Welcome to Baldwin

Welcome to Baldwin. . , Baldwin lies at the end of the first oxbow in the Bayou Teche below Charenton. Downstream paddlers should steer right at the fork to avoid the narrow, marshy channel of the bayou's original course. The detour heads south into the Charenton Canal or Baldwin Cut, which leads to the Intracoastal Waterway and then opens into West Cote Blanche Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A Frenchman named André Massé was the first white man to make a home along Bayou Teche near Baldwin. He arrived in 1746 and established a cattle ranch or vacherie on the bayou bank. Massé-who took on an almost mythical quality in the eyes of the Spanish-befriended the Native Americans and especially the feared Atakapas, who had lived here first and emancipated six families of slaves., A Century of Education , Baldwin is named for John Baldwin Sr., an Ohio businessman and educator who purchased the 1,700-acre Darby House plantation along the Old Spanish Trail in 1867. The land of the plantation was first acquired via a Spanish land grant by André Massé. Baldwin bought the plantation at sheriff's sale during Reconstruction for $20,000 and left a legacy of education not based on gender or race. What started as the Orphan's Home Society for the education of Black children after the Civil War became a school for grades first through eighth adjoining Baldwin's property. The original school was damaged in an 1879 storm, but the Freedman's Aid Society came to the rescue, and the site became LaTeche Seminary, then Gilbert Academy boarding school for boys and Baldwin Elementary. In 1910, Baldwin sold the land to the St. Mary Parish School Board. When Baldwin Elementary closed in 1999, a school had been on the property for over a century. Darby Plantation was passed down to Baldwin's children and eventually was restored by St. Mary Bank. , "The Teche between Baldwin and Franklin impressed me as the most natural, most beautiful stretch of the bayou. As I recorded in my notes that day, 'Very quiet when we aren't talking or splashing the oars. Birds whistling and chirping, crickets... Sugarcane fields to left or right sometimes, peeking through the the tree line following the Teche." - Shane Bernard, "Teche Canoe Trip Journal," 2016, Bayou Entertainment , "The social center of Baldwin from the turn of the century to the 1930s was the Woodmen Hall," according to the book Baldwin by Martha Chapron Boudreaux. Located on Main Street where Town Hall is now, the Woodmen Hall had an auditorium and stage. Theater groups performed, and dance reviews, school graduations and church socials were held there. Chautauqua, an education and social movement started in New York, came to Baldwin in the form of lectures and concerts. The arrival of the steamboat via Bayou Teche in winter also provided entertainment through minstrel, vaudeville and comedy shows. In 1941, Town Hall Movie Theatre was opened in the Woodmen Hall and welcomed everyone in town. The scent from the popcorn machine out front wafted through Baldwin., Weekend Getaway , Located so close to the Gulf, Baldwin residents had several options for "resort" vacations. The closest was Charenton Beach, followed by Cypremort Point and Last Island. Charenton Beach was on Grand Lake just outside of town and had a dancehall and cabins, while Cypremort Point, which was accessible by ferry, had a restaurant and camps for rent in the 1930s. Perhaps the most notorious summer resort was Last Island or Isle Dernière. A playground for St. Mary Parish residents that would result in the death of 200 people, Last Island lay 5 miles off the mainland of Louisiana and was accessible by steamboat. A hotel had a restaurant and ballroom, while excursion boats, a horse and carriage, and beaches offered other ways to explore the 24-mile-long island. On August 10, 1856, what would now be a Category 4 storm hit the island, splitting it in two and blowing the hotel to pieces. Survivors grabbed hold of whatever they could, and Isle Dernière would never be inhabited again., Fresh Stuffed Crabs , 1 doz. fresh crabs , Baking soda , 1 onion , 1/2 bell pepper , Wesson oil , 4 cloves garlic , 4 stalks celery , Red pepper and salt to taste , 1 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet , Pepperidge Farm Dressing , Parsley , Boil crabs in black pepper and water about 30 minutes. Cool. Pry crabs open with knife. Remove all white meat and some crab fat. Set aside. Scrub shells clean and drop in boiling water with a pinch of baking soda about 20 minutes. Cool before stuffing. Saute chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic and celery in oil about 5 minutes. Add crabmeat and brown. Add butter, crab fat and water to moisten. Add red pepper, salt, Kitchen Bouquet and cover and simmer 30 minutes. Mix with dry dressing and stuff shells. Bake 20-25 minutes in 350-degree oven. , Barbe espagnol - “Spaniard's beard" , for Spanish moss, as the French referred to the plant growing on oak and cypress trees. Moss was used as stuffing for mattresses and making horse collars, and mixed with mud to make bousillage for building houses. The moss ginning industry began after the Civil War and lasted into the 1970s., Isle Dernière , What happens when you pair rock songs sung in traditional Louisiana French with go-go dancers? The bayou band Isle Dernière. Hailing from the Houma area and hitting the Acadiana music scene in 2012, Isle Dernière takes its name from the Last Island and is dedicated to the preservation of Louisiana French, along with our state's wetlands., Find a complete Bayou Teche music playlist at techeproject.org! , The TECHE Project recognizes Shane Bernard, Patti Holland, Tami St. Germain, Chloé St. Germain-Vermillion and Erin Bass for their contributions to the content of this panel. , For more information, visit: , Cajun Coast VCB | cajuncoast.com The TECHE Project | techeproject.org