Maritime Commerce and the Founding of Wadesboro, Tangipahoa Parish, & St.
Helena Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Sandra McLellan, priestner(a)mediaone.net
Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives.
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HISTORIC PONCHATOULA
Maritime Commerce and the Founding of Wadesboro
By JIM PERRIN
Special to The Times
(Part Two In A Series)
Schooners provided access for the citizens of the Ponchatoula area to the markets
of New Orleans.
These vessels had been plying the area rivers and lakes for many years,
sailing on the
Natalbany, Ponchatoula, and Tangipahoa rivers. Since each of these waterways
are
shallow twisting streams, maneuverable vessels with a large cargo capacity
were
needed.
Shallow draft schooners generally of local construction, were used in the Ponchatoula
area for well over a century and a half.
The St. Helena Parish court records indicate several schooners operated on the
Natalbany River in the period from 1811-1820. The sloop Syviana (1811) and
the
schooner St. Helena Packet (1812) both operated in the Springfield area. The
sloop Hornet, of 18 tons, constructed in July 1815, operated from Springfield
in
1816 and continued to sail until at least 1822 when the vessel was again sold.
The
schooner Batchelor, of about 11 1/3 tons, also operated from Springfield from 1816
until at least 1819 when the ship was transferred to another owner. This vessel
sailed between Springfield and Bayou St. John in New Orleans. Also sailing in these
waters was the sloop Hector, owned by Thomas J. Davidson in 1816.
The schooner Jealous was constructed at Bayou St. John near New Orleans in
1813,
and was registered in New Orleans in April 1827. This vessel was just over
49 feet
long, 14 feet in breadth, and 4'9" in depth, and 30 and 2/3 tons in burden.
The
Jealous had the typical configuration of a single deck and two masts. It was owned
by Robert Palmer of Springfield.
The sloop Cichos was built at Springfield and was operating there in 1817.
During the
1820's the following schooners were operating in St. Helena Parish at the time of
their sale: Admiral (1820, 1827, 1828), Caroline (1825), Little Cock (1828), and
Creole (1827).
Most of the vessels meantioned above operated on the Natalbany River, but
others,
probably a much smaller number navigated the Tangipahoa River. A prosperous shipyard
operated on the east bank of the Tangipahoa River, near the entrance of that stream
into Lake Pontchartrain. Records indicate that as early as 1833, sailing
vessels were
being constructed at the yard.
Four two-masted barges were constructed on the Tangipahoa in the 1830's, as
well as
a steamboat, the Geneva, in 1838.
The 1840's and early 1850's were the busiest at the shipyard, with sixteen
sailing
vessels, mostly schooners, being built there between 1840 and 1853.
Shipbuilding at the Tangipahoa River yard, declined after 1853, with only two additional
vessels being indentified as being constructed there during the balance of the
1850's.
This decline in activity could have been caused by the competition with the nearby
railroad line completed in 1853 in Ponchatoula.
Shipbuilding on the Tangipahoa apparently ceased soon after the War Between
the States.
An 1879 map of the lower Tangipahoa River shows three buildings labeled as
"old ship
yard" at the site.
One area resident who was engaged in commerce on the Tangipahoa was Captain George
Mitchell. Mitchell had served in the Louisiana Militia in the War of 1812 and
his widow
later received bounty land for his brief military service. Mitchell married
Emily Brou,
widow of Nicholas Ursin Hano (Heneau), Dec 22, 1833 in Livingston Parish.
George Mitchell was a schooner captain and sailed his vessel from Mitchell's
Landing
on the Tangipahoa River to New Orleans carrying barrel staves and naval
stores. On
April 28, 1835 he drowned in a storm on Lake Pontchartrain.
Other landings on the lower Tangipahoa River included Salt Landing, Cooper's Landing,
Washla Landing, Parker's Landing, Robertson's Landing, Raiford's Landing, and
Lee's
Landing. One area resident recalled his father and others rafted logs on the
river to
a mill located downstream.
On the Ponchatoula River early settler Richard Wade had established a location
sometimes called Ponchatoula Landing, but usually referred to as Wade's Landing.
Richard Wade and his wife Mary Ann Skaggs (Scuggs, Skeggs) settled in St.
Helena Parish by 1812, owning land on the Natalbany River, By 1819, Richard
had established his landing on the Ponchatoula River. Wade was a cotton planter
and also engaged in commerce at his landing. He was listed as owning 960 acres
of land on tax lists in both 1824 and 1826 on the Ponchatoula River in what was
then St. Helena Parish. He was also taxed as the owner of a tavern in 1826. In
later years he was to lay out a town at his landing and begin the settlement of
Wadesborough.
Other settlers listed as living on the Ponchatoula River, listed on the 1820,
1823,
and 1826 St. Helena Parish tax records were: Isaiah and Elizabeth Driggers,
Absalom and Benjamin Trailor, Henry Arnold, Samuel Richardson, James Rogers,
Mary Sims, Richard and Jesse Hagin, William Hutchinson, the heirs of John Knight,
William McGilvery, James Parker, Robert Palmer, and Samuel C. Rankin. Listed as
living on the Yellow Water River were: Luther Bradley, John, Margaret, and Hannah
Gainey, Jesse Hagin, and Zelotas Tucker.
Anyone having information, photographs, or documents on the people, places and
events that have shaped our community are invited to communicate with the
author, Jim Perrin, at 14187 Randall Ave., Hammond, LA 70403