Grand Isle

This is part of the "downtown" area of Grand Isle. Like most downtown areas, it isn't much to look at-eating establishments and gas stations are not very picturesque, but the rest of the island is. Throughout this site I have pictures of its cemeteries, streets, and homes. The middle section of the island has many trees. The western and eastern ends have very little trees and consists mostly of summer camps. The road shown in this picture is Louisiana Highway 1. This highway comes to a dead end at the eastern end of the island.(It begins in the northern part of Louisiana) The only way into and out of Grand Isle by car is through LA1 and over the Caminada Bridge.

Grand Isle is located off the coast of Louisiana, about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans. It is Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island. To the North of it is the Caminada Bay, to the east is Barataria Pass, and south of it is the Gulf of Mexico. It is about 7 miles long and not very wide, less than a mile wide in most areas. It has been fighting a battle with the Gulf since I was young, and I am sure even longer. There have been many attempts to stop the gulf from eating up the island since Betsy from sand levees to rock jetties.
The interior of Grand Isle is beautiful--full of old, towering and windswept oaks, oleanders which grow everywhere,small winding roads, and beautiful old Creole Cottages. It has been a place for tourists to come swim, fish, and relax since the 1800's.
Census records indicate that there were about 50 people on the island in 1810. There were only 11 households. Thirty five of the 50 were white men, women, and children. The rest were slaves or free persons of color. The census taker in 1810 wrote the following:"This island is about 17 leagues from the largest settlement along Bayou Lafourche. The people here raise corn to eat, live by catching fish and oysters, and making fish oil. They live poor. Grapes grow natural and well here." One of my ancestors(P.D. Coche) owned a plantation there in the first half of the 19th century. There were people from all over coming to live -Cajuns, families from the lower Plaquemines parish of Louisiana, and members of Jean Lafitte's crew settled down and had families. Several hurricanes hit the island-the worst in my memory was Betsy-but people rebuilt. The oil companies brought a lot of families in the 1940's-1970's to Grand Isle. Most of them now are gone. Grand Isle still survives. The population is about 1200-1400. Some people still work offshore, some trawl, oyster, and fish for a living. Every year Grand Isle has the Grand Isle International Tarpon Rodeo. One year, back in the late 1950's or early 1960's, the crew of the TV show Route 66 filmed an episode in Grand Isle. That was a big deal for a small town located at the very end of Louisiana Highway 1.

I think this old jail was built in the early 1960's and has not been in use since Hurricane Betsy. It is located near Augustin's old store on the same street that Nez Coupee's house was once on.

Another downtown view

Looking west from the front of Santiny Lane

Looking down Santiny Lane

The Gulfview

Many trees have grown in this small oak grove since I was a little girl riding the schoolbus to Golden Meadow. I remember seeing it on m way so often. I always remembered seeing what I thought was a couple of old graves in the grove. It may have just been my vivid, morbid imagination.. I have since learned(according to Dale Rogers' Cheniere Caminada-Buried at Sea) that this was the location of the home of my great grandfather Beauregard Vizier. In this home he sheltered over 100 people during the Hurricane of 1893, when so many people died. The home was so well built and also protected by the surrounding oaks that it survived the hurricane. The trees are located just past the water tower in Chenier on the left side of the highway going down toward Grand Isle. Although the family survived this hurricane, they moved on up to Leeville,where about 20 or so years later another hurricane forced them to move to the Golden Meadow/Bayou Lafourche area, where most of the Viziers live today.

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Here are more pictures of me, family and friends. I would like to put pictures of GI long ago if I can find some.

Here I am at a few months old in my grandma's front yard on Santiny Lane.

I found the golden egg at the Easter Egg hunt at church. Momma is taking my picture--I should be happy to have gound the golden egg, but I hated keeping still to pose for a picture.

Wearing my "evening gown", I am unhappily posing again in our front yard next to my uncle Adam's house.

Joy Ann Vizier-my next door neighbor, cousin and friend.

Paula Smith was a friend that sometimes lived in New Orleans and sometimes on the island. I was just so amazed at all the experiences she had by living in New Orleans. She was a few years older than me, so I looked up to her. She was smart and talented. She was the only one I knew who could imitate Patty Duke.(ha ha!)

Perry Vizier was my cousin and next door neighbor. He and his sister Joy Ann and I did a lot of stupid things together, like sitting in a closet for fun or making a haunted house and charging admission. Which reminds me--Mildred, if you ever read this--it was I who accidently poked holes in your big washtub with the claw part of a hammer. Joy was blamed but I was the one trying to simulate a beating heart on the tub. Sorry. Anyway, Perry now lives in Washington State.

Cecelia Nunley was in my second grade class and a good friend. She lived in Leeville by the bridge. She moved after that and I never heard from or saw her again. This was one of the very few pictures Mom was able to save after Betsy. Most of my old pictures come from Aunt Vern's collection.

Winter of 1964. The second and last snow of my growing up years in Grand Isle(The first was in 56 or 57--and it was a good snow). I am in the black coat with my sister Donna in front of me and Perry and JoyAnn next to me. It wasn't much fun because I had my arm in a cast after having run to the bus at school and broken my arm. In the background is Blondie,Kate,and Phyllis's home, a Creole Cottage.