An Historical Geography of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, 1878-1956
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2008 Environment, labor, and race: an historical geography of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, 1878-1956 Amy Rhiannon Sumpter Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Sumpter, Amy Rhiannon, "Environment, labor, and race: an historical geography of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, 1878-1956" (2008). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3784. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3784 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. ENVIRONMENT, LABOR, AND RACE: AN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF ST. TAMMANY PARISH, LOUISIANA, 1878-1956 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Amy R. Sumpter B.A., University of Kansas, 1999 M.A., University of Colorado, 2002 August 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While the production of a dissertation is an introspective and often solitary effort, it is also collaborative. I wish to thank several persons who contributed significantly to the research and writing of this dissertation. First, I would like to acknowledge the patience, interest, and attentiveness of the staff at Hill Memorial Library at LSU, in particular Judy Bolton, Germain Bienvenu, and Barry Cowen. Thanks also to Robin Perkins, archivist at the St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court, who helped me comb through a huge amount of material while simultaneously helping hundreds of patrons obtain passports and marriage licenses. I would also like to acknowledge all the interest and support that my friends and family have shared over the last few years. My parents, Mike and Janet, and my sisters, Megan and Molly, always gave words of encouragement, dismissed my doubts, and provided much needed comic relief. My father instilled in me a love of history and geography for which I am very grateful. My husband Steve encouraged me, provided technical support, and supplied excellent shoulder rubs after I’d read too many reels of microfilm. Finally, I must give ultimate thanks to the members of my committee for their service: Frederick Weil, Kent Mathewson, Dydia DeLyser, Helen Regis, and my advisor Craig Colten. Through coursework and many hours of conversation, this team of individuals positively shaped or influenced almost every aspect of this project. I will always be indebted to them for their nurturance of a new scholar and their interest in the intersection of my personal and professional development. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Colten for all his time spent reading (and re-reading) drafts of various chapters, writing recommendation letters, giving excellent and timely feedback, and being a mentor. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF MAPS ................................................................................................................................. ix ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: GEOGRAPHY AND RACE—RESEARCH CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................ 10 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 10 GEOGRAPHY AND RACE ........................................................................................................ 12 The Construction of Race: Economy and the State ........................................................... 14 Race at the Individual Level....................................................................................................25 Whiteness Studies..................................................................................................................... 26 Space, Environment, and Health........................................................................................... 28 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 37 Research Approach: Critical Social Theory and Grounded Theory................................. 39 Research Questions and Data Sources.................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 3: THE GEOGRAPHY OF RACE IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH ................................. 52 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 52 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. TAMMANY PARISH BEFORE 1878 ........................................ 54 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE, 1880-1960 .................................................................................. 58 Racial Composition by Ward.................................................................................................. 58 Growth of the Towns: Population, Rurality, and Segregation .......................................... 72 Migration and Immigration, 1880-1920................................................................................ 82 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER 4: LABOR AND RACE: AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF ST. TAMMANY PARISH, 1878-1956.............................................................................................. 91 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 91 WORKING THE LAND: FARMING IN ST. TAMMANY........................................................ 94 The Early Period 1880-1920 and Connections with Antebellum Agriculture ................ 94 Development of Agriculture: Immigrants, Truck Farming, and the Problem of Cut-Over Land ......................................................................................................................... 105 Economic Hardship and Rebound in Agriculture after 1930............................................ 113 A GIFT OF THE PINES: LUMBER AND RAILROADS.......................................................... 119 The Arrival of the Lumber Companies: Importance of an Industry on Race and Segregation ................................................................................................................................ 120 Saloons, Strikes, and Violence................................................................................................ 130 WATER AND CLAY: THE SHIPBUILDING AND BRICKWORKS INDUSTRIES IN ST. TAMMANY ......................................................................................................................... 140 iii Shipping and Shipbuilding ...................................................................................................... 141 Brick Manufacturing ................................................................................................................ 145 VAGRANCY, DEBT PEONAGE, AND THE CONVICT LEASE SYSTEM ............................ 147 CONCLUSION: SKILLED AND UNSKILLED LABOR BY RACE IN ST. TAMMANY 1880-1920....................................................................................................... 151 CHAPTER 5: “A NATURAL SUBURB”: HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, AND RACE IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH.................................................................................................................. 156 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 156 HEALTH, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND PERCEPTIONS OF DIFFERENCE..................... 157 HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT: PINES, OZONE, AND RACE ........................................ 159 The Pines and Natural Springs............................................................................................... 159 Hotels and Hospitals: The Color of Health ......................................................................... 172 Employment in Health and Resorts...................................................................................... 191 Sanitation: Cleaning Up Perceptions of Health................................................................... 194 “A NATURAL SUBURB”: GOLF, SUBDIVISIONS, AND THE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN CAUSEWAY.............................................................................................. 200 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................