Around Lake Pontchartrain

Introduction
Home
Introduction
Pre History
1699 Exploration
1701 Fort St. John
1703 Trappers on the Bayou
1718 New Orleans is Founded
1722
1732 Native Americans
1735 Native Americans
1742
1759 Map of the Portage
1763 Spanish Rule
1768 Map of the Water Route
1770 Spanish Fort Postcards
1778 Hurricanes
1779 Spanish Rebuild the Fort
1780 Hurricane
1784 Custom House
1795 Carondelet Canal
1803 Madisonville
1808 U.S. Restores the Fort
1811 Bayou St. John Light
1803 Louisiana Purchase
1814 Madisonville
1815 Steamboat Travel Begins
1815
1816 Bayou St. John a Port
1820's Concert Hall & Garden at Spanish Fort
1823 Spanish Fort on the Bayou
1828 Map
1837 Hurricane Destroys the Bayou St. John
1838 New Canal Light
1841
1830 Pontchartrain Railroad
1868 Submarine Find
1868 receipts for the Jewess and Frances
1831 New Basin Canal
1832 Port Ponchartrain/Milneburg Light
1838 Port Ponchartrain Surveyer
1838 New Canal/West End Light
1839 Milneburg
1839 Milneburg
1839 Pontchartrain Railroad
1840 By 1840, New Orleans had become by far the wealthiest and was ranked as the third most populous
1849 Southern Yach Club
1849 Southern Yacht Club
1850 Louisville & Nashville Railroad
1850 West End, Lakeport, Bucktown
1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin
1858 Harper's Magazine
1859 Bruning's
1859 Corpheous
1860's Hurricanes
1861 Most citizens have access to the Lake
1861Bayou St. John's Port, Lake Port (West End), and Port Pontchartrain (Milneburg Port)
1861 CSS CARONDELET
1863 Madisonville
1863 Woodcut Civil War engraving
1863 - CLARIMONDE
1863 Civil War Military Map
1865 - Civil War Order
1865 ? BAYOU ST. JOHN
1866 - The Little Blue Train
1868 Map
1870 Milneburg Port declines but Jazz flourishes
1870 The Smoky Mary begins
1870 West End
1870 The Lake House is destroyed in a fire
1871 Land is reclaimed at West End
1873 - Plan plan for the redevelopment of the south shore
1873 Spanish Fort
1874 Mark Twain writes about Spanish Fort in Life on the Mississippi
1874 Mark Twain writes about West End in Life on the Mississippi
1875 Rowles Stereograph Photograph titled 'Protection levee Lake Pontchartrain'
1879 Illustration from The Nathanial Bishop book
1880 Smokey Mary
1880 - Alligators at Spanish Fort
1880 - Casino at Spanish Fort
1880 - Opera House at West End
1880 Fountain West End
1880 Hotel West End
1880 West End Pavillion
1880s - Water Polo at West End
1880s Bird's Eye View- New Basin Canal at West End
1880s Bridge over New Basin Canal at West End
1880s Pavilion at West End
1880s Spanish Fort at Bayou St. John
1883 Point-aux-Herbes
1884 - Concert Hall at Spanish Fort
1888 (Papa) Jack Laine forms his first brass band
1890 - 1920 Buddy Bolden's Band plays
1890 Ferdinand (Jelly Roll) Morton is born
1890's West End Garden Amusement Park
1890s - Spanish Fort Train
1890s Ferris Wheel at West End
1890s view of Bayou St. John
1890's Bucktown
Lake Pontchartrain at West End
1891 Painting-the Lake and Milneburg
1892 Map
1893 Woman Lighthouse keeper at Milneburg shelters storm victims
1894 - La Belle Zoraide by Kate Chopin
1894 - A LADY OF BAYOU ST. JOHN
1895 Lumber Schooner, New Basin Canal
1896 - The first movie in New Orleans was shown at the Lake
1897 - A Night in Acadie by Kate Chopin
1897 - Athénaïse by Kate Chopin
1899 - The Goodness of St. Rocque by Alice Dunbar
1895 Cape Charles Car and Passenger Ferry
1900's Milneburg Walk
1910 Bayou St. John Sailor Girl
1919 Spanish Fort Ad
1929 Port Pontchartrain/Milneburg Light decommissioned
1940's Dig
1960s Kiddieland
August 2005
1. Bayou St. John
2. Milneburg/Pontchartain Beach
Military Installments
Shushan Airport
3. Hayne Blvd. and Beyond
Lincoln Beach
Chef Pass/Fort McComb
Fort Pike & The Rigolets
"Pointe Aux Herbes"
4. Northshore -- Fontainbleau, etc.
Mandeville
Madisonville
5. Western Shores -- Pass Manchac
The German Coast
6. Engineering Marvels -- Spillway
Causeway
7. Bucktown
8. west end
General Area
Lighthouses

LakeMap.jpg

Map of Lake with surrounding cities included

Surrounded by six parishes -- Orleans, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, St. John the Babtist, St. Charles, and Jefferson.

 
 
Second largest salt-water lake in the United States (the Great Salt Lake is the largest.
630 square miles an average depth of 12-14 feet 40 miles wide and 24 miles south to north The south shore -- New Orleans, Metairie and Kenner. North shore -- Mandeville and Madisonville. Northeast -- Slidell. Pontchartrain is an estuary which connects with the Gulf of Mexico via Rigolets strait (known locally as "the Rigolets") and Chef Menteur Pass into Lake Borgne Fresh water from the Tangipahoa, Tchefuncte, Tickfaw, Amite, and Bogue Falaya Rivers, and from Lacombe Bayou. Lake Maurepas connects with Lake Pontchartrain on the west via Pass Manchac. The Industrial Canal connects the Mississippi River with the lake at New Orleans. Bonnet Carré Spillway diverts water from the Mississippi into the lake during times of river flooding. The lake was created 4,000-2,600 years ago as the evolving Mississippi River Delta formed its southern and eastern shorelines with alluvial deposits. Its Native American name was Okwata ("Wide Water"). In 1699, French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, renamed it Pontchartrain after Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain, the French Minister of the Marine, chancellor of France and minister of finance during the reign of France's "Sun King," Louis XIV, for whom Louisiana is named. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, connecting New Orleans (by way of Metairie) with Mandeville and bisecting the lake in a north-northeast line. At 24 miles (39 km), it is the longest bridge in the world. Over 125 species of fish Lake Pontchartrain, at 164,000 hectares, is the largest oligohaline estuary in the southeastern U.S. It is shallow, less than 15 feet in most places. Source: href="http://neodat.bio.uno.edu/">http://neodat.bio.uno.edu/ Jazz

Facts:
 

2nd Railroad in the U.S.

The Pontchartrain Railroad was the 2nd railroad line operating in the United
States. It connected the city with the Lake.

Source: http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab9a.htm" >href="http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab9a.htm">http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab9a.htm

Longest continuous curve on U.S. rails

AMTRAK 58 -- a.k.a. the 'City of New Orleans' travels 79- mph through
algae-spotted swamps, over stout wooden trestles, and beside Lake
Pontchartrain's lapping waters along one of the longest continuous curves on
U.S. rails.

Source: http://www.patsweb.com/history.htm" >href="http://www.patsweb.com/history.htm">http://www.patsweb.com/history.htm

 

1862 -- Submarine Races?

Early in the Civil War, the Confederate government authorized citizens to operate armed warships as 'privateers.' A New Orleans consortium headed by cotton broker H.L. Hunley gained approval for the operation of Pioneer, a 34-foot-long submarine designed and built by James McClintock. The boat held three persons, one to steer and two to crank the propeller.

In a March 1862 demonstration on Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain, a submerged Pioneer sank a barge with a towed floating torpedo. In April 1862, the U.S. Navy captured New Orleans, and its builders scuttled Pioneer. Soon discovered, the boat was sold for scrap in 1868.

The photo shows A Civil War-era submarine that was long thought to be Pioneer but is not. This one was discovered in the lake and raised in 1878 and is on display at the Louisiana State Museum. Its true origin remains a mystery.

Source:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostsub/hist1861.html

1862 -- 1932 -- Women Lighthouse Keepers

Ellen Wilson kept the light at Port Pontchartrain Light Station (Milneburg
Light), Louisiana, from 1882-1896
Source: href="http://users.sitestar.net/~cypress/womtoc.htm">http://users.sitestar.net/~cypress/womtoc.htm

Margaret Norvell served at the Head of Passes Light from 1891 to 1896, the Port Pontchartrain Light from 1896 to 1924 as the head keeper and then finished her career at the West End Light where she served from 1924 to 1932. She rescued numerous shipwrecked persons during her career and assisted many others in distress. On one occassion in 1903 when a storm swept away every building in the community except the lighthouse she cared for over 200 people who had been left homeless.
Source: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/faqs/vip.html" >href="http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/faqs/vip.html">http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/faqs/vip.html

According to Carl Arredondo, in a 1893 Hurricane where 2000 people died in a 15 foot storm surge, 200 survivors sought refuge at the Port Pontchartrain lighthouse, and its female lightkeeper was publicly recognized for caring for them.
Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:IpP2X9jLmjo:www.newswatch15.com/weather/+port+pontchartrain&hl=en" >href="http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:IpP2X9jLmjo:www.newswatch15.com/weather/+port+pontchartrain&hl=en">http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:IpP2X9jLmjo:www.newswatch15.com/weather/+port+pontchartrain&hl=en

1896 -- The first movie in New Orleans
was shown on an outdoor screen on the lakefront June 28, 1896, by Allen B. Blakemore, an electrical engineer for the New Orleans City and Lake Railroad. Blakemore reduced the five-hundred-volt current from the trolley line for his wonderful vitascope machine by way of a water rheostat.
Source:
http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm" >http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm" >href="http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm">http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm" >href="http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm">http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm" >http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm" >href="http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm">http://clarionherald.org/20000316/stall.htm
 
 

The shortest-lived rail ferry services in Louisiana

The shortest-lived rail ferry services in Louisiana – and one of the oddest
was that of the East Louisiana Railroad on Lake Pontchartrain. Between 1887 and
1892, the East Louisiana constructed its main line westward from the community
of Pearl River – where it connected with the New Orleans & Northeastern – to
Covington, and also built a branch line from a junction at St. Tammany down to
Mandeville on Lake Pontchartrain.

Shortly after it began operating, the East Louisiana obtained trackage rights over the NO&NE between Pearl River and New Orleans. The NO&NE had opened its line from Meridian, Mississippi to New Orleans on 1 November 1883 when it completed its lengthy trestle over the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain. In New Orleans, the East Louisiana built a depot between the south end of the NO&NE yard and the Mississippi River, at the corner of Press and Royal Streets.

Although the NO&NE trackage rights gave the East Louisiana a quick and convenient entry into the Crescent City, the little railroad wanted a route of its very own; so, on 15 Novenber 1895, it purchased the New Orleans, Spanish Fort & Lake RR. The NOSF&L was a 'street railroad' which ran from the intersection of Basin and Canal Streets (later the site of the New Orleans Terminal Company's Terminal Station) out to Spanish Fort, where Bayou St. John flows into Lake Pontchartrain.

The East Louisiana also purchased a 10-year-old ferry, the CAPE CHARLES, and began service between Mandeville and Spanish Fort. This new operation allowed the railroad to offer its very own service from the heart of the New Orleans business district to Mandeville and Covington, but the 25-mile voyage across Lake Pontchartrain took several hours, and the ferry was more expensive to operate than a train!

While the exact duration of this
service isn't known, the ferry was sold to the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad
in 1986 or 1987 and rebuilt into a dredge for use at Gulfport, Mississippi. The
East Louisiana sold the NOSF&L to the New Orleans & Western Railroad on
1 July 1897, and the line out to Spanish Fort was abandoned in 1904. Based on
the purchase and sale dates of the NOSF&L, it would appear that the ferry
service lasted less than two years.

Source: http://lrs.railspot.com/h/h-ferries.htm" >href="http://lrs.railspot.com/h/h-ferries.htm">http://lrs.railspot.com/h/h-ferries.htm

 
1935 -- 2006 -- World's Longest Bridges
 
This 1935 POST CARD OF 'PONTCHARTRAIN BRIDGE, NEW ORLEANS, LA.' Back reads 'THE NEW $5,500,000 PONTCHARTRAIN BRIDGE SPANS LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN FROM POINTE / AUX HERBES, SOUTH OF NEW ORLEANS TO SLIDELL ON THE NORTH SHORE. THE BRIDGE WITH IT?S APPROACHES, IS THE LONGEST OF IT?S KIND IN THE COUNTRY. THE ACTUAL SPAN, ENTIRELY OF CONCRETE, IS MORE THAN 5 MILES IN LENGTH AND OFFERS A CHANCE FOR A BEAUTIFUL, COOL DRIVE OVER THE WATERS OF LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN. IT BRINGS NEW ORLEANS SUBSEQUENTLY CLOSER TO THE NORTH AND EAST.'

In 1956, The Causeway captured the title. When the second span of the Causeway was completed in the late 60's it became the 'World's Longest Bridge'.

This postcard reads (on back) Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, World's Longest Bridge. Connecting New Orleans with the highlands to the north. It was completed in 1956. The Greater New Orleans Expressway System. We're trying to figure out which side of the Lake this photo depicts and which camp in included in the picture.

Elvis was in the building...

Elvis Presley's movie "King Creole" included scenes filmed at a New Orleans lakefront camp. We're not sure which camp this was.

 

1958 -- The $10,000 fish

THE CERAMIC JAX BEER MUG READS "1958 AWARD PRESENTED TO A TRUE FOLLOWER OF ISAAC WALTON AS A WINNER IN THE "JAX" GOLDEN GILL FISH HUNT". As the story goes (I can't verify this) THE JACKSON BREWING COMPANY TAGGED FISH,

It wasn't originally the

The beloved Prom Night Headquarters--The Bali-Hai was originally opened as "The Beach-Comber" in 1959. One year later it was re-christened "The Bali-Hai.

My best memories are of riding in the Polynesian pick-up truck (all decked out in a formal)while anticipating sharing a Tiki Bowl and Poo-Poo Platter.

The first movie in New Orleans
was shown at the lake in 1896.
Netflix - Only $9.99 a month. Over 55,000 Titles. No Late Fe

The $10,000 fish
Jax Beer Fishing Contest THE CERAMIC JAX BEER MUG READS "1958 AWARD PRESENTED TO A TRUE FOLLOWER OF ISAAC WALTON AS A WINNER IN THE "JAX" GOLDEN GILL FISH HUNT". As the story goes (I can't verify this) THE JACKSON BREWING COMPANY TAGGED FISH,

Submarine Races?
There really was a sub in the lake--during the Civil War

Women Lighthouse Keepers
Ellen Wilson & Margaret Norvell during the 1800's

Jazz was born and bred on the Lake
It's not widely known that the New Orleans lakeshore played a huge roll in the birth of Jazz.

World's Longest Bridges
Three times, since the early 1930's, Lake Pontchartrain was crossed by "The World's Longest Bridge".

Elvis was in the building...
"King Creole" included scenes shot at a lakefront camp.

Over 125 species of fish
have been recorded from Lake Pontchartrain

2nd Railroad in the U.S.
The Pontchartrain Railroad

Longest continuous curve on U.S. rails
AMTRAK 58 -- a.k.a. the "City of New Orleans"

 

1770 Spanish Fort is Established

ConcertHallAndGardenSpanishFort.tif.jpg

1863  Woodcut Civil War engraving

1850s West End & Lakeport development begins

The Lake