Delacroix Island
Delacroix Island is a community in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. During the 1780s, Spanish Canary Islanders known as the Isleños settled in the area after being granted the land from Spain. Later, after the Isleños sold their land grants to the planters, they found themselves working on the plantations they helped create. During the 1820s, some of the Isleños began resettling in the easternmost parts of St. Bernard Parish. This resulted in the establishment of the Delacroix Island fishing community before the Civil War.
Nearby, Yscloskey and Shell Beach, Louisiana became thriving communities by 1900s. The seafood harvested by the fishermen in these areas during the 1800s and 1900s supplied restaurants in New Orleans with what seemed to be an endless supply of fish, crabs, oysters, and shrimp.
Prior to the 1930s, Delacroix Island was only accessible by boat. Later, a road was constructed to connect the “island” to the outside world. While the area is named Delcroix Island, in reality, the “island” is just an inland area surrounded by bayous and marshes.
Delacroix became regionally famous for fishing and trapping during the 1900s. However, in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, the entire area was flooded (like many other areas in the region), and most of the buildings were destroyed. By 2010, most of the fishing town had been reconstructed with many of the buildings elevated on piers.
