Welcome to historic Raiford Oaks. This land, located in western St. Tammany parish, has been in the Raiford family for well over 150 years. During that time, the land has been host to many, and its history is rich with stories and land uses that reflect the evolution of life in the area, from homesteads and agriculture, to its place today in the heart of the Northshore community.

Despite the presence today of a heavily forested landscape, the area was once a vast grassland with few trees, ideally suited for grazing animals. The Raifords had a large herd of animals, including cattle, sheep and hogs, and they grazed those animals along the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, from the Tchefuncte River to the Tangipahoa River, and as far north as Cranky Corner, now the home of Global Wildlife. The family regularly held drives, beginning in the north, rounding up their herd, and driving them back to the area around Madisonville. The herd was over 1000 head strong and the sheep alone were said to look like a cloud skimming along ground.

During the Civil War, the Raifords had other visitors. Union soldiers knocked on their door looking for food and shelter. After the Raifords were assured of their personal safety, the soldiers took the animals they wanted and made camp under the canopy of live oaks. It is not clear how long they stayed, or where they were headed, but the area is rich with Civil War history and was the scene of many skirmishes between Union and Confederate forces.

After the war, the land became the home of a sugar cane farm and the Raiford family operated a sugar cane mill. Growers brought their sugar cane to the mill to be squeezed for sugar and syrup. A turn of the century steam engine sugar cane mill was used on the property and it is now on display at America’s Old Iron Museum in Bush, Louisiana.

The family also used the land for raising strawberries around the old homestead, the furrows from which can still be felt when driving through that area. Twice the farm house burned to the ground, but you can still find the pine timbers used in its construction, and the location of rows of crepe myrtles still show the outline of the house and yard. There is even an axle from an old wagon still sticking out of the ground under one of the live oaks on which they would place a wagon wheel so the kids could have a small merry-go-round on which to play.

In addition to its human inhabitants, the site has always teemed with wildlife and the signs are still clear that it still does. A variety of animals and birds continues to abound here and the addition of bird houses and wood duck boxes that will be placed along the banks of the lake will ensure that others will follow.