White Castle

[Laheadhunter]

I am working on a rig in White Castle. Should be here another 2 or 3 weeks. Anyone close or know of some places with permission to hunt?

Joey Hamilton

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[River Rat]

Joey,

I don't know anyone in that area, but I would check the parish/town hall to find out whatever info is needed. I'm sure the sugar cane fields should have some CW relics, here's a little tidbit about White Castle Plantation....
White Castle is sometimes mistakenly thought to be named for Nottaway, the
plantation but was actually named after White Castle Plantation. A portion
of the plantation property was subdivided in 1884 by it's part-owners to
develop a company town for the local White Castle Lumber and Shingle
Company. A passenger ferry operated from White Castle to the Hansen's
Disease Center until the 1950's. The White Castle Plantation house had to
be moved 4 times to escape the Mississippi River (because of erosion and the
river changing course) and with each move lost parts of the huge house.
It's said that two cottages are all that remain and are in the town of White
Castle.

I got this information from "Along the River Road" by Mary Ann Sternberg,
and I would recommend it as a learning aid to anyone interested in the River


History
White Castle, the town, was carved out of the George Wailes Plantation "White Castle". The 1883 Charles H. Dickinson Survey of several parishes of Louisiana shows the "White Castle" Planation property. Nearby is the plantation property of John H. Randolph called "Nottaway".

White Castle was established as a town at the beginning of the 1900s with the influx of people and business brought by the logging done in the Cyprus swamps in the area. When the Cyprus was depleted the main economic growth reverted back to the sugar cane industry that had been established during the 1800s. Individual plantation sugar mills gave way to larger mills servicing many plantations. By 1970 White Castle had three major sugar mills, Cora-Texas, Cedar Grove, and Catherine/Supples. Presently only one, Cora-Texas located just south of White Castle on LA 1, is still in service.

Plantations in the area are Nottaway, Belle Grove[1] (defunct), and Laurel Ridge [2](defunct) among many more. People living in the unincorporated areas of Samstown, Lone Star, Bell Grove, Dorseyville Old Dorseyville School, and as far away as Bayou Goula helped support White Castle businesses. At one time there were three Car Dealerships, Dufour Chevrolet, White Castle Motor company(Ford) and Dixie Sales and Service(Chrysler/Plymouth), three drug stores, Heberts, Viallons, and Bajons, Weils and Shaheens clothing stores, and two lumber yards. Sammy's, Dominics, Tina's, Fortes [3] (defunct), and Landry's were used for grocery shopping. Big screen entertainment was provided by Castle Theater until 1959 when it was closed.

During the 1950s the Chemical industry entered the area congregating around the Mississippi river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This entry of this industry brought economic growth that took White Castle to the 1980s. Companies establishing chemical plants in the area near White Castle are Dow Chemical north of Plaquemine, Georgia-Pacific and Hercules north of White Castle, and Ciba-Gigey on the east side of the Mississippi.

Population trends has remained between 1900 to 2200 residents for the last 40 years within the city limits of White Castle. This is probably due to the stable boundaries. The surrounding unincorporated areas have seen an increase.

Hope this helps a little bit. Good luck!!

RR

 

[Laheadhunter]

Thanks RR,

We are drilling on part of the old Laurel Ridge Plantation. I can see several good spots. One is on the road we use going through the cane field. I can see a ton of OLD bricks, glass, and crockery, just across the road ditch. The debris area is pretty large. Donaldsonville and Plaquimine both have huge historic districts.

Thanks for your help
Joey

 

[Pimp Lenin]

There was quite a number of small battles and skirmishes in and around Donaldsonville during the War for Southern Independence ( ). Should have some luck finding some relics.