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Coordinates: 29°10′54″N 89°15′27″W / 29.18167°N 89.25750°W / 29.18167; -89.25750
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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Geobox
{{Infobox settlement
| Settlement
| name = Pilottown
<!-- *** Name section *** -->
| name = Pilottown
| native_name =
| native_name =
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated community]]
| other_name =
<!-- images, nickname, motto -->
| other_name1 =
| image_skyline = PilotTownTwain1883.jpg
| category = Unincorporated community
| image_caption = Pilottown in the 1880s
<!-- *** Image *** -->
| image = PilotTownTwain1883.jpg
| image_flag =
| image_size = 200px
| image_shield =
| image_caption = Pilot Town in the 1880s
| motto =
| nickname =
<!-- *** Symbols *** -->
| flag =
| etymology =
<!-- location -->
| flag_size =
| subdivision_type = Country
| symbol =
| subdivision_name = United States
| symbol_size =
| subdivision_type1 = State
| symbol_type =
| subdivision_name1 = Louisiana
<!-- *** Nickname & motto *** -->
| subdivision_type2 = Parish
| nickname =
| subdivision_name2 = [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines]]
| motto =
| subdivision_type3 =
<!-- *** Country etc. *** -->
| subdivision_name3 =
| country = United States
<!-- maps and coordinates -->
| state = Louisiana
| image_map =
| region = [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines]]
| region_type = Parish
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Louisiana
<!-- *** Geography *** -->
| area_imperial = 7.2
| pushpin_relief =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Pilottown in Louisiana
| area_land_imperial = 5.0
| coordinates = {{coord|29|10|54|N|89|15|27|W|display=inline,title}}
| area_water_imperial = 2.2
| coordinates_footnotes =
| area_water_percentage = auto
<!-- established -->
| area_percentage_round = 2
| established_title =
| area_round = 1
| established_date =
| location =
<!-- area -->
| lat_d = 29
| lat_m = 10
| area_footnotes =
| lat_s = 54
| dunam_link =
| lat_NS = N
| area_total_km2 =
| area_total_sq_mi = 7.2
| long_d = 89
| long_m = 15
| area_land_sq_mi = 5.0
| area_water_sq_mi = 2.2
| long_s = 27
<!-- elevation -->
| long_EW = W
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_imperial = 3
| elevation_round = 1
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ft = 3
<!-- *** Population *** -->
<!-- population -->
| population_as_of = 2006
| population_as_of = 2020
| population = 19
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_imperial = auto
| population_density_round = 1
| population_total = 0
| population_density_km2 = auto
<!-- *** Government *** -->
| population_density_sq_mi =
| established_type =
| population_demonym =
| established =
<!-- time zone(s) -->
| mayor =
| timezone1 = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
<!-- *** Various codes *** -->
| timezone = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset1 = -6
| timezone1_DST = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset = -6
| utc_offset1_DST = -5
| timezone2 =
| timezone_DST = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset_DST = -5
| utc_offset2 =
| postal_code = 70081 (closed)
| timezone2_DST =
| utc_offset2_DST =
| postal_code_type = ZIP code
<!-- postal codes, area code -->
| area_code = [[Area code 504|504]]
| postal_code_type = ZIP code
| area_code_type =
| code2_type =
| postal_code = 70081 (closed)
| area_code_type =
| code2 =
| area_code = [[Area code 504|504]]
<!-- *** Free fields *** -->
| free_type =
| geocode =
| free =
| iso_code =
<!-- website, footnotes -->
| free1_type =
| free1 =
| website =
| footnotes =
<!-- *** Map section *** -->
| map = Louisiana Locator Map.PNG
| map_size =
| map_caption = Location of Pilottown in Louisiana
| map_locator = Louisiana
| map1 = Map of USA LA.svg
| map1_caption = Location of Louisiana in the United States
<!-- *** Website *** -->
| website =
}}
}}


'''Pilottown''' (or Pilot Town) is a small community in [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines Parish]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States]].
'''Pilottown''' (or '''Pilot Town''') is an [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] and [[ghost town]] in [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines Parish]], Louisiana, United States.
It serves as a base for [[Mississippi River Pilot|river pilots]] to guide ships across the bar and up and down the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="CPtown">
It serves as a base for [[Mississippi River Pilot|river pilots]] to guide ships across the bar and up and down the [[Mississippi River]]. As of 2020, there are no permanent residents of the community.<ref name="CPtown">
"CRPPA: Pilottown" (overview),
"CRPPA: Pilottown" (overview),
[[Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association]], 2001, webpage:
Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association, 2001, webpage:
[http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/Pilottown/tabid/91/Default.aspx CP-Piltt].
[http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/Pilottown/tabid/91/Default.aspx CP-Piltt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708203511/http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/Pilottown/tabid/91/Default.aspx |date=July 8, 2011 }}.
</ref>
</ref><ref name="CPhist">
<ref name="CPhist">
"A Historical Perspective of Pilotage" (history),
"A Historical Perspective of Pilotage" (history),
Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association (formed 1908),
Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association (formed 1908),
''Loyola Law Review'', Vol. 47, Summer 2001, webpage:
''Loyola Law Review'', Vol. 47, Summer 2001, webpage:
[http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/History/tabid/92/Default.aspx CP-Piltt].
[http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/History/tabid/92/Default.aspx CP-Piltt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401190736/http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/History/tabid/92/Default.aspx |date=April 1, 2011 }}.
</ref>
</ref>


In the 18th and 19th century, the French settlement and fort that preceded Pilottown near the mouth of the Mississippi was known as [[La Balize, Louisiana|La Balize]], a name that meant "seamark" in French.<ref name=CPtown/> La Balize was located about ten miles downriver from Pilottown.<ref name="roth">{{cite web|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/lahur.pdf|author=David M. Roth|title=Louisiana Hurricane History|publisher=[[Hydrometeorological Prediction Center]]|date=2010-04-08|accessdate=2011-09-27|pages=12–18}}</ref>
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the French settlement and fort that preceded Pilottown near the mouth of the Mississippi was known as [[La Balize, Louisiana|La Balize]], a name that meant "seamark" in French.<ref name=CPtown/> La Balize was located about {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} downriver from Pilottown.<ref name="roth">{{cite web|url=http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/lahur.pdf|author=David M. Roth|title=Louisiana Hurricane History|publisher=[[Hydrometeorological Prediction Center]]|date=April 8, 2010|accessdate=2011-09-27|pages=12–18}}</ref>

[[File:Pilottown Riverport Pilots Highsmith.jpg|right|thumb|Before Katrina]]


==History==
==History==
[[File:Pilottown-LA.jpg|thumb|left|Pilottown, Louisiana, as ships pass by on the Mississippi]]
Pilottown was constructed and settled after September 1860 in its current location. It replaced the earlier village of [[La Balize, Louisiana|La Balize]], that had been founded more than 160 years earlier downriver. After the hurricane of September 14–15, 1860, blew its buildings down and destroyed the area in a storm surge, La Balize was finally abandoned.<ref name="roth"/> The main river passage was moved to the Northwest Pass, so ship traffic had to move. The Mississippi River pilots built their new settlement upriver above [[Head of Passes]]. They named it Pilottown.<ref name=CPtown/>
[[File:Pilottown Riverport Pilots Highsmith.jpg|thumb|left|Before Katrina]]


Pilottown was constructed and settled after September 1860 in its current location. It replaced the earlier village of [[La Balize, Louisiana|La Balize]], that had been founded more than 160 years earlier downriver. After the [[1860 Atlantic hurricane season#Hurricane Four|hurricane of September 14–15, 1860]], blew its buildings down and destroyed the area in a storm surge, La Balize was finally abandoned.<ref name="roth"/> The main river passage was moved to the Southwest Pass, because of its deeper water. The Mississippi River pilots built their new settlement upriver above [[Head of Passes]]. They named it Pilottown.<ref name=CPtown/>
The first French settlers had built a rude fort and dwellings for La Balize near the mouth of the Mississippi in 1699. The name meant "seamark", and the French built a 62-foot-high wooden pyramidal structure in 1721 to help guide ships on the Mississippi River and at its shifting delta. This was where river pilots came to live.<ref name="roth"/>


The first French settlers had built a crude fort and dwellings for La Balize near the mouth of the Mississippi in 1699. The name meant "seamark", and the French built a 62-foot-high (19&nbsp;m) wooden pyramidal structure in 1721 to help guide ships on the Mississippi River and at its shifting delta. This was where river pilots came to live.<ref name="roth"/>
Pilottown is built on piers in swampy ground on the East Bank of the lower [[Mississippi River]], about 85 miles (137&nbsp;km) down-river from [[New Orleans]] (65 miles or 105&nbsp;km by air) and about 10 miles (16&nbsp;km) south of [[Venice, Louisiana]].<ref name=CPtown/> Pilottown is located a few miles above Head of Passes, the point considered to be the mouth of the Mississippi River. Below there the River splits into multiple branches.<ref name=CPtown/> This is part of the active [[river delta|delta]] front that has, over time, built up the larger [[Mississippi River Delta]].


Pilottown is built on piers in swampy ground on the East Bank of the lower [[Mississippi River]], about {{convert|85|mi|km}} downriver from [[New Orleans]] ({{convert|65|mile|km|disp=or}}) and about {{convert|10|mi|km}} south of [[Venice, Louisiana]].<ref name=CPtown/> Pilottown is located a few miles above Head of Passes, the point considered to be the mouth of the Mississippi River. Below there the River splits into multiple branches.<ref name=CPtown/> This is part of the active [[river delta|delta]] front that has, over time, built up the larger [[Mississippi River Delta]].
[[Image:Pilottown-LA.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Pilottown, Louisiana, as ships pass by on the Mississippi]]


Pilottown serves as a temporary home for members of the Crescent River Port Pilots' Association and as a base for oil exploration. Although the captain is always responsible for his ship, all oceangoing ships must take a pilot on board when entering the Mississippi River system. The river has shifting passages and sand bars that make the journey difficult, especially given the tides and the powerful current downriver. The Associated Branch Pilots supplies river pilots for ships traveling between the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and Pilottown. The Crescent River Port Pilots' Association supplies river pilots between Pilottown and [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], and the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association supplies pilots for ships that are bound for [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]].
Pilottown serves as a temporary home for members of the Crescent River Port Pilots' Association and as a base for oil exploration. Although the captain is always responsible for his ship, all oceangoing ships must take a pilot on board when entering the Mississippi River system. The river has shifting passages and sand bars that make the journey difficult, especially given the tides and the powerful current downriver. The Associated Branch Pilots supplies river pilots for ships traveling between the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and Pilottown. The Crescent River Port Pilots' Association supplies river pilots between Pilottown and [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, and the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association supplies pilots for ships that are bound for [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]].


{{imageframe|width=220|caption=The active front of the [[Mississippi River Delta|Mississippi Delta]]. Pilottown is located just north of the main fork.|content=
Pilottown consists of a few buildings, including temporary housing for river pilots and a weather station, and some large oil tanks. Because Pilottown is only a few feet above river level, a raised concrete walkway connects these buildings and runs the length of the island, to provide some footing in flood conditions.

Pilottown is accessible only by water or by helicopter.<ref name=CPtown/> In the 19th and early 20th century many fishermen, pilots and their families lived here, but now most make their residence in larger communities upriver. The pilots stay in temporary quarters in Pilottown only while working. The peak population was probably reached in the 1860s, when La Balize had a population of some 800 people.<ref name=CPtown/>

Today the permanent population of Pilottown is small, fewer than 20 people. Pilottown is not listed in the United States census figures.<ref name=CPtown/> Pilottown's one-room school was closed in the 1970s. Although Pilottown still has its own zip code of 70081, the Pilottown Post Office was closed when the US Postal Service could not find a postmaster willing to live in the village.

===Hurricane Katrina===
[[Hurricane Katrina]] struck southern Louisiana near Pilottown, inflicting heavy damage on nearly every structure. The headquarters of the Associated Branch Pilots, located in Pilottown for over 100 years, was pushed backward off its foundation, leading the pilots to decide against rebuilding in Pilottown. They have since relocated 10 miles upriver to Venice. The Crescent River Port Pilots decided to remain in Pilottown to provide pilotage on their route which begins at Pilottown.

<div style="clear: both"></div>

{{imageframe|center|width=280|caption=The active front of the [[Mississippi River Delta|Mississippi Delta]]. Pilottown is located just north of the main fork.|content=
{{Superimpose
{{Superimpose
|base=mississippi_delta_from_space.jpg
|base=mississippi_delta_from_space.jpg
|base_width=280px
|base_width=220px
|base_caption=The active front of the [[Mississippi River Delta|Mississippi Delta]]. Pilottown is just north of the main fork.
|base_caption=The active front of the [[Mississippi River Delta|Mississippi Delta]]. Pilottown is just north of the main fork.
|float=Red pog.svg
|float=Red pog.svg
|float_width=8px
|float_width=8px
Line 129: Line 109:
|y=161
|y=161
}} }}
}} }}
Pilottown consists of a few buildings, including temporary housing for river pilots and a weather station, and some large oil tanks. Because Pilottown is only a few feet above river level, a raised concrete walkway connects these buildings and runs the length of the island, to provide some footing in flood conditions.

Pilottown is accessible only by water or by helicopter.<ref name=CPtown/> In the 19th and early 20th century many fishermen, pilots and their families lived here, but now most make their residence in larger communities upriver. The pilots stay in temporary quarters in Pilottown only while working. The peak population was probably reached in the 1860s, when La Balize had a population of some 800 people.<ref name=CPtown/>

Pilottown no longer has any permanent residents; the remaining few in 2005 did not return after Hurricane Katrina. The Crescent River Port Pilots still maintain headquarters but pilots do not reside full-time. Pilottown is not listed in the United States census figures.<ref name=CPtown/> Pilottown's one-room school was closed in the 1970s. Although Pilottown still has its own zip code of 70081, the Pilottown Post Office was closed when the US Postal Service could not find a postmaster willing to live in the village.

===Hurricane Katrina===
[[Hurricane Katrina]] struck southern Louisiana near Pilottown, inflicting heavy damage on nearly every structure. The headquarters of the Associated Branch Pilots, located in Pilottown for over 100 years, was pushed backward off its foundation, leading the pilots to decide against rebuilding in Pilottown. They have since relocated 10 miles upriver to [[Venice, Louisiana|Venice]]. The Crescent River Port Pilots decided to remain in Pilottown to provide pilotage on their route which begins at Pilottown.


==References==
==References==
Line 137: Line 125:
*[http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index_pantheon.ssf?/newsstory/3_pilottown06.html New Orleans Times-Picayune article on Pilottown]
*[http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index_pantheon.ssf?/newsstory/3_pilottown06.html New Orleans Times-Picayune article on Pilottown]
*[http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A26655 BestofNewOrleans.com article by Stephen Ambrose]
*[http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A26655 BestofNewOrleans.com article by Stephen Ambrose]
*[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5737599/ Out of the River, MSNBC travelogue entry on Pilottown]
*[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5737599 Out of the River, MSNBC travelogue entry on Pilottown]
*[http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/Pilottown/tabid/91/Default.aspx CRPPA Pilottown history].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110708203511/http://www.crescentpilots.com/DNN/AboutUs/Pilottown/tabid/91/Default.aspx CRPPA Pilottown history].


{{Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana}}
{{Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana}}

{{authority control}}


[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Populated places in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:New Orleans metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in the New Orleans metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Road-inaccessible communities of Louisiana]]

Latest revision as of 09:55, 16 October 2024

Pilottown
Unincorporated community
Pilottown in the 1880s
Pilottown in the 1880s
Pilottown is located in Louisiana
Pilottown
Pilottown
Location of Pilottown in Louisiana
Coordinates: 29°10′54″N 89°15′27″W / 29.18167°N 89.25750°W / 29.18167; -89.25750
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishPlaquemines
Area
 • Total
7.2 sq mi (19 km2)
 • Land5.0 sq mi (13 km2)
 • Water2.2 sq mi (6 km2)
Elevation
3 ft (0.9 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
0
 • Density0.0/sq mi (0.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
70081 (closed)
Area code504

Pilottown (or Pilot Town) is an unincorporated community and ghost town in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. It serves as a base for river pilots to guide ships across the bar and up and down the Mississippi River. As of 2020, there are no permanent residents of the community.[1][2]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the French settlement and fort that preceded Pilottown near the mouth of the Mississippi was known as La Balize, a name that meant "seamark" in French.[1] La Balize was located about ten miles (16 km) downriver from Pilottown.[3]

History

[edit]
Pilottown, Louisiana, as ships pass by on the Mississippi
Before Katrina

Pilottown was constructed and settled after September 1860 in its current location. It replaced the earlier village of La Balize, that had been founded more than 160 years earlier downriver. After the hurricane of September 14–15, 1860, blew its buildings down and destroyed the area in a storm surge, La Balize was finally abandoned.[3] The main river passage was moved to the Southwest Pass, because of its deeper water. The Mississippi River pilots built their new settlement upriver above Head of Passes. They named it Pilottown.[1]

The first French settlers had built a crude fort and dwellings for La Balize near the mouth of the Mississippi in 1699. The name meant "seamark", and the French built a 62-foot-high (19 m) wooden pyramidal structure in 1721 to help guide ships on the Mississippi River and at its shifting delta. This was where river pilots came to live.[3]

Pilottown is built on piers in swampy ground on the East Bank of the lower Mississippi River, about 85 miles (137 km) downriver from New Orleans (65 miles or 105 kilometres) and about 10 miles (16 km) south of Venice, Louisiana.[1] Pilottown is located a few miles above Head of Passes, the point considered to be the mouth of the Mississippi River. Below there the River splits into multiple branches.[1] This is part of the active delta front that has, over time, built up the larger Mississippi River Delta.

Pilottown serves as a temporary home for members of the Crescent River Port Pilots' Association and as a base for oil exploration. Although the captain is always responsible for his ship, all oceangoing ships must take a pilot on board when entering the Mississippi River system. The river has shifting passages and sand bars that make the journey difficult, especially given the tides and the powerful current downriver. The Associated Branch Pilots supplies river pilots for ships traveling between the Gulf of Mexico and Pilottown. The Crescent River Port Pilots' Association supplies river pilots between Pilottown and New Orleans, Louisiana, and the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association supplies pilots for ships that are bound for Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The active front of the Mississippi Delta. Pilottown is located just north of the main fork.

Pilottown consists of a few buildings, including temporary housing for river pilots and a weather station, and some large oil tanks. Because Pilottown is only a few feet above river level, a raised concrete walkway connects these buildings and runs the length of the island, to provide some footing in flood conditions.

Pilottown is accessible only by water or by helicopter.[1] In the 19th and early 20th century many fishermen, pilots and their families lived here, but now most make their residence in larger communities upriver. The pilots stay in temporary quarters in Pilottown only while working. The peak population was probably reached in the 1860s, when La Balize had a population of some 800 people.[1]

Pilottown no longer has any permanent residents; the remaining few in 2005 did not return after Hurricane Katrina. The Crescent River Port Pilots still maintain headquarters but pilots do not reside full-time. Pilottown is not listed in the United States census figures.[1] Pilottown's one-room school was closed in the 1970s. Although Pilottown still has its own zip code of 70081, the Pilottown Post Office was closed when the US Postal Service could not find a postmaster willing to live in the village.

Hurricane Katrina

[edit]

Hurricane Katrina struck southern Louisiana near Pilottown, inflicting heavy damage on nearly every structure. The headquarters of the Associated Branch Pilots, located in Pilottown for over 100 years, was pushed backward off its foundation, leading the pilots to decide against rebuilding in Pilottown. They have since relocated 10 miles upriver to Venice. The Crescent River Port Pilots decided to remain in Pilottown to provide pilotage on their route which begins at Pilottown.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "CRPPA: Pilottown" (overview), Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association, 2001, webpage: CP-Piltt Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "A Historical Perspective of Pilotage" (history), Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association (formed 1908), Loyola Law Review, Vol. 47, Summer 2001, webpage: CP-Piltt Archived April 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ a b c David M. Roth (April 8, 2010). "Louisiana Hurricane History" (PDF). Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. pp. 12–18. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
[edit]
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