Historical Markers and War Memorials in Donaldsonville, Louisiana
Donaldsonville is the parish seat for Ascension Parish
Donaldsonville is in Ascension Parish
Ascension Parish(70) ► ADJACENT TO ASCENSION PARISH Assumption Parish(14) ► East Baton Rouge Parish(454) ► Iberville Parish(32) ► Livingston Parish(27) ► St. James Parish(28) ► St. John the Baptist Parish(17) ►
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This quiet neighborhood between the river and the railroad retains a number of historic features related to the struggles and achievements of Louisiana African Americans. The Rosenwald School building in front of you was relocated from a site 15 . . . — — Map (db m155974) HM
Claiborne Williams
(Donaldsonville) •
George Williams
(Donaldsonville) •
Bella Sullivan
(Donaldsonville) •
Jelly Roll Morton
(New Orleans) •
Albert Carroll
(Donaldsonville) •
Renald Richard
(Thibodaux) •
Homer Richard . . . — — Map (db m244142) HM
This church founded August 15, 1772 by Father Angel de Revillagodos on orders of King Charles III of Spain. Cornerstone of present church laid June, 1876 by Bishop Elder of Natchez and the April 14, 1896 dedication by Archbishop Janssens of New . . . — — Map (db m86048) HM
French missionary priests arrived here in 1704 to evangelize the Chetimaches Indians. Around 1770, Spanish militiamen built a log chapel here. In 1819 the parish erected the first official church building, followed by a brick church in 1843. . . . — — Map (db m155327) HM
Once a course of the Mississippi River, Bayou Lafourche helped shape Louisiana's coastline by carrying fresh water, sediment and nutrients south to the Gulf of Mexico.Bayou LaFourche is a 106-mile waterway that stretches from Donaldsonville to . . . — — Map (db m111250) HM
Jazz developed at the turn of the 20th century in south Louisiana and was born from a combination of musical traditions: work songs, spirituals, blues, and ragtime. From the early days of vaudeville and minstrel shows to the formidable first years . . . — — Map (db m86822) HM
We dedicate this memorial in honor of our
Spanish ancestors from the Canary Islands
who, in the 18th century, sailed to Louisiana
where they settled and prospered, thus
fulfilling God's will as written in Holy
Scripture: Be fruitful and . . . — — Map (db m155328) HM
It began in 1912, Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee Institute,
approached Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears, Roebuck and Company, with
an idea for a pilot program that was to have a dramatic impact on the face of
America. . . . — — Map (db m154213) HM
This building built in 1868 served as the Ascension parish Courthouse and jail. On June 1, 2017, the Ascension Parish Council officially changed the name to Charles "Chalou" Trepagnier Building in honor of his 51 years as a law enforcer.
Born to . . . — — Map (db m123662) HM
Dedicated to the memory of
Sidney A. Marchand, Jr.
1917-1956
Mayor, City of Donaldsonville, 1948-1956
Soldier: World War II Normandy Invasion
St. Lo Breakthrough, Race to Paris,
St. Vivth Bastogne, Hurtgen Forest,
Seigfried Line. . . . — — Map (db m244013) HM
River travelers in the 1800s disembarked from their vessels on the levee behind you. For most of them, this crescent-shaped park was their first stop in the most developed river town north of New Orleans. Amid the whistles of riverboats and the . . . — — Map (db m155998) HM
Dedicated To The Memory Of These Men Of Ascension Parish Who Gave Their Lives In The Services Of Their Country In World War I and World War II — — Map (db m126726) WM
Made capital of Louisiana in 1830; Legislature met from January 4 to March 16 and reconvened in 1831. In 1848 the old State House, located across from this site, was razed, and its bricks used to prevent wavewash at the bayou's mouth. — — Map (db m85189) HM
Second Acadian Coast. Town founded by William Donaldson, 1806, on farm of Pierre Landry. Began as trading post about 1750. Home of Governor Francis T. Nicholls, of Dr. F.M. Prevost, who performed the first Caesarean section, 1824. Parish seat of . . . — — Map (db m223363) HM
Many of the Africans brought to
Louisiana during the colonial period
were from the Senegambia area
of West Africa. The Africans who
were brought to America were selected
largely because of their agricultural and
technological knowledge and . . . — — Map (db m243974) HM
Recognizing the strategic importance of this river port at the mouth of Bayou Lafourche, Union forces built Fort Butler on this site in late 1862. The earthen, log and brick structure no longer exists.On the evening of June 27, 1863, Confederate . . . — — Map (db m155976) HM
(left panel)
"We are still anxious as we have ever been to show the world that the latent courage of the African is aroused, and that , while fighting under the American Flag, we can and will be a wall of fire and death to the enimies of . . . — — Map (db m86323) WM
(center panel)
The Finest of Texas and Arizona,
Lives lost by river and bayou.
We mark their graves,
Remember their names:
Brave Confederates who died
At Fort Butler, June 28, 1863.
Martha M. Boltz
Virginia Division - . . . — — Map (db m86049) WM
On the site directly across from this marker Francis T. Nicholls — Confederate General, Governor and Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court — was born and reared. Additional French marker Francis T. Nicholls 1834-1912 A cet . . . — — Map (db m85191) HM
The enslaved workers passed travel instructions from
plantation to plantation by song. They brought from
Africa the custom of creating songs that transmit
factual information. In America, the enslaved
Africans turned song into codes that . . . — — Map (db m244010) HM
Imagine the landscape in front of you in the late 1600s: the wild wetlands of the fierce Chitimaches Indians. Sieur de la Salle sailed his ship past here in 1682, claiming all he surveyed for France. But in 1806, Englishman William Donaldson . . . — — Map (db m156746) HM
This elegant memorial park recalls many eras of southern Louisiana history. The Ascension Parish Courthouse to your right is the most prominent landmarks today, but this square designed in 1806 has witnessed important events in regional . . . — — Map (db m155365) HM
The Underground Railroad was not underground,
not a railroad, and not a single route or system of
trails. It was the term used to describe both random
and concerted effort for people to free themselves
from bondage. Louisiana's stories of . . . — — Map (db m244012) HM
This great waterway is the most prominent natural feature of Louisiana. The high bank, or levee, you are standing on protects Donaldsonville from flooding. A birds-eye view reveals we are located between two great river bends.Events on and around . . . — — Map (db m155312) HM
Scene of Civil War skirmish in fall of 1862. C.1850 Greek Revival plantation house owned 1854-1869 by Charles A. Kock, a prominent sugar planter. Listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1980. — — Map (db m96047) HM
Despite long hours of work, slaves were able to make
time for family and religion, further developing their own
culture. The plants that were found and used on the Underground
Railroad are as unknown as the secret routes that remain
to be . . . — — Map (db m244047) HM
The enslaved Africans who worked as
cooks on the plantations had access to food
supplies which aided runaways. The cypress
swamps of Louisiana became a magnet for
runaways and free blacks. A common bond
developed between the African . . . — — Map (db m244019) HM
This facility is dedicated to the memory of Walter Lemann, Sr. (1879-1952) a citizen of Donaldsonville whose untiring efforts to restore a flow of fresh water to Bayou Lafourche continued from its closure in 1903 until his death.
It was his . . . — — Map (db m86047) HM
Panel 1
This monument dedicated in memory of all veterans who served the United States Armed Forces in defense of freedom and peace, having fought bravely against tremendous odds on land, sea and air, were no less honorable, valiant and . . . — — Map (db m96911) WM
