Metairie: A Tongue of Land to Pasture

by Henry C. Bezou

Metairie does have a rich history all its own. What was once described two centuries ago as "a tongue of land to lend pasturage" has become the second largest unincorporated city in the nation.

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 1973

Reviews

[Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bezou's history of Metairie starts with the first encounter between "the white man and the red man" in late seventeenth-century Louisiana. After the meeting of the French and the Colapissas and Chapitoulas, the book describes settlement of the land until 1973. The first half covers the French, Spanish, and Americans, with emphasis on the development and ownership of property. The second half covers mainly the proliferation of Catholic churches and schools, corresponding to the growth of Jefferson Parish.

Balancing floods, disease, slavery, and other hardships with admiration for the Europeans and Americans who developed the area, Bezou gives a picture of life in Southern Louisiana from the eighteenth century onward. He also points out the meanings of the names of streets, towns, and landmarks in Southern Louisiana: Almonaster, Papworth, Lafreniere, Bonnabel, Friedrichs, Melancon, Soniat, Labarre, Kenner, Des Allemands, Bucktown, and many others.