Stop #2. (Rapides) Lamourie Locks/St. John Baptist Church

(pg. 5) The Lamourie Locks were constructed by act of the Louisiana Legislature in 1857 at the insistence of the planters served by the Boeuf system of transportation and by Ralph Smith Smith.

The locks operated with an immense gate pulled up and down by heavy chains or ropes according to the water level of the bayou desired. The Bayou Lamourie in which the locks are located flows into Bayou Beouf a mile or so distant, and the locks regulated the amount of water released into the Boeuf. Navigation in Bayou Boeuf was hazardous from the standpoint of dependability for marketing crops and maintaining a water level sufficiently high enough to float bales of cotton posed a great problem. The old locks were damaged during the Civil War, according to a surviving letter of Ralph Smith Smith.

The following modern photos of the Lamourie Locks were taken  by History Hunts  blog owner. Thank you for allowing me to use them in this blog.

(pg. 6) 

St. John the Baptist Church

This church was founded in 1869 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places, one of the few places involving black history on the National Register.

Ford and his party crossed the railroad and walked down a turning road through fields of Carnal and Flint, the turning row leading the Bayou Boeuf and, beyond it, to the "Great Pine Woods."

As you cross the railroad (the very path where Smith's railroad lay; the line was bought by the Texas and Pacific in late 19th Century), you will see on your left the historic St. John Baptist Church.

Continue past the church 1.1 miles until you arrive at a brick structure on your left: Lamourie Baptist Church. Turn sharply to your left and continue across a small bridge over Bayou Beouf.

Continue on the narrow country road ahead which veers to the left through fields. About 1/2 to 3/4 miles from the bridge is a sign on your right: Ashton Plantation (private).

Continue along the country road which again veers to the left, making a curve along Bayou Boeuf. The Boeuf is at your right as you drive the short distance to cross the bayou at Smith's Bridge. Smith's Bridge over Bayou Boeuf is 2.2 miles from Lamourie Baptist Church where you turned. You are crossing Bayou Boeuf at Smith's Bridge, probably the exact place where Northup crossed with William Prince Ford and the three slaves.

After crossing the bridge continue straight along the country road. A small branch of Bayou Clear is on your right. Measure .6 from the bridge to Toby Lane. Turn left on this gravel road and continue as it eventually curves to the right.

The route you take necessarily runs parallel to the original trail but is always in sight and less than a mile away. The path leads through the woods to Martin's Springs where Ford and his slaves stopped for a rest at the home of the owner of Sugar Bend Plantation. Martin, like a lot of other planters along the bayou at this section, preferred what was considered the healthier site for his home in the woods while he worked for the richer delta lands on the opposite side of the Boeuf.

Stay on Toby Lane for .8 mile to the point where the lane runs into a road leading in both directions. Turn left. This is a sharp turn: LEFT. After .3 mile, you will see on your right Indian Creek Reservoir Lake. This road leads around the lake, which you will glimpse from time to time, as you travel 2.2 miles from Toby Lane to Martin Springs Road.