Bayou des Cannes
Bayou des Cannes (pronounced "DAI KAIN", translated to "bayou of the reeds" or "bayou of the stalks" [1]) is a waterway in the Mermentau River basin of southern Louisiana. The bayou is 66 miles (106 km) long[2] and is navigable near the shallow-draft port at the mouth.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Mermentaurivermap.png/250px-Mermentaurivermap.png)
One of the first settlers of the area was Fabien and Louis Richard.[4] The scenery of the area contained slow moving water, draped with moss-covered cypress trees and tupelo. The banks were veritable cascades of cypress knees. It was only navigable by pirogue or canoe.[5] During the 18th century, few Acadians settled the rougher northwestern prairies. Four families (29 people) made their home between Bayou Des Cannes and . This was the farthest west that Acadians would settle until in 1803, seven Opelousas Acadian families moved to , , Bayou Nezpique and Bayou des Cannes.[6]
During the 1930s, the Point-Aux-Loups (point-ah-loo) (French for "Wolves Point") Springs Ballroom was originally built by the Louisiana Irrigation & Mills Company. This brick structure served as the main pumping plant which serviced southwest Louisiana farmers with irrigation to their rice crops. The building housed two large Fairbanks-Morse engines that pumped water at 60,000 US gallons per minute (230,000 L/min) out of Bayou des Cannes and into the flumes that carried water 0.25 miles (400 m) above ground into man-made canals throughout Acadia Parish.[7]
See also[]
- List of rivers in Louisiana
References[]
- ^ www.acadiansingray.com "Historical Names - Southwestern Bayous"
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-04-05 at WebCite, accessed June 20, 2011
- ^ www.bartleby.com "Des Cannes, Bayou" Archived November 27, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ www.garylavergne.com "Settlements and Settlers: Some Acadian Pioneers"
- ^ members.macconnect.com "The Last Bayou" Archived August 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ www.acadian-cajun.com "The Attakapas and Opelousas Acadians Settle In" Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ www.springsballroom.com "The History of Point-Aux-Loups Springs Ballroom"
External links[]
- Rivers of Louisiana
- Rivers of Acadia Parish, Louisiana
- Southern United States river stubs
- Louisiana geography stubs