D’Arbonne Bayou, which drains in the Ouachita River just north of Monroe, LA, was a significant transportation artery before railroads. We are in the area known today as “piney woods,” but quite a bit of cotton was grown in the region way back when
https://shilohtocanaan.com/2016/09/01/steamboats-made-history-in-parish/
Steamboats Made History in Parish
September 1, 2016
Written by Gene Barron
From the 1840s until the advent of the railroads in Union Parish, steamboats were the main method of transporting goods and travel into and from Union Parish. Although travel on the Bayous was hazardous and sporadic to say the least, these boats were the best mode of shipping cotton, stave bolts and other raw materials produced in Union Parish to markets outside the parish. They also served as a mode of transportation for passengers.
The sternwheelers that plied the Bayous of D’Arbonne and Big Corney were considerably smaller than those of the Mississippi, Red River and Ouachita Rivers. Most were about 24 feet wide and about 100 feet long and able to transport 400 or so bale of cotton at a time. The life of these steamboats was on average only a few years. The hazards of the Bayous took their toll and the danger of fires from sparks from the smoke stacks was great.
Nice!