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New Roads is located on Louisiana Highway 1 about 30 miles northwest of downtown Baton Rouge, and is the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish. Le Poste de Pointe Coupée (“The Pointe Coupee Post”) is one of the oldest communities in the Mississippi Valley, founded in the 1720s by settlers from France.
Pointe Coupee Parish is surrounded by three major rivers: the Mississippi on the east, the Atchafalaya River on the west, and the mouth of the Red River on the north. False River is also in the parish.
The location of New Roads on False River makes it a popular locale for weekend camps and summer homes. Fishing, water skiing and other outdoor recreational activities make New Roads a popular destination. False River is a 22-mile long oxbow lake, formerly the main channel of the Mississippi River.
The population of News Roads is about 7,000 residents.
Nearby communities include Morganza, Jarreau, Ventress, Torras, Livonia, Erwinville and St. Francisville via the ferry across the Mississippi River.
Several motels, inns, and bed and breakfasts are located in the New Roads area. In addition, a large variety of accommodations are available in nearby Baton Rouge as well as just across the river in St. Francisville.
St. Mary's Catholic Church, New Roads
(Courtesy of the Louisiana Office of Tourism) |
In December 2010, the construction of the John James Audubon Bridge reached a historic milestone with the connection of the two spans, creating the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere. The bridge was opened on May 5, 2011. more about the bridge from DOTD
The opening of the bridge closed a St. Francisville and New Roads icon: the ferry which provided regular service across the Mississippi River and connecting the east and west bank communities for decades.
In 1912, Mississippi River washed through the levee at the community of Torras, creating what would become known as the "Torras Crevasse". Water spread though Pointe Coupee and parishes to the south, including West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Assumption, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Martin, Iberia, St. Mary and St. Landry. New Roads was surrounded with water on three sides, and Morganza and Livonia were under water for weeks. Much of the evacuation of residents and bringing in of supplies were done by trains.
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with the Mississippi River swelling to 80 miles in some areas. Part of the flood control projects enacted after 1927 was the Morganza Spillway. Construction of the levees that make up part of the Morganza Spillway began in the late 1930s. The Morganza Control Structure portion of the project was completed in 1954.
Shown below is an image from the 1912 flood provided courtesy of the Louisiana History Museum.
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