Fauna and Flora
Fauna and Flora
Did You Know that there is an oak tree in the parish that is over 300 years old?Near East Main Street and Morningside, in New Roads, there is a live oak that is over 300 years old known as the Langlois Oak. This tree is listed as a charter member of the Live Oak Society.
Did You Know the history behind the "Randall Oak"?
Another famous live oak located at 9789 False River Road is the "Randall Oak", named after James Ryder Randall, a native of Baltimore who was an English literature teacher at Poydras College during the Civil War in the 1860s when he penned the poem "My Maryland, My Maryland" which, after it had been published in a New Orleans newspaper, became the infamous Civil War song.
MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND
by James Ryder Randall
(1839-1908)
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland, my Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
Maryland, my Maryland!
My mother state, to thee I kneel,
Maryland, my Maryland!
For life or death, for woe or weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird they beauteous limbs with steel,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Remember Caroll's sacred trust.
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,
And all thy slumberers with the just,
Maryland, my Maryland.
Come! 'Tis the red dawn of the day,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,
Maryland, my Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Dear Mother, burst the tyrant's chain,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,
Maryland, my Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain,
"Sic semper!" 'Tis the proud refrain
That baffles minions back amain,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Come! For thy shield is brighter and strong,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Come! For thy dalliance does thee wrong,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Come to thine own heroic throng,
Stalking with Liberty along,
And chant thy dauntless slogan-song,
Maryland, my Maryland!
I see the blush upon thy cheek,
Maryland, my Maryland!
But thou wast ever bravely meek,
Maryland, my Maryland!
But lo! There surges forth a shriek,
From hill to hill, from creek to creek,
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland, my Maryland!
Better the fire upon the roll,
Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the soul,
Maryland, my Maryland.
I hear the distant thunder-hum,
Maryland, my Maryland!
The "old line's" bugle, fife and drum,
Maryland, my Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb;
Huzza! She spurns the Northern scum --
She breathes! She burns! She'll come! She'll come!
Maryland, my Maryland!
In the early 1900s, he was an honored guest for the Louisiana Historical Society in New Orleans. He shared his experience sitting under this tree:
" attach speech here . . . . . "