Objectives Historical Hightlights of the Basin Before 1700 French Colonial Period Spanish & British Colonial Period Antebellum Period The Civil War & After The 20th Century Exploring the Basin Historical Information Resources Activities

View Chapter: Full Table of Contents Return to the Home Page Editors, Authors and Contributors Introduction Pontchartain Basin: A Water Shed Why Worry About Wetlands? The Magic of the Estuary Rollin' Down the River Liquid Assets Natural Resources of the Basin Ecosystems in Delicate Balance Natural Forces Affecting the Basin Resource Management: Land Use Exploring the History of the Basin Field Trip Guide Internet Resources Appendix Moments in Time: Exploring the History of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Objectives: Research and dramatize and mime selected events in the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Collect primary/secondary information and artifacts describing life throughout the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and create a "History Box." Make concept maps depicting the many cultural groups which currently live in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Conduct research on commerce and transport throughout the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Illustrate events in the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin using pictures to create a time line. Survey the public to discover what residents of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin know about the region's history. Write about daily life in the l9th century in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin; look to the future of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and reflect on your own role in its welfare. Multiple Intelligences Learning Activities: Verbal/Linguistic: Gather oral history experiences from family members and friends about Lake Pontchartrain and its rivers. Prepare a documentary-style oral history presentation based on a scavenger hunt and group research. Write "A Day in the Life" of a famous character from the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Write a diary entry about an imagined trip to the lake in 1850. Interpersonal: Work in cooperative groups to investigate the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin using primary and secondary sources of information. Interview family and friends about their lifetime experiences living in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Develop a questionnaire and use it to interview the public about their knowledge of Lake Pontchartrain Basin history. Mathematical/Logical: Conduct research about the commerce of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin through history: its imports and exports and its importance in world trade. Research the history of transportation in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Research facts about major storms that have hit the Lake Pontchartrain Basin throughout history. Bodily/Kinesthetic: Perform a play about the explorers who discovered the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Dramatize events from the time line of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Mime events from the history of the Lake ntchartrain Basin. Visual/ Spatial: Design a display of artifacts in the form of a History Box showing illustrations of events associated with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Design a backdrop for an oral presentation. Illustrate historical events on a map of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Make a pictorial time line of events in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin using old photographs and your own illustrations. Intrapersonal: Using pictures/drawings/photographs, show how Lake Pontchartrain or its rivers influences your own life. Write your imagined feelings as a member of an exploration party in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin in 1699. Reflect on the influence of people and their actions on the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and write your vision for the Basin. Musical: Compose songs about the romance of Lake Pontchartrain or its rivers. Compose a ballad about an important character in the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.

Objectives Historical Hightlights of the Basin Before 1700 French Colonial Period Spanish & British Colonial Period Antebellum Period The Civil War & After The 20th Century Exploring the Basin Historical Information Resources Activities

The Historical Hightlights of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Before 1700 It is 1650: Many Native American tribes live in the area we now know as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. They include such tribes as the Bayougoula, Mougoulacha, Chitimacha, Oumas, Tangipahoa, Colapissa, and Quinipissa. Although rumors from the north tell of people from Europe exploring the land, nobody here feels threatened. As they have for thousands of years, the people of this beautiful estuary live on fish and seafood from the lakes, rivers, and bayous. (Today evidence of their villages exist in the form of piles of discarded clam shells or "middens".) Okwa-ta, which means "Wide Water," is the name the Choctaws use for the lake we now call Pontchartrain. Tangipahoa, the parish and the river are named for the Tangipahoa people; their name means "corn gatherers" in Choctaw. The name "Tchefuncte," a Choctaw name for a local plant, refers to a period of Native American culture as well as to the hefuncte River which enters the lake at Madisonville. The French Colonial Period 1682-1763 1682: Explorers from France arrive to explore the Lower Mississippi River Valley. 1699: Iberville discovers and names Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas for the French. 1718: Bienville founds the City of New Orleans at present site because of easy access to the Mississippi River through Lake Pontchartrain and Bayou St. John. 1720: Germans migrated to the Basin, settling in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes in an area that came to be known as the German Coast. 1718-1763: New Orleans grows as the French struggle with the unfamiliar climate, flooding, and mosquito-borne diseases. The rest of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin has little European presence, other than a few farms and plantations near northshore bayous. Enslaved Africans arrive. They were forcibly added to the mix of cultures in the Lake Pontchartrian Basin. The Spanish and British Colonial Period 1763-1810 1763: After a short revolution, the Spanish government takes over the rule of most of Louisiana. This rule lasts for the rest of the 18th century. The British control the Florida Parishes (St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Livingston, Washington, St. Helena, East and West Feliciana) on the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Pass Manchac marks the border between Spanish and British territory. People from other parts of the world begin to arrive and settle in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Some immigrated willingly; some were forcibly brought here. All groups contributed to the culture. For example, the "shotgun" house design which originated in Africa, was imported from the West Indies. Gumbo and other dishes were developed as a result of a mixing of cultural cuisine. The word "gumbo" is derived from an African word for "okra," a staple ingredient of gumbo. Filé (sassafras leaves) came from Native Americans who added this herb to thicken their dishes, and the "roux" was contributed by the French.

Objectives Historical Hightlights of the Basin Before 1700 French Colonial Period Spanish & British Colonial Period Antebellum Period The Civil War & After The 20th Century Exploring the Basin Historical Information Resources Activities

Antebellum Period (1810-1861) 1787: Destrehan Plantation was built by a free person of color and served as a freedmen's bureau after the Civil War. 1811: Enslaved Africans in St. Charles Parish revolted in what was possibly the largest revolt of enslaved people American history. 1812: Louisiana becomes part of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase. 1815: In The Battle of New Orleans, Native Americans, free people of color, and European Americans fought together against the British, causing them to retreat. Several important ports flourish on Lake Pontchartrain's shores. Sailboats carry cargo and people between the Gulf of Mexico and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin ports. Commerce grows on the south and north shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Exported products include: lumber, charcoal, bricks, shells, cotton, and oysters. Imported products include: raw materials and food unavailable locally. Madisonville on the northshore is an important boat building center. 1815: Travel by steamboat begins in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, replacing many of the sailboats. The antebellum period is a time of wealth for some in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Large plantations spring up on the north and south shores, in the city of New Orleans, and along the Mississippi River. The wealthy spend their leisure time on the lake shore at several exclusive resorts, eating at the famous restaurants, gambling and enjoying the lake breezes. The first resort to open is at Spanish Fort at the mouth of Bayou St. John. 1831: The Pontchartrain Railroad connecting the city of New Orleans with the lakeshore is completed. Because of the railroad, a large resort area develops on the lakeshore at Milneburg. This resort boasts the beautiful Washington Hotel, a park, and a bath building. The Washington Hotel becomes a popular stopping point for travelers while the well-to-do of New Orleans spend pleasant weekends there. 1832: Norbert Rillieux, a free person of color, invented the vacuum pump for more efficient sugar processing. 1831-1838: The New Basin Canal is built using Irish immigrant labor, claiming the lives of many men who work on its construction. The canal serves as a transport route between downtown New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Pleasure seekers take a mule-drawn barge, complete with musical entertainment, along the New Basin Canal to the resort at New Lake End (now known as West End). 1834: The Marigny Plantation in New Orleans gives way to the neighborhood of Faubourg Marigny so Bernard de Marigny moves across the lake to Fontainbleau, the family plantation on the northshore. He establishes the fashionable resort town of Mandeville. The Mandeville Hotel offers gambling, billiards, a bath house, and stables. People from New Orleans begin crossing the lake by steamer, seeking relief from the hot New Orleans summers. The Civil War (1861-1900) and Afterwards Louisiana contributed more African American troops to the civil war than any other state. Many Louisiana forts were manned by African American troops. During the Civil War New Orleans is occupied by Union troops. The Civil War resulted in the abolition of slavery and passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Consitution, thus ending a century of slavery. During Reconstruction, a tumultuous time, Louisiana had its first and only African American Governor, P.B.S. Pinchback. His governorship lasted only a month. Beginning around 1850, after many years of steamboat travel in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, railroads are built. Many people now find it quicker and cheaper to travel by train. Several towns, including Slidell are built on the new railroads. Now it is not only the wealthy who get to enjoy the lakeshore resorts. Families spend their holidays by taking "Smoky Mary," the train to Milneberg where they fish and swim. They can also rent small lakeshore camps for the weekend. 1849: the Southern Yacht Club opens at West End. At the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century, cypress logging takes place. (Today the scars of the logging industry which neglected to replant the cypress trees can be seen in areas such as the marsh near Turtle Cove on Pass Manchac.) Leonard Julien, an African American, invented the cane planting machine in the late 19th Century. New Orleans, at the end of the 19th Century, was still an unhealthy place to live because of its poor drainage. Diseases such a yellow fever, malaria, tuberculosis, and intestinal infections, killed thousands of people in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. It wasn't until the 1890's that taxes were raised to build a proper drainage system. The 20th Century 1915: A huge hurricane hits New Orleans. Recent improvements in communication reduces the loss of life. Buddy Bolden, considered the "father of jazz," was born in New Orleans in 1877 and died in 1931. The peak of his career was from 1890 to 1920. He played music at Milneburg and other lakeshore resorts. Louis Armstrong, who popularized jazz on an international level, was born in New Orleans in 1900 and died in 1971. He began his career around 1915 as a teenager. "West End Blues" was one of Armstrong's songs which featured the local scene. 1924: The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, or the Industrial Canal is opened, linking the Mississippi River with the lake, aiding shipping commerce. 1927: The Mississippi River floods, causing great destruction, but much of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is spared the worst. 1928: Pontchartrain Beach opens where Lake Vista is today. 1931: The Corps of Engineers builds the Bonnet Carre Spillway, a safety valve which can be opened when the Mississippi River floods, protecting New Orleans from high water. The water can be diverted from the river to Lake Pontchartrain. 1937: The Bonnet Carre Spillway is opened for the first time. In the early 1930s, Governor Huey P. ng improves the state's highways and bridges, building the first bridge across the Mississippi at New Orleans. In the 1930s and '40s, oil and gas exploration takes place in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Oil and gas related industries grow in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Due to environmental problems related to this industry, such as wetland loss from canal dredging, and pollution from oil spills, since 1992 there are no new oil and gas drilling leases allowed in Lake Pontchartrain. Throughout the 20th century the population of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin grows. On the southshore Greater New Orleans spreads out to include Metairie and Kenner. This growth brings problems of drainage, sewage and storm protection. 1939: Pontchartrain Beach is moved to Milneburg. During the Second World War the land near Lake Pontchartrain, where the University of New Orleans stands today, was used by Higgins Boats to build wartime vessels. Early 1950's: The hurricane protection levees are built along the southshore of Lake Pontchartrain, protecting the whole of metropolitan Orleans and Jefferson parishes from lake storm surges. 1956: The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is completed. Now New Orleans and Mandeville are linked by road for the first time. 1956-1964: Lincoln Beach Amusement Park was opened in 1956 and was a popular attraction for African Americans in New Orleans. It closed in 1964 and remains abandoned. 1963: The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) is opened to provide a short cut for shipping from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. It allows saltwater from the gulf to enter the St. Bernard marshes and Lake Pontchartrain, causing the loss of freshwater marshes and the conversion to water of much of the St. Bernard wetlands. 1965: Hurricane Betsy hits the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, causing flooding and other destruction in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. 1960s: The I-10 is built from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, traversing the southshore of Lake Pontchartrain. The growing population and all the related development causes obvious degradation of the health of Lake Pontchartrain. 1960's: Many Cuban people emigrated to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin because of political changes in their country. 1970s: Large numbers of Central American people emigrated to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin primarily because of litical unrest in several Central American countries. Many Asian people also arrived, including many Vietnamese fleeing their war-torn country. 1972: Pontchartrain Beach swimming area closes due to unacceptable levels of pollution which threaten the health of bathers. 1974-1982: Ernest "Dutch" Morial was elected the first African American mayor of New Orleans. 1979: "No swimming" advisories are posted along the lake's southshore in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. 1983: Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park closes for good, due mostly to lowered attendance. (Today some remnants of the famous Zephyr ride and other memorabilia are on display outside City Hall on Williams Boulevard in Kenner). 1987: The Tangipahoa River is declared unsafe for swimming and tubing due to high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. 1989: The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation is established to restore the health of the lake and its rivers and to otect the natural habitat of the basin. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation addresses environmental quality issues throughout the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and educates the public about their role in solving the problems. "Save Our Lake" becomes a popular slogan. 1990: Shell Dredging is halted in Lake Pontchartrain. The dredging, which had been ongoing for over 60 years, wreaked havoc on the Lake's ecosystem. The 1990s: In spite of great improvements, it is not yet safe to swim on the southshore of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes due to the urban runoff from the city streets. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and researchers from the University of New Orleans monitor the lake water for fecal coliform bacteria, one of the main indicators of pollution. People still fish and boat throughout the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, but fishers report a decline in the quantity and quality of their catch. 2000: You will participate in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin's future. You can make a difference in many ways. Wherever you live in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin you can help to make sure the lake is a place for wildlife to live and people to go fishing, crabbing, shrimping, boating and swimming.

Objectives Historical Hightlights of the Basin Before 1700 French Colonial Period Spanish & British Colonial Period Antebellum Period The Civil War & After The 20th Century Exploring the Basin Historical Information Resources Activities

Exploring the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research The Facts Conduct research about the goods that were produced in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Choose two important products. Find figures that show how much was produced or exported. Draw a graph to show the amounts of both products for at least two different time periods. Write a paragraph to tell what your graph shows, explaining any changes over time. Visit museums and libraries to collect information about the modes of transport throughout the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Make a pictorial presentation of these methods of transportation, showing the changes over time. Pay attention to the influence of the lake on transportation. Find information about the various major hurricanes that have hit the Lake Pontchartrain area. Make a list of the most destructive storms. Compare the damage done by two storms at different times (e.g, compare the damage of the hurricane of 1915 with that of Betsy in 1965). Document the number of lives lost and the amount of property damage. Illustrate the history of the Lake with Maps and Pictures On the map of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, indicate important historical markers, with dates and labels. Find photographs from books and draw your own pictures to depict significant scenes from each of these centuries: 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. Using the pictures you collect, make a time line of the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Write and Read about Lake Pontchartrain Basin History Choose a character from the history of The Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Read about the daily life of the character. Write a short essay entitled "A Day in the Life of (your character)." Try to bring in daily activities such as those in your life, highlighting how they would be different because of the different time in history. Write a diary entry about a trip to the lake with your family in 1850. Choose Milneburg or New Lake End as your destination. You can travel by barge on the New Basin Canal or on Smoky Mary, the train to Milneburg. Imagine that it is 1835 and you are a guest at Bernard de Marigny's fashionable new resort in Mandeville. Write a diary entry about your journey to the resort, your activities there, and the people you meet. See Conducting Historical Research in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin for historical information resources. Lake Reflections Reflect on the past, present and future of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Write your vision for Lake Pontchartrain in 2010. What will it take on your part to achieve your vision? Make a scrapbook or collage to show how Lake Pontchartrain and/or its rivers influence your life. Find Out What Others Know and Feel About the Basin's History The whole class can participate in making a short questionnaire to find out how much people know about the cultural history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Each student should contribute two or three questions; then the class votes for the best ones. Ask for permission to have people complete the questionnaire at any of the following places: the annual Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation "Back to the Beach" Celebration, your local public library, your school, your local mall. Analyze the results and publish them in the school student newspaper. Mime the History of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Make up actions that represent each key event in the cultural history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Mime the events in their historical sequential order. Play "Pontchartrain Charades." Players take turns miming scenes from the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Music Activities Write a ballad about an important character in the history of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Write a romantic song about Lake Pontchartrain or its rivers. Play and sing the folksong The Lakes of Ponchetrain. Write a script for an interview (both questions and answers) about a famous jazz musician from New Orleans.

Objectives Historical Hightlights of the Basin Before 1700 French Colonial Period Spanish & British Colonial Period Antebellum Period The Civil War & After The 20th Century Exploring the Basin Historical Information Resources Activities

Activities: Dramatization of the discovery of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Dramatic Time Line The Cultures of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin The Great Pontchartrain Pursuit: Capturing History in a Box Learning about cultures in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Collecting and cataloging artifacts Preparing a documentary-style report Designing a History Box Making a presentation, in documentary form,using collected information and artifacts View Chapter: Full Table of Contents Return to the Home Page Editors, Authors and Contributors Introduction Pontchartain Basin: A Water Shed Why Worry About Wetlands? The Magic of the Estuary Rollin' Down the River Liquid Assets Natural Resources of the Basin Ecosystems in Delicate Balance Natural Forces Affecting the Basin Resource Management: Land Use Exploring the History of the Basin Field Trip Guide Internet Resources Appendix ©1998 Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Lessons on the Lake is published by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Metairie, LA [an error occurred while processing this directive]