A community called Irishtown grew from the early 1800’s and became a proseprous suburb of Plaquemine, Louisiana by the 1880′s. Due to land cave-ins from the Mississippi River, most of this community was washed away. On May 11, 1888 Congress approved the construction of a Lock through Irishtown to protect the City of Plaquemine from further cave-ins, floods, and to bring commerce to Plaquemine. After the government purchased all the land from the property owners of Irishtown in 1893, the suburb was lost, but not forgotten. Stories of Irishtown still thrive in the Plaquemine community today. These stories inspired the phase I investigations in the spring of 2010 of the last remaining area of this once lost, now found community. These investigations are a collaborative effort by the City of Plaquemine, regional archaeologist Dr. Rob Mann, Louisiana State Parks Interpretive Ranger Kathleen Mocklin, volunteers from the Louisiana Archaeological Society, and the Plaquemine community.
This page allows you to get all the latest news on the Irishtown Archaeology Project. Feel free to post comments, questions, concerns, or any information that you might have on the Irishtown community in Plaquemine, Louisiana.
Photo of Irishtown courtesy of Tony Fama
Volunteers from the Louisiana Archaeological Society and the Plaquemine Community. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Mocklin
Special thanks for this project goes to: The City of Plaquemine, the Plaquemine Community, Mr. Tony Fama, Dr. Rob Mann, the Louisiana Archaeological Society, Louisiana State Parks, L.S.U. Department of Geography and Anthropology, the Louisiana Museum of Natural History, and the Louisiana Division of Archaeology.
