Torras, Louisiana
Torras is the name of a former town in the extreme northeastern corner of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The town was located along either side of the Texas & Pacific Railroad at its juncture with Lower Old River. The Mississippi River is located just to the east and the juncture of the Red and Atchafalaya Rivers just to the west. The community was founded in 1902 and named after pioneer area planter Joseph Torras. Joseph Torras was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1820 and was the great-uncle of Fernando Joseph Torras who was famous for building bridges around the world, most notably the F.J. Torras Causeway in Brunswick, GA. He immigrated to the United States as a young man. Before settling in Pointe Coupee in 1845, he had lived in Natchez, Mississippi and Van Buren, Arkansas. He and his brother purchased the plantation of Bennet Barton Simmes and opened the firm of M & J Torras. The town of Torras was expected to develop into an important shipping and rail center, due to its excellent location. Disaster struck, however, on May 1, 1912, when the levee in front of the town gave way during the great Mississippi River