Morgan City began on the site of the Tiger Island Sugar Plantation owned by Dr. Walter Brashear, a prominent surgeon from Kentucky. It was incorporated in 1860 as Brashear City, then renamed Morgan City in February 1876 in honor of Charles Morgan, a New York magnate who made Brashear City the center of many of his steamship and railroad activities. During the Civil War, it became important as the westernmost supply line of the Union Army because it was the terminal of the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad, and from here the Union Army made its Teche Campaign. Since World War II, Morgan City has grown rapidly, with present-day growth beginning with offshore oil exploration and drilling in 1947, when Kerr McGee's Rig 16 became the first producer of oil in the open Gulf. Brownell Carillon Tower stands in a beautiful setting by Lake Palourde, where a 9.5 acre park shows many varied plants that grow wild along the ridges of these swamps, including palmettos, elephant ears, and ferns, and the 106 foot tower contains 61 bronze bells cast in Holland.