Have you ever wondered about the roots of this vibrant community? Right here, we stand in Harvey, Louisiana, a place where history unfolds in every brick and every street. During the French colonial era, this land was owned by Jean-Baptiste d’Estrehan de Beaupre, a powerful figure who served as the royal treasurer and comptroller of the French Louisiana colony. He established a plantation here, and, showing remarkable foresight, he commissioned the digging of a canal, the Harvey Canal, which would later become a vital artery connecting the Mississippi River to Bayou Barataria. The canal was dug with the help of his slaves, who tirelessly worked to create this beneficial waterway. Years later, d’Estrehan hired German settlers, paying them with parcels of land located downriver in Mechanicsham, now known as Gretna, to widen the ditch. They used wooden shovels for this arduous task, transforming the ditch into a more substantial canal. D’Estrehan built his home where the canal met the river banks, naming the settlement “Cosmopolite City.”
The name Harvey, however, came later, when Joseph Hale Harvey decided to rename Cosmopolite City after his family. Harvey’s wife, Louise Destrehan, was a descendant of the original land owner. He initiated the construction of canal locks, furthering the development of the surrounding area, leaving a legacy that continues to shape Harvey today.