Maps of Barataria Plantation
Taken from Grand Isle on the Gulf: An Early
History by Evans, Stielow & Swanson
In the 1830’s the landowners on Grand Isle developed their land into large cotton and sugar cane plantations. The largest plantation of record was the Barataria Plantation which covered two miles of the island’s center. It had over 100 slaves and thirty-eight slave cabins. There was also a sugar house, blacksmith, carpenter shop and slave hospital. Plantations were active until the Civil War.
While plantations were
cultivated on Grand Isle,
Caminadaville remained
dependent on hunting and
fishing, but was becoming
more urban than nearby Grand
Isle. With a population of
over 300, it even had a hotel
to cater to tourists who came
to the coast for surf-bathing.