Memories of the Picturesque Village of Bobtown in Terrebonne Parish

A few decades after slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Louisiana had a black population of over 300,000.  Many worked primarily in the sugar industry and they were the engine the planter elite prospered off of. It was a relic of the former Antebellum plantation system where the ancestors of black freedmen toiled under. They were skilled and unskilled and worked as field hands, drivers, overseers, carpenters, blacksmiths, wagonmakers, nurses, sugar makers and some labored as engineers.

Founded in 1834, the city of Houma is located at the bottom of the boot in Louisiana; It is sixty-five miles west of the city of New Orleans. It is the largest city in south Terrebonne Parish and the city gets its name from a Native American community who lived in the area prior to white settlements. The city was a clearing house for the local sugar and seafood industries. The outlining areas were rural and consisted of roads and bayous that lead to remote plantations in the countryside where sugar cane was grown and harvested in the lush fertile soils and where adjacent bayous were rich in wildlife and fishing. Many of the local people engaged in hunting, trapping and processing of the seafood rich in the bayou waters.

One of the main roads in Houma during this time was Grand Calliou; It was a long dusty road traveling south of Houma ending 15 miles later in Dulac, where bayou Grand Calliou fed into Terrebonne Parish and the Gulf of Mexico.

A review of parish court records of 1897 shows that there were five plantations off of Grand Calliou road and one of them was owned by a man named Louis Wagguespack. His plantation was beautiful and was surrounded by lush green fertile soils where abundant wildlife was present. According to local historians, the plantation had a huge magnolia tree hovering over it that provided shade for a big two-story white house.

Local court records point out that Robert Celestin, a mulatto of mixed black and Indian ancestry, purchased a sizable parcel of land that was formerly owned by the Wagguespack family during the summer of 1898 with his father-in-law, “Old man” Bob Creasy. They worked very hard to pay for the property, while clearing the land for a future settlement that they named Bobtown.

The marriage union of Robert and Betsy produced 12 children, nine boys and three girls.  In 1921, after Betsy died, Robert Celestin portioned his land and gave land to each of his children. When the children became adults and married, they helped each other build houses on each other’s property. The community continued to grow with Robert’s grandchildren being born and eventually the village included a family owned store, a Baptist church and two taverns.  One of the taverns is still there today and is unique because it has a tree that extends through the roof.

According to residents who still reside in Bobtown, Robert Celestin never remarried after his wife Betsy died. He became more spiritual mature and was known to recite memorized biblical scriptures despite not having a formal education. He lived in the family house as the family patriarch until 1952 where he died at the age of 79. While showing signs of disrepair, the original house still stands and there is talk about it being considered for a declaration as a historic landmark.

It has now been one hundred twenty-three years since Robert and “Old Man” started clearing the land and laying the foundation, of Bobtown but it is still holding firm of its modest beginning. It was created as a safe haven for descendants of former slaves. It is a roadside community sitting on both sides of Highway 57. While many of the younger generations have left in search of better educational and economic opportunities, it is still a place many families get together on Sundays to celebrate and remember their loves ones according to library patron, Cynthia Celestin.

The history of Bobtown is unique to Terrebonne Parish because of its original roots as a safe haven during a time of segregation for the local Native American and African American populations and today it still cherishes a culture of unique family traditions that are native only to its quaint village.

The picturesque village of Bobtown made both state and national news in 1983 when one of its citizens, Beatrice White, known to many as Aunt Lulee, daughter of one of its founders, Robert Creasy, when she registered to vote for the first time at 107 years of age. Aunt Lulee, died in 1985 at the age of 110 while spending time with her daughter in New Orleans.

Citations

Charles, Roland.  “Bobtown.” New Crisis, vol. 104, no. 2, Oct. 1997, page 47.

-Carlos Crockett, Reference Department