St. Charles Parish, 1860 by J.W. Dorr continued

      I write you from St. Charles Courthouse, where is located one of the three post-offices which the parish boasts. This "village" contains the court-house building and jail, which are of recent construction, and well and quite handsomely built of brick, and some five of six houses, one of which is occupied as a store. The settlement is twenty-nine miles from New Orleans. The other postoffices are McCutcheon's Landing, on the left bank, opposite this place, and Taylor's on the right bank, thirty-six miles from New Orleans.
      The value of real estate held by residents of the Parish of St. Charles is $1,646,900 and of non-residents $56,366. These figures are legally correct, and are one year later returns than have been published by the Auditor of the State. The value of slaves $2,053,300; of cattle, $25,200; of carriages and vehicles $8450; of capitol invested in trade $15,000. This last item is very small, for New Orleans is too near to give country dealers much chance. The few stores in the parish are nearly all scattered along the levee four or five miles apart, and are small affairs. The largest and best stocked concern that I have yet seen is that of J.B. Gassen, at Gassen's Landing and Ferry, twenty-six miles above the city. The other stores in the parish are Levert's, Bistoul's, Vial's and Labat's, all on the right bank of the river, and Boutte's back on the Opelousas Railroad. Thus, you perceive, "merchandising" is a very inferior interest in these parts.
      The area of the Parish of St. Charles is 81,413 acres, of which 45,884 acres is under cultivation, and 35,529 uncultivated. About 38,000 acres are in cane; about 6000 in corn, and three or four hundred in rice. These sre very nearly accurate, their deviation from actual fact being so trifling as to be of no general consequence. The total population of the Parish is about 5000, of whom about 900 are whites, 3719 slaves and about 200 free colored. The Parish pays about $12,000 taxes of which the mill tax, for the support of public schools, amounts to about $3800. There are three school districts in the Parish, and one school in each, and the number of educable children is about 300.                                             to be continued

Newspaper Items of Interest---11 Aug 1877

St. Charles Herald Newspaper--11 Aug 1877--Hahnville,Louisiana

     The finishing touches to the new race course in this village were made last week.
     The cane on Rosemond Troxler's place is looking remarkably fine. We saw a stalk the other day with ten fully developed joints.
     There is complaints all over the parish of hard times. Merchants of more than twenty years standing say that they have never seen such scarcity of money.
     Owing to the redistricting of this parish into wards according to Legislative enactment, there are several wards without Justices of the Peace and Constables.
     One large planter out at Boutte has made 1000 barrels more of corn than he can necessarily consume. And such is the case with a majority of the planters of this parish.
     The Jury Commission, consisting of G.Espinola, N.Louque, E.Roberts and V.L. Ceresolle, with the Clerk of Court, ex-officio a member, will meet to-day in the Clerk's office to prepare a jury list.
     We were in error last week in stating that the body of the man found buried on the Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad was colored. The body was that of a white man, evidently a German, and several marks of violence were found on his person.
     The gambling fever, instead of abating, appears to gain new headway in this neighborhood. We call the attention of District Attorney Earhart to this fact. Let him emulate the example of his predecessor, Judge Marks, and clear the district of black-legs and gamblers.
     Mr. Kelly, whose plantation is three miles below Hahnville, will commence cutting and stacking his rice crop on Monday next. Without exception, all who have seen his crop pronounce it the finest in the State. He has 315 acres of the staple, and bets on fourteen barrels to the acre.
     Captain Ranson, recently of the steamboat Robert Young, informs us that he will shortly remove from his present residence near the Boutte Road to Hahnville. He will build one of the largest and best finished houses in the parish. We welcome the Captain to our village, and wish that a score or more of such gentlemen would do likewise---that is, settle in our town.