Burrwood was a community located near the far south end of the

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

of the Mississippi River in

Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Plaquemines Parish ( ; ; ; ) is a Parish (subnational entity), parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the parish seat is Pointe à la Hache, Louisiana, Pointe � ...

, United States. At one time the town had an estimated population of 1,000, but today it is uninhabited, with most of its territory fully or partially submerged by

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

. The site of this former community is located at the following coordinates:

History

Burrwood was established and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers on Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River to serve as a base for dredging operations, jetty work, and other activities required to maintain navigable conditions along this channel. Later, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the United States created a naval base known as "Section Burrwood Naval Base" to control the presence of enemy ships and submarines in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and to monitor traffic entering the river mouth. The construction of the base began in 1941 and the base was in committee on December 15, 1941, with Lieutenant Commander N.J. Ashley. The Army Corps of Engineers built a tower about high with a platform above the tank that supported the other tower smaller in height. Ships from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

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were inspected here. In 1942, the U.S. Army created pieces of heavy artillery (mobile

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s) on both sides of the river in Burrwood. The guns had a range of about . The Army also established a second watchtower in South Pass, near Port Eads. The base was capable of supporting not only civilian

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...

dredger Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing dam ...

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s, but also submarine hunters, mines,

PT boats A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hamper ...

, and ships as large as

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s. Between 1942 and 1965, Burrwood was a United States Weather Bureau and Hurricane Warning Office. There were a row of officer houses for the families, a barracks complex for the unmarried men and a two-room school house for the children of the people who manned the station, as well as local fishermen who lived nearby.

References

{{coord, 28, 58, 05, N, 89, 22, 39, W, type:city, display=title Geography of the New Orleans metropolitan area Ghost towns in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana

History

See also

References