The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-12-24

May they never dim in their lustre bright
Or in happiness cease to shine.
NJ. L.
DOnaldsonville'S Past.
"reminiscences of the Town as it was from
1886 to 1916.
cold Fogy " in Assumption Pioneer.
Forty-five years effect many changes,
both to men and the works of their hands.
They bring about, with very few excep-
tions, an entire change Of population,
and in this particular instance, taking
into account the destruction by fire dur
| ing the late war, there is but little Of the
former town left.
Tie Roman Catholic Church, with its
surrounding buildings, the market-house
and small number of private residences
are the sole representatives Of the town
which existed before the war. These
facts are merely cited en- passamt, as, ac-
cording to my recollection, neither the
present church or market-house existed
when made my first acquaintance with
Donaldsonville.
It was for short time the seat Of gov
ernment, and an unsightly and badly
constructed State House was erected.
The choice Of that site for such pur-
pose seems to have been mere crack
row." as the statesmen who occupied it
soon became thoroughly disgusted, and,
under the shallow pretext that the roof
was leaky, abandoned the place for good
and all. At that time lower Louisiana
constituted the principal portion Of the
State represented in the Legislature,
aud most of the members We're accus-
toned to tie pleasures of city life; the.
contrast presented by small country
village was too great for their patriotism.
/ recollect the pile Of bricks which rep
resented the old State-House, and which
was afterwards carted to the front and
deposited at the "point," near the waters
edge, to arrest the washing off of the
bayou bank on the town side, which was
being rapidly carried away.
In the days to which I have referred
the town had no pretensions to he called
a commercial centre; it had stores for
the sale of dry goods, groceries and such
articles as are usually found in the shops
Of country villages. Although sur
rounded by extensive sugar plantations,
inhabited by their owners and q large
number Of slaves, yet the supplies now
purchased in the town were then ordered
direct from New Orleans, and the village
merchants only sold in small quantities
to parties who could not send to the city.
Few fortunes were made by store-keep-
ing, and those merchants who were sue
ccssful brought it about by years of close
attention to their business and the prac
tice of the strictest economy.
So much for the business relations of
the place. 1t is not my intention in this
sketch to give a history Of Donaldson as
a town, which can be more truthfully
and efficiently executed by reference to
the records and the old residents who
still survive.
That portion of her past to which 1
wish to call attention relates to her So
cial status, and although unable to put
forth amy claims to commercial distinc-
ton, she can point with pride to many
among her old population who gave
sessed by any town outside of New
Orleans.
The country at large was prosperous;
the planters in the vicinity possessed
abundant means for the qualification of
their tastes and the indulgence i'll those
amusements which contribute SO materi-
ally to the happiness of both old and
young.
The office of the Surveyor General was
located in Donaldsonville, and the land
business of that period not only induced
many strangers from all portions of the
State to make frequent business visits,
but the fact of large contracts for sur
yeying the unsettled portions of North
Louisiana being at the disposal of the
Surveyor General, attracted large num-
Der of intelligent young men from the
different States. Most of the field work
was done in the Fall and Winter, bring
ing them back to town during the Spring
and Summer to put it Into shape for
official inspection. To these must be
added the young men ct the town and
vicinity as we'll as on occasions those of
the parishes of Iberville aud St. James.
About the year 1887 q series of king
balls was inaugurated, at which each
successive party of kings was anxious
to surpass in magnifcence the work Of
those who had preceded them. l recall
with pleasure the beauty of the Creole
bellies, who charmed all beholders with
their quiet and tasteful style of dress, to
say naught of that peculiar type of
beauty and charm Of manner which are