Bayou Chene, Louisiana

Bayou Chene (translated to "Oak Bayou") was previously a small unincorporated community in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. The community was located in the Atchafalaya Basin.

History

Bayou Chene was located about 40 miles north of Morgan City, Louisiana. The settlers there ran a church, a school, a merchandise store and the post office, which were all located on the bayou. In the 1920s it had approximately 500 residents, most of them having come to the St. Martinville, Louisiana community. They were swampers, lumberjacks, trappers, farmers, fishermen and moss pickers.

In the 1920s, oil drilling began in the area and Texaco developed a field in the Lake Mongoulois region. War and disease had not been able to run the people off, but when the United States Army Corps of Engineers decided to build a spillway to take some of the water from the Mississippi River and reroute it to the Atchafalaya River, the government agency told the people they would have to leave. [ [http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Square/2320/river-communities.html www.geocities.com] ]

Culture

U.S. Army Medic Eugene Roe, portrayed in the 2001 Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg 10-part World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers", was born in Bayou Chene.

References