Butte La Rose (also known as Butte-à-la-Rose) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

St. Martin Parish, Louisiana St. Martin Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Martin) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, founded in 1811. Its parish seat is St. Martinville, and the largest city is Breaux Bridge. At the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 52 ...

, United States. In the 21st century, the area is known for its wilderness campgrounds, and the Atchafalaya Welcome Center. In 2011, Ed Lavandera of ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

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

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

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".

History

Early history

The community is located on a high point where the

Atchafalaya River The Atchafalaya River ( french: La Rivière Atchafalaya, es, Río Atchafalaya) 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, and ...

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 Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

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

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

Indian". Another version is that following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

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

U.S. Civil War

During the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

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

2011 flooding

In May 2011, the area was threatened by flood due to the Army Corps of Engineers opening the

Morganza Spillway The Morganza Spillway or Morganza Control Structure is a flood-control structure in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located along the western bank of the Lower Mississippi River at river mile 280, near Morganza in Pointe Coupee Parish. The spil ...

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

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

.Lavandera, Ed.
For Louisiana town, a collective gasp as it braces for floodwaters
" ''

''. May 13, 2011; retrieved May 13, 2011

Education

Residents are zoned to the

St. Martin Parish School Board The St. Martin Parish School Board (SMPSB) is an entity responsible for the operation of public schools in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is headquartered in the city of St. Martinville. Current Superintendent of Schools Fre ...

References

External links

* Kunzelman, Michael.
As water inches closer, La. town waits in agony
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' at the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. May 21, 2011. {{authority control Unincorporated communities in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana Unincorporated communities in Louisiana Acadiana Lafayette metropolitan area, Louisiana