[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   BICENTENNIAL OF ST. CHARLES PARISH

 Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the 
bicentennial of St. Charles Parish. As one of the original 19 parishes 
created from the Territory of Orleans, St. Charles will celebrate its 
200th anniversary in 2007.
  St. Charles Parish was created in 1807 from the ``Cote des 
Allemands,'' or county of the German Coast, which begins 25 miles above 
the city of New Orleans and extends along both sides of the Mississippi 
River for 40 miles toward Baton Rouge. It contained a rich mixture of 
Germans, French Creoles, French Acadians, and Free Blacks and thrived 
as an agricultural center whose produce fed the city of New Orleans.
  In 1720, 21 German families from the Rhine region of Germany settled 
on the west bank of the Mississippi River. These families had suffered 
horribly during the Thirty Years' War and fled by the thousands to the 
New World. These original German settlers were given small plots of 
land by Mr. Law's Company of the Indies.
  By 1721, 330 German immigrants, also with the Company of the Indies, 
arrived in Louisiana. A year later, Germans from John Law's Arkansas 
Concession arrived in New Orleans demanding passage to Europe. Due to a 
lack of ships and supplies, Louisiana Governor Bienville persuaded them 
to remain, and they eventually joined the other German settlers along 
the banks of the river. In 1765 and 1766, the first Acadians arrived in 
the area, and they too were given land along the river, and joined the 
Germans in raising the fruits and produce that was used to feed the 
city of New Orleans. This produce business along with tobacco, indigo, 
and lumber made the area a major component in the growth and 
development of Louisiana.
  Later the parish turned from an agricultural to an industrial 
economic base where new opportunities opened in large-scale oil 
production. The economic base of St. Charles Parish now centers around 
energy and petrochemical industries, and recent years have seen the 
parish's economy diversify into the areas of technology and 
transportation. The region has also been rated in the top 10 percent of 
best places to live in the United States by the Places Rated Almanac.
  Today, I would like to applaud the good people of St. Charles Parish 
on their bicentennial and wish them continued prosperity.

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