Easy Way to Find Old Maps of Louisiana’s Coast

You don’t need to sift through granpa’s stuff in the attic. Every old map you ever wanted is right here.

I like peering into the past, and I am able to do that by scrutinizing old maps.

I can see how things once were, and the names of different places.

Things that were lost in time can be recovered again.

Old Louisiana Maps

I have found many places on the Internet that have old maps of Louisiana’s coast, but none of them beat Old Maps Online.

Using this resource, I have been able to reveal the distant past.

Example

In Venice there are bodies of water (or land) with names that don’t fit.

Why is a pond called a pass? Or land called a pond?

Take Jacquines Island for example:

Click to Enlarge

The above screenshot is from the most recent Google Maps satellite imagery, taken sometime in the last year or two. Click the picture to enlarge it and zoom in.

The name is floating over open water, or at least very grassy shallow water.

But, back in 1949, it was a much larger body of land bordered by two bayous.

Click to Enlarge

How is this useful to inshore anglers?

First off, you may be a nerd like me and just want to learn cool, nerdy things.

Secondly, the satellite imagery in Google Earth only goes back so far.

So with these older maps we can ascertain where points of interest once existed.

Chicot Island (near Shell Beach, Louisiana) used to be a great spot to fish, but coastal erosion wiped it out.

However, it may still exist as a reef.

Because it’s underwater, the exact location would be difficult to find, since the island isn’t visible on Google Earth.

Using these old school maps is one way of seeing if the island still exists underwater, and is a good place to fish (or not).

How do I use Old Maps Online?

Easy! Open a new window and navigate to Old Maps Online by clicking the button below.

And follow along with the video.