Port of Krotz Springs
Review and History

The Port of Krotz Springs is part of the Mississippi River Delta system. Located about 54 kilometers (33 miles) west-northwest of Greater Baton Rouge, the Port of Krotz Springs is in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, on the Atchafalaya River. The Port of Krotz Springs is also about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north-northeast of another Mississippi River Delta port, the Port of Iberia. The 2010 US Census reported that almost 1200 people lived in the Port of Krotz Springs.

Port History

As the 20th Century opened, C.W. Krotz from Ohio bought some 20 thousand acres of woodlands in the Atchafalaya River Basin. Krotz established a sawmill to prepare the trees and haul them out of the basin. A very small settlement, Latania, sprang up around the mill.

Hoping to strike oil, Krotz drilled an oil well in St. Landry Parish. He struck water, giving the town its name of Krotz Springs. The water was used for the sawmill town, and Krotz sold its bottled water throughout the United States.

The village of Krotz Springs got a post office in 1909. For several years in the middle 20th Century, the Port of Krotz Springs was a "hotbed" of prostitution and gambling.

St. Landry Parish attracted settlers from France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and Africa who joined the indigenous people there. Most residents, however, identify and celebrate Cajun heritage.

The Acadians were French exiles from Nova Scotia that had refused allegiance to Great Britain in the middle 18th Century. Many of the Acadian exiles moved to south Louisiana, bringing their food, music, and language with them. Today's Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians.

Creole culture is also strong in St. Landry Parish. Here, the word Creole refers to descendants of Black slaves and free people, many with roots in the Caribbean and Africa. Zydeco, dance music that is now popular around the world, is one gift of the Creoles.

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