From the early Spanish Land Grants followed by the influx of frontiersmen and land speculators, the book addresses Bayou DuLarge’s rich history, unique cultures, and diverse populations of Native Americans, Protestants, Foreign-French (les français étrangers), Acadians, Europeans, and African Americans (some who were the descendants of former slaves), all of whom contributed to the distinct and vibrant communities located throughout the bayou’s thirty-seven-mile length. This book delves into the enterprises that helped create Terrebonne Parish: sugar plantations; cypress and syrup mills; rice farms; shrimp-drying platforms; fur trapping; boat building; soft-shell crab, shrimp, oyster, and turtle harvesting; raising livestock; and the burgeoning oilfield and marine transportation industries.

This volume expounds upon the changes over time to the professions that shaped the region and ends with the effects of coastal erosion, rising sea levels, and the threat of tropical weather on the vulnerable lower reaches of Louisiana, and most significantly, the impact these forces have had on the generations of families who have called this unique area home.