Port Vincent, Louisiana
Livingston Parish
(submitted by and photos by Gerald & Tammy Westmoreland)
Port Vincent is a village in Livingston Parish. The population was 646 in the 2020 census.
It is located at the head of the navigable part of the Amite River in T8S-R4E of the Greensburg Land District. LA Highways 16 and 42 link it with nearby communities. The village was incorporated on may 5, 1952 by the proclamation of Gov. Earl K. Long. G.J. Guitreau was appointed mayor.
Port Vincent's post office was established on Feb. 18, 1833 with John J. Buck as postmaster. Port Vincent was the parish seat from 1872 until 1881. The courthouse there burned on Oct. 15, 1875, destroying the public records.
Port Vincent was an early inland port and Spanish settlement populated prior to 1800 by Spanish settlers from nearby Galveztown in Ascension Parish. Original land grants show large property owners as William Willis, Jose Alamo, Pedro Cossot, William Watson and Joseph Deis.
It is recorded that Iberville, the French explorer and colonist, used Bayou Manchac and the Amite River as a route between the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico in 1699. Port Vincent later became an important shipping point on this route, as it was used by Spaniards from the late 1700's until 1812 when General Andrew Jackson ordered the Mississippi River entrance to Bayou Manchac to be closed by a dam and other obstructions.
Vincent Scivicque (1784 - 1870), a native of Italy, is considered to be the founder of Port Vincent. Scivicque was a merchant and owner of a schooner that sailed the Amite River bringing slaves to this area. An early article on Port Vincent and Livingston Parish denotes Scivicque as a companion and follower of the famous Lafitte. The Port Vincent area was also referred to as "Subique's Ferry" in many contemporary articles, as this was a main crossing point on the Amite River. In fact, this is the name by which the community is referred to on an 1864 map on Livingston Parish.
Vincent Scivicque (1784 - 1870), a native of Italy, is considered to be the founder of Port Vincent. Scivicque was a merchant and owner of a schooner that sailed the Amite River bringing slaves to this area. An early article on Port Vincent and Livingston Parish denotes Scivicque as a companion and follower of the famous Lafitte. The Port Vincent area was also referred to as "Subique's Ferry" in many contemporary articles, as this was a main crossing point on the Amite River. In fact, this is the name by which the community is referred to on an 1864 map on Livingston Parish.
Port Vincent was a thriving community in the days when the Amite River was the primary means of transportation. The Port Vincent Brick and Stave Mill, sawmills, a cotton gin, a warehouse, boat docks, schools, churches, boarding houses, and many business establishments dwindled when the railways bypassed Port Vincent.
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