Charles Morgan established a steamship line in the Gulf of Mexico in 1837, began using the settlement on Berwick Bay as a transshipping point for rail-steamer service from the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad in 1869, and dredged the Atchafalaya Bay ship channel in 1872. His enterprises brought growth and prosperity to the town of Brashear, which in 1876 was renamed Morgan City in his honor.