JEFFERSON ISLAND

New Tiffin Friends

We contacted a couple from New Iberia who we met last summer at the Tiffin Rally in Gillette, WY to set up a lunch date. They suggested Cafe Jefferson nestled in a grove of live oaks on Jefferson Island. 

Acclaimed American Actor Joseph Jefferson Played Rib Van Winkle Role

It is situated on a prehistoric salt dome and home to Lake Peigneur, the Joseph Jefferson mansion and the Rip Van Winkle Gardens.The Joseph Jefferson Mansion was built in 1870. It has 22 rooms with a cupola. The mansion sits atop the salt dome at an elevation of 75 feet above sea level.

Joseph Jefferson Mansion Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Massive Live Oak Tree

Only the Chimney of a House Remains From Salt Mine Collapse 

Jefferson Island is situated on a prehistoric salt dome. In 1980 a Texaco drilling oil rig pierced one of the giant caverns of the Diamond Crystal Salt Company, flooding the entire mine. 

The vortex into the salt cavern swallowed Lake Pegneur, 65 acres of wood land, the Rip Van winkle Welcome Center, a 1/2 acre garden under glass and a new home. A drilling rig, several barges loaded with trucks and rock salt, boats and equipment also vanished into the whirlpool. 


Nine of the lost barges were coughed up after the lake was refilled by the Gulf of Mexico via the Delcambre Canal. What was once a ten-foot deep freshwater lake is now a 1,300 foot deep salt water lake.  No lives were lost in this man made disaster.

ManyVarieties of Bamboo

Asian Influence in Rip Van Winkle Gardens

Enjoying the Beautiful Tapestry of the Japanese Garden