Robert H. Swenson Southern Illinois University Carbondale archaeology students trowel mud out of a circa 1800 flatboat discovered in the Ohio River near Olmstead while the water level was low. It is thought to be the only flatboat from that era still in existence.
Hey Blake,
When Katrina washed us out of Gentilly, my husband and I bought an old house in Bywater. It's built with barge boards. Can you tell me when barge-board construction ended in New Orleans? Is it true that Abraham Lincoln once traveled to New Orleans on the same kind of flatboat that provided materials for barge-board houses?
Dana
Dear Dana,
Abraham Lincoln traveled to New Orleans on a flatboat twice, once in 1828 and again in 1831.
For more than a century, folks depended on flatboats to travel the nation's waterways. They first appeared in the late 18th century as freight carriers. If you could build a log cabin, you could build a flat boat " a box-like boat made of planks. They were straight-prowed, flat-bottomed boats designed to travel down river. Some had no enclosure, while others had bedchambers and even fireplaces. Their size varied from 8 to 20 feet wide and 20 to 100 feet long.
Because the flatboats could not navigate upriver, once they reached their destination they were broken up and sold for lumber. Therefore, no flatboats were saved for posterity. However, about five years ago, researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale discovered a sunken flatboat in the Ohio River near Cairo, Ill.
In the early 1800s, flatboats were the vessel of choice for taking crops to market from the Midwest, and the farmers often walked back from New Orleans. They must have been relieved when trains and steamboats made the return trip much easier. The peak period of the flatboat was around 1840, but steamboats eventually took control of the waterways.
You didn't describe your house, but if it's a Creole cottage " and there are many of them in Bywater " most are built of barge boards, and most were built between 1790 and 1880.
Hey Blake,
Are there any bird-watching groups in the Metairie area?
Lee Klotz
Dear Lee,
You're in luck. The address for the Southeast Louisiana chapter of the National Audubon Society is Orleans Audubon Society, 801 Dauphine St., Suite 308, Metairie, LA 70005. The group's newsletter is called The Ibis. Another important birding group is the Crescent Bird Club.
Louisiana is a birder's paradise, and if you're interested in the subject, there are several places to look for a group: www.hometown.aol.com/crescentbrdclub/myhomepage/club.html will set you on the right track to get phone numbers and email addresses; www.birdlouisiana.com has a list of birding festivals and clubs statewide.
Hey Blake,
I grew up in New Orleans and graduated from Fortier High School in 1968. When I was in high school, I collected dance posters that they used to staple on telephone poles. I lost a bunch in Hurricane Katrina but still have some left. I lost so much in Katrina I realized I need to give the posters that survived to those who might appreciate them. I gave Deacon John one of him and Aaron Neville at the Sands, and I sent Quint Davis two from Yesterday's Children. I am trying to locate members of other bands on the posters including: The Alleys End, The Canadian Legends, The Plebeian Rebellion, The Gentrys, The Mournin' After, The 12ths of Never, The Gunga Dins, The American Revolution, The Inn Crowd, The Purple Lanterns, The Palace Guards, and The Rusty Nails. Jerry Dear Jerry, Right now there are folks reading this column and running for the computer. There must be at least one person from each of these groups who will be really pleased to get a poster from forty years ago. That's quite a collection you have, and you are generous to part with these posters. Readers can contact you at the address you gave me which is jerome.lenfant@bellsouth.com.
