CHARENTON: town beyond its limits
THE FOUR OAKS
Long before Charenton was a town Chitimacha Indians called this their home. Their home
extended well beyond “Charenton”. Their land was defined by the “Four Great Oaks” which
marked their home. One oak was at the base of the Mississippi River. One was at Cypremont
Point. One near present day Maringouin, Louisiana. The fourth was Southeast of present day New
Orleans.
Map of South Louisiana showing the location of the four great oaks which marked boundaries of
Chitimacha land
MOTHER CHURCH
Even after the Chitimacha had been deprived of almost all of their land, Charenton extended
beyond its limits. In 1844 the Diocese of New Orleans established a Catholic Church in Charenton.
Initially the pastor in Charenton covered all the area from New Iberia to Morgan City. Eventually
four other churches were formed from this area. From these four churches another ten were
eventually formed. The area originally covered by the Catholic Church in Charenton now has 14
different churches.
THIS DISPLAY SHOWS THE FOURTEEN OTHER CHURCHES.
THE BOAT PRIEST
"Birdhouse which tells Father Gobeil's story
The Catholic Church in Charenton now served only a small area. It was so small at one time that it
was closed. But Charenton did not give up. Father Gobeil got himself an air boat and began
serving all the small communities in the Atchafalaya Basin. He covered 17 different missions in
the Basin. His missions extended east almost to Baton Rouge and Donaldsonville, north above
present day Interstate 10, and south almost to the Gulf of Mexico.
YOU HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO LIVE OUT THERE
Even in name Charenton is not limited to its boundaries. Charenton France is a suburb of Paris. It
sits on the Seine River. There was a mental institution in Charenton, France. When it came time to
name the town Charenton seemed like a natural name because as someone commented: “You
have to be crazy to live out there.”
Several years ago visits were exchanged between the pastor of the church in Charenton, France
and Charenton, Louisiana.
THE TWENTY FIVE FLAGS
25 FLAGS LINE THE ROAD LEADING WELCOMING PEOPLE TO CHARENTONT AFTER THEY CROSS
THE BAYOU TECHE. THESE FLAGS REPRESENT VARIOUS NATIONS AND PEOPLES WHO MAKE UP
THE HISTORY OF CHARENTON.
MAP OF CHARENTON
AN 1844 MAP OF “INDIAN BEND” OR CHARENTON
NAMES OF CHARENTON
CHARENTON WAS NOT ALWAYS CALLED “CHARENTON‘’. APPARENTLY YOU DID NOT ALWAYS HAVE
TO BE CRAZY TO LIVE HERE.
THE INDIANS HAD THEIR NAME. TCHATKASITUNSKI
THE FRENCH HAD THEIR NAME. ANSE AUX SAUVAGES
THE FRENCH TRANSLATED “ANSE” ONE WAY, THE CAJUNS ANOTHER SO WE TWO DIFFERENT
NAMES emerged from the French name INDIAN BEND OR INDIAN BAYOU
THEN SOMEONE DECIDED WE HAD TO BE CRAZY TO LIVE HERE AND SO WE CAME TO BE KNOWN AS
CHARENTON, THE NAME OF A SUBURB OF PARIS WHERE A MENTAL INSTITUTION WAS LOCATED.
MODEL OF ORIGINAL CATHOLIC CHURCH
This model of our original church was created by one of the parishioners for our 160th
anniversary celebration.
ONE OF THE LANDMARKS OF CHARENTON IS SIX OAKS. THE HOME GETS ITS NAME FROM TH SIX
OAKS IN THE FRONT YARD
ONE OF THE LEGENDS OF LOUISIANA IS EDNA DELHAYE, LONG TIME RESIDENT OF CHARENTON
“BIRDHOUSES” TELL HISTORY OF CHARENTON
AT ONE TIME WHEN I SAID I WAS FROM CHARENTON I WOULD GET SUCH ANSWERS AS “WHERE’S
THAT?” OR “IS THAT IN LOUISIANA?” SINCE THE CASINO OPENED I NO LONGER GET THOSE
RESPONSES. THE CASINO HAS PUT CHARENTON ON THE MAP SO TO SPEAK.
BUT THE CASINO WAS NOT ALWAYS A CASINO. IT STARTED OUT AS A BINGO HALL. WHEN THE
BINGO HALL WAS DAMAGED IN HURRICANE ANDREW (1992) IT WAS REBUILT AS A CASINO
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