| More on the Campbell's |
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| INDIAN POINT, INDIAN POINT COULEE & INDIAN BAYOU |
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| INDIAN POINT, was a prominent geographic feature in 1844 and can be found clearly today on aerial views of Section 30, Township 10 South Range 3 East. Indian Point had been named to the surveys by the General Land Office (GLO) Surveyors and was mentioned in the Lafayette Parish Police Jury minutes by that name in 1854. (See Police Jury Minute Index) John Campbell crossed this location on foot and mentioned Indian Point Coulee in his survey notes, as did other GLO surveyors. It was not only a prominent geographic feature but it was also the dividing line between the Townships 10 S Range 2 East and 10 South 3 East, and where Indian Point "Coulee" crossed the section line. In 1844, as shown on GLO survey maps, Indian Point was the spot where Indian Point Coulee ended and Indian Bayou began. If we understand how the GLO surveyors performed their duties, then it is evident why this was chosen as a "NATURAL LANDMARK BOUNDARY" when the south west boundary was chosen and described by the Legislative Act of March 1844. Remember there were only natural landmarks at the time. It was a sparsley populated area and natural landmarks were the only physical and visible benchmarks. It was only logical to use these because they would have to be in place years afterwards. Be reminded there was no aerial photography untill one hundred years later. GLO surveyors took an oath to stay true to the names of streams, rivers, lakes, places of historical and cultural signifigance. They were not allowed to apply their own names and were expected to be men of integrity and honesty. There were specific procedures to follow and a code of conduct. (See The General Land Office Page) This is precisely why we see French Names of the day on coulees and streams, and references to cultural notations on the GLO survey maps. Indian Bayou was an Native American Indian location according to local lore. The Attakapas Indians once used this area as trading and hunting grounds. This end of the Parish line has been misunderstood for years and most recent surveyors and officials speculated on the location of the boundary. While there has been much attention paid to the phrase "first timber or last timber therein", it is evident that the boundary used Natural Landmarks that still exist today. When we understand how these areas were surveyed, we understand where the points were located. The Survey used to determine the "Re-Establishement of the Lafayette/Vermilion Bounday lacked the integrity of a GLO Survey and speculated in order to change names and locations of coulees. It is apparent by his working sketch and finished drawing that Merrill Bernard did not consider name changing important. Whether or not he had access to General Land Office data is not mentioned because he left behind no survey notes, only a working drawing. In Gervais Lombard's study of the boundary 100 years after Act No. 81, the GLO Surveys or other GLO documents, surveys or survey notes were not used. In his abstract from the 30's and 40's, Lombard references only U.S.G.S. Quadrangle maps just as Bernard* did. Quadrangle maps should not be as maps of authority. The most senior and most authoritative source data is the General Land Office Surveys and Survey notes of the Townships where the boundaries are located. This material is available as a mat- ter of public record. It was not consulted in the decision on the Lafayette /Vermilion Boundary by The State Land Office, Lafayette Consolidated Government or Vermilion Parish. The GLO Survey Maps show Indian Point Coulee as a smaller drainage ditch which empties into Indian Bayou. A bayou by definition rises and lowers with the tides. The coulee is a natural drainage feature. CONCLUSION: Indian Point is the destination point of a line from Granger's Coulee as is mentioned in the 1844 Legislative Act description. * Merrill Bernard's Survey, which was commissioned by Vermilion Parish in 1929, was accepted in 2003 by the State Land Office without question and Reported as much to Lafayette and Vermilion Parish. No questions were asked. We know the information Bernard used; 1.) the Duson Quadrangle Map, and 2.) the testimony of a 70 year old man The records of Vermilion Parish can be researched only to 1885 due to a fire in April of that same year which destroyed all the records of the Courhouse. Lafayette Parish did not participate in this endeavor and never acknowledged the validity of Bernard's findings according to research conducted in the Lafayette Parish Police Jury Minutes. The Lafayette Parish Minutes are intact back to 1823 when Lafayette Parish was carved from St. Martin Parish. There is no record of the Bernard Survey in the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Records. In the case of CommercialBankv.Meaux1935, Appealate Court Judge Elliot reinforces the argument against the Bernard Survey and calls the Survey unsatisfactory and acknowledges that Lafayette Parish did not particpate in nor accept this survey. |
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| Indian Point appears today much as it did in 1844. This prominant feature lies on the Section and Range line. This is why it was used as a natural boundary point for the Parish Line. |
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