Friday, March 30, 2007
Lost Places Index – Cheniere au Tigre
Do ghost towns creep you out?
Not me, I find them fascinating. One of my favorite things is to take road trips and stop at abandoned towns. Not the revitalized, “artsy” ghost towns, mind you, I mean the really abandoned ones. They are getting hard to find, but there are still some.
There is something about the desolate stillness of these places. It’s not the peacefulness of a wilderness setting – not the gentle stirring of feeling you get in a natural setting. No, it’s an emptiness. Perhaps a longing. A feeling that things have simply stopped, and maybe, maybe if you close your eyes they might start up again when you open them. The energy of the place, once thrumming, is lying still: a potential just out of reach of mind and sense.
There is one of these towns that I have long wished to go see, but I can’t manage to get there: Cheniere au Tigre. Even the name is fascinating, mysterious. Why can’t I get there? Simple: no roads go there. Of course, the lack of access makes it all the more fascinating to me.
My research indicates that it is small island (probably the tip of salt dome like High Island) way down on the south Louisiana coast in Vermillion parish. The island was inhabited off and on during the settlement and revolutionary periods. Continuous habitation began in the mid 1800’s and even included a resort. Habitation waned in the 1930’s and ended when the island was struck by a hurricane in the 1950’s. I have seen some reports that the island is still used as a remote fishing camp location.
One of the most curious things about Cheniere au Tigre, however, is its prominence on the internet. Try this: do a search for Cheniere au Tigre on Google. Seriously, try it. I’ll even make it easy for you. Hundreds of hits, right? Some of the hits are historical data, some are about a coastline preservation program, and still others are references to an autonomous weather station that must be placed there. The hits that strike me, though, are the ones advertising hotels, pharmacies, and other businesses nearby as if the town were some sort of modern vacation destination. There is even one hit to a self-hypnosis site in the UK that advertises being very easy to get to from Cheniere au Tigre. Somehow, I doubt the true ease of that trip since I can’t even seem to get to Cheniere au Tigre, and I live on the same continent. Soon, I suppose, the google search will even link to this blog post. That's OK, at least this post is on topic.
So there you have it, my first entry in the Lost Places Index: Cheniere au Tigre. I have always longed to go there. One day I will. I let you know all about it when I get back.
Not me, I find them fascinating. One of my favorite things is to take road trips and stop at abandoned towns. Not the revitalized, “artsy” ghost towns, mind you, I mean the really abandoned ones. They are getting hard to find, but there are still some.
There is something about the desolate stillness of these places. It’s not the peacefulness of a wilderness setting – not the gentle stirring of feeling you get in a natural setting. No, it’s an emptiness. Perhaps a longing. A feeling that things have simply stopped, and maybe, maybe if you close your eyes they might start up again when you open them. The energy of the place, once thrumming, is lying still: a potential just out of reach of mind and sense.
There is one of these towns that I have long wished to go see, but I can’t manage to get there: Cheniere au Tigre. Even the name is fascinating, mysterious. Why can’t I get there? Simple: no roads go there. Of course, the lack of access makes it all the more fascinating to me.
My research indicates that it is small island (probably the tip of salt dome like High Island) way down on the south Louisiana coast in Vermillion parish. The island was inhabited off and on during the settlement and revolutionary periods. Continuous habitation began in the mid 1800’s and even included a resort. Habitation waned in the 1930’s and ended when the island was struck by a hurricane in the 1950’s. I have seen some reports that the island is still used as a remote fishing camp location.
One of the most curious things about Cheniere au Tigre, however, is its prominence on the internet. Try this: do a search for Cheniere au Tigre on Google. Seriously, try it. I’ll even make it easy for you. Hundreds of hits, right? Some of the hits are historical data, some are about a coastline preservation program, and still others are references to an autonomous weather station that must be placed there. The hits that strike me, though, are the ones advertising hotels, pharmacies, and other businesses nearby as if the town were some sort of modern vacation destination. There is even one hit to a self-hypnosis site in the UK that advertises being very easy to get to from Cheniere au Tigre. Somehow, I doubt the true ease of that trip since I can’t even seem to get to Cheniere au Tigre, and I live on the same continent. Soon, I suppose, the google search will even link to this blog post. That's OK, at least this post is on topic.
So there you have it, my first entry in the Lost Places Index: Cheniere au Tigre. I have always longed to go there. One day I will. I let you know all about it when I get back.
R.T. Lemur 7:41 AM
3 Comments:
I don't know how to contact you, but my son and I were talking about Cheniere au Tigre and the old hotel there. He said he found a marker dating in the 1800's. They also climbed up what he called a windmill there. Now I think it might have been one of many watchtowers built in 1942 to patrol the coast of LA against the invasion of Japanese.
My son and his friend had been hunting ducks in the area. He showed me on a map all the canals they had to travel to get to the area. But they did get there! I find your blog very interesting. We used to launch our boat at St. Joe's landing, which, as the crow flies, is only about a mile from that area.
My son and his friend had been hunting ducks in the area. He showed me on a map all the canals they had to travel to get to the area. But they did get there! I find your blog very interesting. We used to launch our boat at St. Joe's landing, which, as the crow flies, is only about a mile from that area.
Please contact me.
Please contact me.