Land Tenure, Boundary Surveys, and Cadastral Systems by George M. Cole & Donald A. Wilson

Author:George M. Cole & Donald A. Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CRC Press

4.5.4 Louisiana

Louisiana was settled under several different governments, which resulted in the French longlots; the square leagues of the Spanish; the irregular subdivisions in the Florida parishes, which developed first under British control; then the American rectangular survey, which encompasses about 85% of the state. French Louisiana was administered as a royal colony during the periods 1699 to 1717 and 1731 to 1763.

Both Spain and England treated parts of Louisiana as royal colonies. Permanent settlement came in 1712, with the early French around New Orleans, who were Creoles, then later refugees from French Acadia known as Cajuns, settling to the west of New Orleans and along the Mississippi to the north. Private companies operated Louisiana from 1717 to 1731. As an example, the Colony of the West, later known as the Company of the Indies, was given control of Louisiana in 1717 and made allodial grants, many of which were quite sizeable in extent.

One feature of land division, based on the period as a French colony, that is prevalent in Louisiana is the abundance of long, rectangular lots. Most of these front on rivers, such as the Mississippi. The lots, also known as arpent lots (from the French system of measurement, both for distance and for area), also in some areas loosely known as river lots, are not confined to Louisiana, however, and are found in many eastern locations, particularly in New England states and most of the original colonies. Michigan and Texas also have many of these types of lots, the former having a designated area known as the French Lots.

The longlot system was a natural fit to the levees and bayous of the southern part of Louisiana. Fronting on the stream and river banks and extending inland toward the back swamp land of the floodplain provided an owner with a proportionate share of the best soils near the river and the wetter soils toward the back. In addition, there was access to the water body for fishing and transportation. Marking the longlots was simple, since at first, only the corners at the water were marked and directions given for the sidelines. This system was a very workable one since rivers were often used as routes of travel; therefore, lots were accessible by water, then extended back from the water such distance to provide sufficient acreage for its intended purpose. Contrast this with the moku-ahupua system of Hawaii.

Many of the longlots were not surveyed when granted but became fixed when American surveyors laid out townships and sections. The French were resistant to the American surveying rectangles, believing that it made no sense to lay off squares that bore no relation to the usable land and might not have access to the streams. Eventually, the American surveyors were authorized to survey land along streams in longlots of 160 acres.

During Spanish control, which began in 1770, another type of land grant, known as the sitio, was introduced in areas west and northwest of the French areas. Those grants were usually square but often not oriented according to the cardinal directions and often a league on a side.

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