Our next stop was Maxies Campground in Broussard, LA on 12/13/2006. On 12/16/2006, we visited Southwest Reef Lighthouse in Berwick LA. Just before World War I, a channel was cut through Point Au Fer Shoal, creating a more direct route to the Atchafalaya River. The Point Au Fer Reef Lighthouse was constructed next to the new channel on an island formed by the dredging operation. When the new lighthouse was activated in 1916, the Southwest Reef Lighthouse was discontinued. For over seventy years, the abandoned tower slowly rusted away until the town of Berwick brought it ashore in 1987. Today, the tower stands on the western bank of the Atchafalaya River in Berwick. The picture is of the Lighthouse at Lighthouse Park in Berwick, LA.
We visited the LA Capitol in Baton Rouge, LA on 12/17/2006. To construct a State Capitol Building during the 1930s, the time of the Great Depression, was an idea only a powerful politician could have made a reality. A special session of the legislature was called to vote on the amendment that would provide the funding for construction. The first vote fell four votes short of the two-thirds majority that was needed. The Speaker of the House ordered a rollcall vote and, while the list of names was read, Governor Long, standing in the back of the chamber, had time to encourage a few legislators to vote in favor of his building. The vote passed and the funding was approved. In 1935, the Louisiana State Capitol Building was the site of Huey P. Long’s assassination. Senator Long was buried on the grounds and his statue faces the Capitol. The picture is of the South Side of the Capitol.
We move on to Martin Lake Resort near Biloxi, MS on 12/20/2006. On 12/23/2006, we visited Biloxi Lighthouse in Biloxi, MS. The Biloxi Lighthouse was one of three Mississippi Sound Lighthouses authorized in 1847 by legislation sponsored by Mississippi Representative Jefferson Davis. Although the first keeper was a man, the Biloxi Lighthouse would later earn the distinction of having been kept by female keepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the United States. The look of the Biloxi Light Station has changed over time. In 1906, the station’s cisterns were removed after a link to the municipal waterworks was installed, and Hurricane Camille destroyed the keeper’s dwelling in 1969. Now, the stout iron tower, owned by the city of Biloxi, stands alone in the median of Highway 90.
We spent Christmas day at the Campground and then traveled to River’s Edge RV Campground in Holt, FL on 12/27/2006. On 12/30/2006 we visited Fort Morgan State Historical Park and also saw the Mobile Point Light at the same place. Fort Morgan construction began 1819, completed 1834. The large brick fort serviced the Civil War, Spanish-American War and both world wars. It played a major role during the Battle of Mobile Bay (1864). The museum details the fort’s history. “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead,” bellowed Union Admiral David Farragut as his ships stormed north into Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines valiantly attempted to repel the Union assault in the most significant naval engagement of the Civil War. The picture is of Fort Morgan’s ditch and the main entrance which can be seen in the ditch.
