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A vintage black-and-white photo of a wooden cabin with a partially collapsed wall. The building is surrounded by debris. A smaller structure is visible in the background on a barren landscape. Sky appears overcast.
Home of the Countess at Germantown; between 1950 and 1973; photographic print HNOC, 1974.25.31.63
Research Pathfinder

Germans in Louisiana, Part VII

Rural German Enclaves: Germantown and Robert’s Cove, Louisiana

An old map titled Grundriss von Neu-Orleans shows the street layout of New Orleans near the Mississippi River. The map includes numbered and labeled buildings, a legend in German, and distinct blocks with a grid pattern.

Introduction

The German population of Louisiana has always extended well beyond the New Orleans area, and this fact is not unrepresented in HNOC’s materials. In fact, Hanno Deiler’s outreach to Germans considering coming to America not only attempted to interest them in New Orleans, but was directed also at farmers, and highlighted the agricultural opportunities presented by Louisiana’s fertile environment. The German Study File at HNOC includes substantial information on two German settlements in rural Louisiana with unique and compelling histories. Germantown, just outside of Minden in north-central Louisiana, was founded in 1834 by the followers of a charismatic dissenter from The Harmony Society known alternately as Maximilian Count von Leon, Bernard Müller, and Proli. Germantown was one of a number of experiments in communal living in mid-19th century America and was quite successful for some time. Descendants of its members remain scattered around North Louisiana today. Many of the buildings of the community are still preserved on the site of the commune, as well. Robert’s Cove, formerly German Cove, is an Acadiana town with a decidedly German history. A unique, Swabian dialect of German was somehow preserved there and was spoken by most of the town’s residents until only one or two generations ago. Genealogical data concerning the town’s oldest families as well as correspondence between officials of the town and officials of their forefathers’ hometowns in Germany are in the file. 

Manuscripts Holdings 

  • German Study File. An extensive collection of research copies and working papers compiled by Dr. Ellen Merrill touches upon the entirety of German-Louisiana history. A notable component of the German Study File is the material on Germantown and Robert's Cove, Louisiana. This material, consisting mostly of copies and newspaper clippings, deals with an element of German history in Louisiana which is absent from the Deutsches Haus Archives, the Germania Lodge materials, or any of HNOC's other German-related manuscripts holdings. 

Visual Materials 

Library Holdings 

 

Part VIII. Other Resources
Research

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