Founded by the French in 1718, New Orleans is one of the state’s oldest settled areas, and the names of nearby bodies of water reflect its long history.
Lake Borgne and Bayou Bienvenue
During the initial French exploration of the area in 1699, Sieur d’Bienville took a small party of men to check out one coastal lake. At that time, the lake was surrounded by land and islands, with the channels between the latter providing outlets to the Gulf. It was not a true lake that was entirely landlocked, nor was it an ocean bay or inlet.
Struck by this oddity, Bienville named it Lake Borgne, or “one-eyed lake.” Borgne was a French term used to describe something that was defective or lacking, such as a person with just one eye.
Many years ago, an old Louisiana history professor told me a different story. He said that Bienville discovered that there was one bayou that connected Lake Borgne to the Mississippi River. According to him, the “one-eyed” label was a reference to this one outlet. The bayou was later named Bayou Bienvenue (welcome) after the Bienvenue Plantation through which it ran.
Coastal erosion over the last 300 years has transformed Lake Borgne from the lake it once was into the lagoon we see today.
Bayou Sauvage
Modern-day Bayou Sauvage, located on the northeastern side of New Orleans, is a mere shadow of its former self. Early French maps show that it originally began near Kenner and ran along the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline to Chef Menteur Pass. Over the years, however, drainage projects and urban development obliterated much of the bayou, although the lagoons in City Park may be a part of the old channel.
Most histories claim the French named the bayou Sauvage, or “wild,” because that was an apt description of the area at the time. But the French also used the word as a derogatory term for American Indians, whom they viewed as being wild and uncivilized. Indians did live in the Bayou Sauvage area, so it’s possible the name is a reference to them.
Chef Menteur Pass
Bayou Sauvage empties into Chef Menteur Pass, a waterway that connects lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne. Chef Menteur means “lying chief” in French, and the pass has been known by that name since at least 1763.
Traditionally, Chef Menteur is a reference to a Choctaw Indian chief who was exiled to the area because he was an incorrigible liar. However, some believe the Choctaw were using the term to describe Louisiana’s governor, the Chevalier de Kerlerec, and not one of their chiefs. If true, the Choctaw apparently did not believe that Kerlerec was honest in his dealings with them.
Bayou Segnette State Park
Bayou Segnette State Park, on the West Bank in Westwego, is a convenient place to stay when exploring the New Orleans waterways.
Adjacent to both swamp and marsh land, the park offers such diverse activities as fishing for both fresh and saltwater species, boating and canoeing in the bayou and marsh, and bird watching, wildlife observation and hiking on a nearly three-mile-long nature trail where alligators, bald eagles and nutria can be seen.
Bayou Segnette has a boat launch, 98 premium campsites with water and electricity, 16 furnished cabins, one group camp that can sleep 80 people, two covered pavilions, playgrounds and picnic areas.
