Bayou Sara, Louisiana

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Louisiana in the American Civil War: Map of course of the Mississippi River from Bayou Sara to Baton Rouge Survey of Mississippi Fortifications from Port Hudson to Bayou Sara 1863-02-10.jpg
Louisiana in the American Civil War: Map of course of the Mississippi River from Bayou Sara to Baton Rouge

Bayou Sara was a town in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States until the Mississippi River washed it away in 1927. In the early 1800s it was the most important landing between New Orleans and Natchez, Mississippi. [1] According to the American Guide to Louisiana, Bayou Sara was "founded in 1790 by John H. Mills and Christopher Stewart, who established a trading post on the river which grew into one of the most flourishing ports between Natchez and New Orleans. With the advent of the railroad, trade diminished and the town gradually declined, so that now all that remains of Bayou Sara are a few wooden shacks and a tall, uninscribed monument, and these have been absorbed by St. Francisville." [2]

John H. Mills had originally settled in the Natchez District where he operated a sawmill in partnership with Isaac Johnson near Second Creek. [3] Mills' son Gilbert Mills married Johnson's daughter Ann Waugh Johnson. [3] In 1790 Mills moved south to the vicinity of the Bayou Sarah and in partnership with Christopher Strong Stewart opened a trading post on the batture. [3] Stewart later moved to Mobile, Spanish West Florida, where he died in 1809. [3]

John James Aububon came to Bayou Sara in 1821 and began the nature studies that became the Birds of America . [4]

The town had its own newspaper, the Bayou Sara Sun, prior to the American Civil War. [5]

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References

  1. "Bayou Sara Booklet" (PDF). crt.state.la.us.
  2. "Louisiana; a guide to the state, compiled by workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Louisiana ... sponsored ..." HathiTrust. 1941. p. 464. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Story of the West Florida Rebellion by Stanley Clisby Arthur". St. Francisville Democrat. 1934-09-22. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  4. "John James Audubon Bicentennial". WEST FELICIANA TOURIST COMMISSION. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  5. "Bayou Sara Ledger (Bayou Sara, La.) 1842-185?". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2024-08-29.

Further reading