mill.
The same situation existed at F.B. Williams logging camp at located on Grand River - Little Bayou Pigeon. This required logs to deadened prior to cutting so they would float.
White Castle L&S loaded green logs on railcars, and they were carried directly to the mill and skidded off the rail cars to a loading ramp at the tail end of the mill.
The White Castle L&S Lake Natchez Railroad Facilities
All total, including the spurs the White Castle L&S Co. built between eighteen and twenty two miles of railroad. Rail spurs were built to bring the logs to the main line.
It is fair to say that it was the most expensive railroad that has ever been built for the purpose of carrying logs to a mill—certainly the most expensive of any part of the south.
There was a full-time pile driver that actively engaged in the building of the ‘White Castle Lumber Co. - Lake Natchez Railroad’ system. The system was built on very solid piles, running straight into cypress swamps.
There were three Lidgerwood skidders in use.
Altogether three locomotives and sixty six railcars were used to haul logs and do the other necessary work of a logging railroad.
The White Castle L&S Co. had a large ramp area at the tail of the mill where the logs unloaded from the railcars another skidder contrivance was built to move the logs to the mill.
Engineers and Operators spent over two years building the rail system to Lake Natchez.
Lands of White Castle L&S Co.
Main Line of the White Castle Lumber & Shingle Co. Railroad
Image courtesy of Ian Marsac , Jeanerette Lumber Co.
Overall Main Line Route
Main Line Railroad Overlayed On Modern Goggle Earth Satellite, with Section Lines & GPS coordinates and line measure. The total Length of the main line is 10.77
Main Line relative Bayou's
Expanded / close up view of the main line of the Lake Natchez Railroad where it crosses Whaley Canal and where it meets Lake Natchez.
Building The Logging Railroad
The railroad was literally built in the front of a steam driven pile driver mounted a rail car.
Railroad reaches Lake Natchez
Railroad Iron Artifacts on Whaley Canal and Texaco Pipeline
Salvaged Artifact of Railroad iron found Whaley Canal and Texaco Pipeline
Special thanks - Ethan Joffrion and Jeremey Coupel
What can you say about the past by using artifacts? It is evidence that supports or refutes a hypothesis. Our Hypothesis in this paper is that Whaley Canal and parts of Texaco pipeline right of way were once part of the White Castle Lumber Co. Railroad - Lake Natchez system.
Why would the tracks be there?
About the Logging Operations at White Castle L&S Co.
Swampers – the men who spent their time cutting cypress in the swamps – worked from dawn until dusk. They were paid $1.50 for a 10-hour day. Mill owners did not discriminate against any segment of the population in those days. Men, women and children of different races were hired. People of all ages “from 12 years old were given a chance at employment.
A typical day started at 5:30 AM, i.e. the train left the camp at 5;30 and the workers rode the train to the slashin area, where the cutting of the trees was going on.
The crews consisted of, fallers, sawyers, track layers, riggers, tong hookers, and signalmen.
The riggers attached the logs to the cables which were attached to tall trees, the engine raised them, and they went swinging over the underbrush and / or water and dropped onto the cars.
The loaders adjusted them and when the train was made up, it chugged out to the sawmill.
The crew was made up of white and black workers . It was rugged dangerous work and as such ‘race’ issues just did not seem to be much of an issue, when you had to watch out for each other to survive.
As soon as the timber in one area was exhausted the rails were shifted to a new, yet uncut area. This may explain why there is not many places where the remnants of rail spurs can be found in the swamp.
Another aspect of White Castle L & S that may have been different was the typical Mill Town communities.
The logging camps located in isolated areas were self-contained communities. Normally, the camps consisted of an office, company store (operated part time only with sales charged against pay due), bunk house, mess hall and kitchen, blacksmith shop and barn.
The normal size for such camps was between 75 to 125 men, although larger camps were not uncommon.
These camps usually lasted for between three to six years.
When an area was logged out, the camps were either torn down and moved or simply abandoned.
The author could not find any documentation on such a situation at White Castle La. Mr. Fry Hymel wrote in his book “ the impact on Oil & Gas on Iberville parish” that many mill workers lived in a two story hotel on Railroad Ave. in White Castle.
The End of an Era 1923 – 1930
The White Castle Lumber & Shingle Co. site in White Castle was shut down and demolished by late 1923. The cypress logging industry in general was gone by 1930. Mother Nature dealt the Cypress logging industry a series of harsh back-to-back blows.
In 1924 a severe drought dried most of the water in the swamps. Then a hurricane in 1926 ripped through the Atchafalaya Basin cypress land, leaving fallen trees blocking the pull boat canals used for floating trees from the swamps.
Then in 1927 a great flood, flooding the logging camps and equipment. On top of that, the Great Depression of 1929 affected the demand for lumber in The United States.
What else could go wrong?” thought the workers as they fought to restore the industry to its former production level.
Only three months after the industry was back on its feet ( c1930), swampers and millers got word of a catastrophe they could not adjust to. It was a problem they could not conquer.
The logging companies of the East Atchafalaya Basin met the logging companies of the West Atchafalaya Basin, the red cypress supply was depleted, and the mills would have no cypress to cut.
Most of the big industrial cypress logging companies of the area investigated the possibility of moving their lumber operations to other areas of the country but larger ones like the Henry Downman companies made the decision to stay in Louisiana because of the poor national economic outlook.
Company survival in the first years of the great depression was difficult and many small landowners sold their logging property to the larger landowners.
White Castle L &S Co. – From Timber to Minerals - Oil & Gas Development
The White Castle Lumber Co. basically left White Castle as a resident business in 1924 and only remain as an absentee land owner. The White Castle L &S Co. maintained business from an office in New Orleans, LA.
Whatever you want to call it, luck, know how to wait, providence, Oil and Gas was discovered on the former cypress logging lands in the Atchafalaya Basin the late 1920’s. A new chapter in land management was established / opened up for the Henry Downman lumbering empire.
The Oil companies were welcomed with open arms, by the logging communities. It was Great Depression years; Iberville parish and municipal governments were going broke.
Many workers from the timber industry moved to jobs in the Oil & Gas Business. Particularly the men with experience working with the steam boilers of log skidders found work easily. The early oil rigs used steam boilers to run the Drilling Rigs.
Preparation for the first oil well to be drilled involved opening a right of way to the well location. This right of way was made from Hwy 993 ( Richland road) to a point 5 miles to the west. On property owned by Thomas Whaley. The name sake of Whaley canal .
Getting to the drilling site was not without difficulty. Modern equipment of the time was no match for the swamp. After several attempts where bull dozers bogged down. Mr. Walter Rushing from Plaquemine, an owner of a team of oxen was brought in and they were able to move the necessary equipment to the drill site.
The first producing wells in the Shell Oil White Castle Field were on White Castle L&S property. The first drop of oil produced from the White Castle oil field was sold on Oct. 9, 1929.
Prior to Oil& Gas companies coming to Iberville parish, there were few jobs in the area that paid the salaries or provided the benefits the oil and gas industry did. The logging companies paid $1.50 a day during the boom years of White Castle L&S. The first Shell Oil workers on drilling rigs in the mid 1930’s were paid 1.25 an hour.
Many of the new workers thought they were rich.
Rough Necks on Shell rig # 4 in White Castle Field
C 1939
Picture courtesy of - 'The Impact of Oil on Iberville Parish by James (Fry) Hymel
White Castle L&S Co. – White Castle Hunting Club
Modern hunting leases first caught on in the southern United States in the 1950’s. In the Atchafalaya Basin area, the large landowners resisted leasing their land for hunting. The local folks hunted the land free and the landowners tolerated trespassing on their lands because that is the way it was back in the day.
There was very little law in the Atchfalaya basin from 1920's to mid 1950's. The first full time game warden in Iberville Parish was in 1954.
The area around the White Castle Canal began to see many more fisherman and sport hunters i.e., with good jobs, money to spend and as a result of an affluent America. They were armed with latest high tech outboard motors and boats and equipment that many rural folks could not afford.
A few hunters from White Castle convinced the landowners that leasing hunting rights would be a good conservation effort for the landowners to sustain the resources, not to mention the concern for "Protection from Property Liability as a result of an increasing litigious society.
The White Castle Hunting club may have formed unofficially as early as 1952, it was incorporated in 1956 and has been in continuing operation since that time. It may be the oldest incorporated hunting club in Iberville parish. The membership was limited to residents of Ward 1. Originally the club leased 17,000 Acres, in later years drainage reduced the amount to 14,000 acres and today it is approximately 10,000 acres.
It is well documented that Hunting leases can provide a viable and sustainable source of supplemental income for landowners and at same time provide a better opportunity to hunt for sportsmen, especially when managed properly to keep wildlife populations at sustainable levels.
In this setup, the hunter (or group of hunters) typically pays a fee and has exclusive use of the property during all hunting seasons. Generally Hunting leases are year to year with a guaranteed option to renew for one year.
However, it is fairly common to have longer leases, i.e., four years allows for game management plan. There is always an escape cause for 'Conduct Unbecoming' and Mineral exploration. Some leases are evergreen and renew every year upon payment of the annual fee.
Hunting leases work well because both parties are interested in the ongoing health of the land and its animal inhabitant and do not over hunt the fauna or damage the flora.
Many hunters believe they achieve a richer fair-chase hunting experience on leased land because there are rules, and it requires discipline to follow them. Rogue hunters are usually weeded out quickly. That is why hunters with modest income will save up for the yearly dues to belong to a hunting club.
Old Hunting Clubs have fascinating histories -
The fee for first lease to the White Castle Club was 10 cents per acre. The bylaws stipulated that you had to a resident of Ward 1 Iberville Parish to join. There are other intersting stories but to protect the guilty they won'y be mentioned here.
Here’s Your Sign
Old Railroad route along Callaghan Ditch to Whaley canal
Hunting club signs are put at access / entry points to keep out trespassers
and to protect the landowners as well.
Camp Site Leasing an added Bonus
One of the first things a hunter searches after securing a hunting rights lease, a place that will make it easier to hunt more frequently. Landowners providing camp site leases is a nice bonus for hunters. Hunters are willingly to pay for that opportunity. There is nothing like telling ole stories around the campfire. Most hunters dream of sharing the experience of hunting with their friends and seeing his child harvest game. Nothing beats spending time in the woods with like-minded people and family. That’s how you pass down the hunting heritage and tradition down to your children and perpetuate the sport.
Joffrion Camp Site on Whaley Canal
The White Castle Lumber Co. allows Camp site leases on their property. It helps create new hunters, that is called Sustainability.
Conclusion / Summary -Why do this story ?
Growing up at Bayou Pigeon, LA. in the hamlet known as ‘Indigo,’ for Indigo Bayou. I spent most of my free time in my adolescent years hunting Indigo Island and Lake Natchez. I was always intrigued by the eastern shore of Lake Natchez.
It was never explorable for us, sloughs and entrances to the marsh like area were always choked with water lilies and marsh type grass and very boggy. If you tried to walk along it you would sink up to your waist in muck. It had remained a mysterious primeval place to me until a few years ago. The availability of air-cooled surface drive propeller driven engines allowed access and exploration.
Eastern shore of Lake Natchez at Con-tie slough entrance in the Spring
The research for this paper opened up a whole new history and perspective of the area to me. ie., The ‘Cypress Queen’ White Castle L &S Co. Sawmill and Lake Natchez railroad.
Even though there are no traces of the proud “Cypress Queen White Castle Sawmill”, today. She deserves a better telling of her history in our community. More than a few old pictures.
The Sawmills brought ample opportunities for employment to local people and many new entrepreneurs and business people moved to the area during the first three decades of the 20th-century. Many of these people continued to live in the community and became community leaders after the mill shutdown.
There are streets names of people that were part of White Castle L&S that many people have no idea of the origin of the name. White Castle was part of a thriving timber industry during the 1904 to 1915 period which ranked Louisiana in second place of lumber-producing states in the United States, behind State of Washington .
The White Castle L&S / Lake Natchez Railroad, in and of itself was an extraordinary engineering feat and worth documenting.
Document, Educate, Preserve the History.
.
This is a story from our past ... Iberville Parish, Atchafalaya Basin ... a story our history / heritage .... value it, care for it, enjoy it, understand it ...
References:
Source: American Lumberman. "A Journey through the Vast Downman Cypress Interests with Camera and Pen", American Lumberman, Aug 5, 1905 pp.43-82. White Castle Lumber & Shingle Company at White castle, Louisiana, in 1905; excerpts from American Lumberman magazine.
Source: American Lumberman. "A Journey through the Vast Downman Cypress Interests with Camera and Pen", American Lumberman, Aug 5, 1905 pp.43-82. Chicago: American Lumberman, 1905
Jeanerette Landmarks.org https://www.jeanerettelandmarks.org; About Us
"The Sawmills" (from "A History of William Cameron & Company", 1925)
Source: Tolson, R.J., "The Sawmills" chapter excerpt, A History of the William Cameron & Company, 1925, Wm. Cameron & Co., Waco, Texas.
The Many Faces of Plaquemine And Its Surrounding Area; A photographic History of Plaquemine, LA.; Collection of Photographs by Anthony Fama Sr. 1999
The Impact of Oil on Iberville parish , 2011; By James ‘Fry” Hymel
High-Lead Logging on the Olympic Peninsula 1920s-1930s; https://depts.washington.edu/cspn/resources/curriculummaterials/high-lead-logging
Logging railroads of North America; http://www.loggingrailroads.net/
About The author:
Cliff is an American patriot, after serving in the US Army 1969 – 71. He earned a B.S. Degree in Industrial Education from LSU.
He grew up in Bayou Pigeon, one foot in the water and one on dry land. At that time, life for the people of Bayou Pigeon still revolved around the Atchafalaya Swamp’s yearly cycle of natural events to make a living. Primarily, commercial fishing, crawfishing, frogging, crabbing, alligator hunting, fur trapping, moss picking, and turtles.
He has written two books about the Swamp Cajun Culture. "Bayou Pigeon, LA - Spirit of the Atchafalaya" and "Heritage of the Atchafalaya - A Cultural and Natural History of the Atchafalaya Basin". The first, winning a national Independent Publishers Award in 2012, in New York City, New York. He has made himself knowledgeable and conversant in the history and folk life ways of the Atchafalaya Basin.
He is the Iberville Parish representative on the Lt. Governors, Atchafalaya National Heritage Area Trace Commission.
Since his retirement in 2008 he has given several dozen presentations and lectures on the history, heritage and folklife of the Atchafalaya Basin.
He is a master license Alligator hunter since 1981.
Affiliations:
Co - Founder of the Bayou Pigeon Heritage Association, serves as Vice president.
He is a Senior member American Society of Quality, Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Quality Auditor. Certified Reliability Engineer, Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Ex officio of the Catfish Hunting Club in the Atchafalaya Basin.
Past President St. John Parochial School Fathers Club
Member of the NRA
Member of the Boone & Crockett Club
All rights Reserved
Clifford LeGrange
225 776 2686
LeGrange@cox.net
