Majestic Cypress Registered in Pointe Coupee Parish
It's taken us twenty years to find a worthy candidate in Pointe Coupe Parish, but we're happy to have found this splendid old cypress on the property of Bobby and Theresa Moniotte on Chenal Road in the False River vicinity southeast of New Roads. The location, cultural and natural heritage, and owner stewardship of this cypress testifies to the rewards of twenty years of documenting cypress "Alive in 1803" throughout Louisiana.
Here are the statistics on this tree:
Circumference:15'11" GPS: N 30 38.658 W 91 20.986
On the first boring of 5.5 inches I counted about 56 yearly growth rings, which projects to about 305 total rings.On the second boring of 13.25 inches I counted about 151 yearly growth rings, which projects to 341 total rings.My conservative age estimate of 260-280 years is based on the likely faster growth of the tree in its early growth years, which doesn't show up in the later years borings.
This grand old cypress has its origins during the Spanish Land Grant period in the 1700’s, when Bobby’s French/Acadian ancestors settled on the site that includes the current Moniotte homestead. The tree originally bordered Grand Bay, which formerly flowed into the nearby Mississippi River; as late as the 1930’s Bobbie’s father recounted that he remembered as a boy jumping from this tree’s branches directly into Grand Bay. With drainage of the surrounding area for agriculture, the cypress is now about 200 feet from Grand Bay.(see map below) Its current position on dry land away from Grand Bay has not appeared to have affected its overall slow growth rate since the 18th century. Bobby’s father also recounted much later in life that the tree appeared to be the same size he remembered from his boyhood
The La Purchase Cypress Legacy is proud to award the Moniottes LPCL Plaque #82-- with its healthy, full canopy and three strong limbs rising vertically from the trunk, this beauty is sure to be landmark along Chenall Road for generations to come. And kudos to the Moniotte for planting more young cypress nearby on their property-- when these younger trees reach maturity in the decades to come they likely will be in the company of the grand old "Moniotte" cypress.
Contact us at LaPurchaseCypressLegacy@gmail.com or 504-452-8281Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Claiborne, E. Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lincoln, Madison, Ouachita, Pointe Coupee, Red River, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Helena, Vermillion, Vernon, W Baton Rouge, West Carrol
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