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We all know that popular song "Amos Moses" sung by Jerry Reed, and its lyrics ... it always gets us to thinking about Thibodaux ...
About 45 minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana
Lived a man named Doc Milsap and his pretty wife Hanna.
Amos Moses was a Cajun,
He lived by himself in the swamp.
He hunted alligators for a livin,
He just knocked 'em in the head with a stump.
In the heart of Cajun Country and Acadiana, Thibodaux is located in south Louisiana on Louisiana Highway LA-1 on the banks of historic Bayou Lafourche. Our family roots are from nearby Paincourtville, Napoleonville, Plattenville and Labadieville, where my grandfather worked in the sugar cane fields along Bayou Lafourche.
It is the parish seat of Lafourche Parish and has a population of about 15,000 residents. It was incorporated as a town in 1838.
Area communities include Labadieville, Paincourtville, Plattenville, Raceland, Morgan City, Lockport, Des Allemands, Chauvin, Houma, Pierre Part, and Napoleonville.
Rienzi Plantation was built in 1796, and remains an icon in Thibodaux. Historic churches such as the St. Joseph Catholic Church and Co-Cathedral, and St. John's Episcopal Church are popular tourist destinations.
The Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, operated by the National Park Service, hosts special events and demonstrates the French and Acadian culture which remains strong in Thibodaux.
The Edward Douglas White Historic Site is the home of the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, born in Lafourche Parish in 1845. Many other area attractions are available, from plantation tours to swamp tours.
Nicholls State University, located in Thibodaux, serves all of south central Louisiana through a variety of degree programs, and has an enrollment of over 7,000 students.
Nicholls is the city's major employer, and a nationally accredited institution offering more than 85 undergraduate and graduate degree programs
Bayou Lafourche is a 106 mile long waterway which stretches from Donaldsonville, at the Mississippi River, to the Gulf of Mexico. From Donaldsonville, it flows through Paincourtville, Napoleonville, Labadieville, Thibodaux, Raceland, Larose, Cut Off, Galliano, Golden Meadow and finally into the Gulf near Leeville and Port Fouchon.
Originally called the Chetimachas River, it flows through Ascension Parish, Assumption Parish and Lafourche Parish. Many of the early Cajuns settled along the bayou. On the west side of the bayou is Louisiana Highway 1, and on the east bank is LA 308.
The name Lafourche is from the French word for "fork", and comes from the fact that the bayou historically carried a large amount of water from the Mississippi River. Naturally a Mississippi River outlet, Bayou Lafourche was dammed at Donaldsonville in 1905. The dam cut off nourishment and replenishment of a huge wetland area of south Louisiana, and the bayou was gradually transformed into a stagnant ditch. Today, design efforts are underway to resume part of the flow from the Mississippi River to bring life back to the bayou.
Not far from Thibodaux is Lake Verret, a popular fishing destination in Assumption Parish near Pierre Part.
Filmed in this area have been several episodes of the History Channel's hit TV reality series "Swamp People". Segments are also filmed in other bayous, lakes and swamps in Louisiana such as those near Bayou Sorrel, Pecan Island, Bayou Pigeon, Morgan City and Houma.
"Choot 'em" is a phrase heard often on Swamp People, voiced by gator hunter Troy Landry of Pierre Part, a small community in the swamp close to the city of Donaldsonville. To learn more, visit Troy Landry's website at ChootEm.com
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