What is a dugout you might be asking? Dugouts in South Louisiana were mostly large cypress trees that were cut down and hollowed out to make a small boat.

Why did they use cypress trees you might wonder? Well, cypress was soft, easy to cut and did not rot like other woods in South Louisiana. Most of the dugouts were 12 feet long and about one foot deep and only two feet wide.

Before the Indians had iron to cut with, they would set fire on the log and burn out the dugout. In later years the log was chopped out with axes and then smoothed down with the tools.

The reason for the topic of dugouts at this time is because just last week I received a call from Bobby Gill, a retired Baton Rouge police officer and a personal friend of mine. We both attended the F.B.I. Academy in 1973. Mr. Gill said that some 25 years ago he had some property on Tangipahoa River in northern Tangipahoa Parish. He said that the river flooded and washed about 10 feet of sand off a sand bar. While looking around he found the end of a small boat sticking up out of the sand. After digging down about eight feet and some five hours later, he uncovered a dugout. The dugout was 14 feet long, two feet wide and one foot deep. The dugout had about 20 holes drilled in the bottom. These holes are three across and 14 inches apart, and when finished they were plugged with cypress plugs. The holes were drilled so when chopping out the bottom of the boat you could measure the thickness of the wood. You can also see chop marks on the dugout and burn marks on each end. This dugout was built by a master boat builder.

The reason for the article on dugouts is to let you know that the boat is now on display in the Louisiana Treasures Museum. It was a special gift to the museum by Mr. Gill. It is a very interesting piece of artwork, and I am sure that you will also enjoy the history and the beauty of the dugout.

Louisiana Treasures Museum is located on Highway 22 West of Ponchatoula. Call me for more information or tours at 225-294-8352.

Wayne Norwood is a lieutenant with the St. John thhe Baptist Sheriff’s Department and owner and operator of the Louisiana Treasures Museum.