Butte La Rose is an unincorporated area in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

St. Martin Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Martinville. As of the 2000 census, the population was 48,583.St...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

The community is located on a high point where the Atchafalaya River

Atchafalaya River

The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River....

 makes a sharp bend and divides into the Little Atchafalaya River to the South and the Upper Grand River to the North.

Some claim an old Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, Celestin Rose, who resided at one time in Grand Bois said that the butte was named after one of his ancestors, "a famous Chitimacha

Chitimacha

The Chitimacha are a Native American federally recognized tribe that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. Mary Parish. They currently number about 720 people. The Chitimacha language is a language isolate.- History :The Chitimacha's historic home was the southern Louisiana coast...

 Indian". Another version is that following the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, some royalists made the butte their home and named it Rose in memory of the flower which was the symbol of their fallen society.

During the U.S. Civil War, the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 capture of Fort Burton at Butte a la Rose took place on April 20, 1863.

In the 21st century, the area is known for its wilderness campgrounds and the Atchafalaya Welcome Center.

As of May 13, 2011, the area expects to flood due to the Army Corps of Engineers opening the Morganza Spillway

Morganza Spillway

The Morganza Spillway or Morganza Control Structure is a flood-control structure in the U.S. state of Louisiana along the western bank of the Mississippi River at river mile 280, near Morganza in Pointe Coupee Parish. The spillway stands between the Mississippi and the Morganza Floodway, which...

, in order to divert flood water from more populous areas such as Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

 and New Orleans.

Community

In 2011 Ed Lavandera of CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

said that Butte La Rose was "home to an eclectic collection of Cajun

Cajun

Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...

s who've come to this hideaway for generations to drift through the hidden waters catching crawfish." As of 2011 about 800 houses were located in the community. Many members of the community referred to their houses as "camps".

External links

• Kunzelman, Michael. "As water inches closer, La. town waits in agony." Associated Press
  Associated Press
  The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
  
  at the Houston Chronicle
  Houston Chronicle
  The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
  
  . May 21, 2011.