Avery Island in Iberia Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

Boat House

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, June 6, 2018

1. Boat House Marker

Inscription.
This structure is known as the Ward Boathouse. Like Edward Avery Mclhenny, Charles Willis Ward (1856-1920) ran a plant nursery and was an avid conservationist. Around 1910, McIlhenny and Ward met, and with McIlhenny's permission Ward set up a hunting and fishing camp in Jungle Gardens. Ward brought along a 72-foot luxury motorboat, the Ethel M. Ward, for which McIlhenny built this boathouse. Together, the two men bought 54,000 acres of coastal marshland southwest of Avery Island. In 1911, they gave 13,000 acres of this land to the state of Louisiana as a waterfowl refuge The donation was called the Ward-McIlhenny State Wildlife Refuge, but is now simply known as State Wildlife Refuge. (Marker Number 4.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 29° 54.573′ N, 91° 54.947′ W. Marker is on Avery Island, Louisiana, in Iberia Parish. It is on Jungle Garden Road near Avery Island Road/Main Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Avery Island LA 70513, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Louisiana’s Acadiana — Cajun Country

and specifically in Bayou Country. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

Acadia,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: This Buddha (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); This Buddah (about 400 feet away); Buddha (about 600 feet away); The Survey Tree

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(approx. 0.2 miles away); Sunken Gardens (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Cleveland Oak (approx. ¼ mile away); Bird City (approx. ¼ mile away); McIlhenny (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Avery Island.

More about this marker. Stop 4 on Jungle Garden self driving tour.

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, June 6, 2018

2. Boat House Marker

June 6, 2018

3. Boat House

Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 9, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 882 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 9, 2018.