Bayou Plaquemine was an important distributary of the Mississippi River that allowed boat navigation throughout the Atchafalaya Basin. American Indians used it as an early portage between the bayou and the Mississippi, carrying boats and cargo back and forth, and early settlers used the same route to reach the Attakapas and Opelousas regions as they migrated north from New Orleans. Travelers left the Mississippi by Bayou Plaquemine, moved west to the Atchafalaya, then up to Bayou Courtableau and further north to the town of Washington, and they also entered the Vermilion River to the Opelousas region. Iberville journaled about Bayou Plaquemine while touring the newly claimed Louisiana territory for France, and legend holds that its name comes from piakemine or pliakemine, the Natchez Indian word for the local persimmon. As one of a series of Mississippi River distributaries, Bayou Plaquemine was central to early settlement and trade in Louisiana's secondary and tertiary river systems. Its intersection with the Mississippi became an important landing for steamboats and packet boats, especially during the spring flood season from January to mid-May, though navigation was often hindered by snags, rafts, stumps, sandbars, and overhanging trees. As settlement increased and residents sought protection from frequent floods, a levee was built at the Mississippi River in 1866. The Plaquemine Lock, completed in 1909, controlled water flow while allowing boat traffic between the river, the bayou, and inland points. After serving the area for half a century, it was supplanted by a new lock upriver in Port Allen because of increased port traffic, and the Plaquemine Lock and bayou were permanently closed in 1961 as the Mississippi River levee was rebuilt.