Thursday, October 15, 2020

The Area That Became Tchefuncte State Park

 In 1938 the Louisiana Conservation Review magazine began a lengthy five-part series of articles exploring the property that eventually became Tchefuncte State Park east of Mandeville. That's the area where Bernard de Marigny's family started the Fontainebleau Plantation. A hundred years later, the state changed the name of Tchefuncte State Park to Fontainebleau State Park.

The article traces the coming of the DeMarigny family from France to Louisiana, their ups and downs, their connections and family fortunes (and misfortunes.)

Here is a scan of the article's first part, leading the reader on a historical journey of the explorers and landowners between 1700 and 1800. Click on the image below to make it larger and more readable.