St. Mary Landmarks presents 'Cattle Drives' lecture

St. Mary Landmarks announces the second lecture in its new lecture series
In “Lost Louisiana: The Cattle Drives of Louisiana,” speaker Stella Carline Tanoos will explore the history of Louisiana’s cattle drives to New Orleans, from the earliest known cattle drives of the 1700s by the French to the last American cattle drives within Louisiana in the early 1900s.
Set for June 20, the speaker will describe the known cattle drive routes across Louisiana and through its swamps and the dangerous health conditions that existed in the slaughterhouses of New Orleans. She will discuss the economic conditions of the 18th and 19th centuries that made the long and arduous trip possible and advantageous to those who undertook it.
Tanoos crowns this exploration of a little-known part of Louisiana history with her inclusion of the story of one cattle drive that began in Texas in November, 1854 and ended in New Orleans in February, 1855. Using the diary of Louisiana-born cowboy William Duncan Berry and her extensive research of available records of this period, Tanoos provides the audience with a vivid depiction of the journeys undertaken by the courageous men who drove these herds.
The lecture will be held at Grevemberg House Museum and begins at 5:30 p.m. after which light refreshments will be served. It is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Call Craig Landry at 337-828-2092 to reserve your seat.
Stella Tanoos is a life-long student of the history of Louisiana. She is a member of the Board of the Iberville Museum in Plaquemine, Louisiana, as well as a board member of Le Comité des Archives de la Louisiane Inc. Her extensive research of the history of the Atchafalaya Basin, which holds a prominent place in her ancestral history as well as the history of the Louisiana cattle drives, has made her one of the few subject-matter experts in this arena.