Reggio, Louisiana

The community was originally named for the Montaña y Barranco de Bencheque, a mountain and ravine on the island of Tenerife near Icod de los Vinos where many of the Canary Islander colonists originated. The name comes from the Guanche language and is believed to mean "the place of the trees" or "the place of the plant". An individual from the community is known as a Benchecano. Towards the second half of the century, Reggio came to refer to the former area of the plantation and Bencheque. Isleños, particularly those who know Spanish, maintain this distinction and their descendants continue to do so today. Legal descriptions of land tracts in the settlement use Bencheque while Reggio has been used by St. Bernard Parish Government, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and other organizations. == History ==

Beginning in 1779, Canary Islanders came to be settled by the Spanish government along Bayou Terre-aux-Beoufs in what would become St. Bernard Parish. The plantation eventually extended from the Olivier plantation all the way to Wood Lake. In 1836, the Mexican Gulf Railroad was established and linked the Reggio plantation, along with other plantations of St. Bernard Parish, to the city of New Orleans. Two years later, the Spanish flu swept through St. Bernard Parish and required the mass burial of over one thousand people, mostly Isleños, at St. Bernard Catholic Cemetery. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and subsequent dynamiting of a levee at Caernarvon left the community completely inundated. Increased urbanization, greater access to education, and improved roads led to residents leaving in search of security and job opportunities. This event dealt a serious blow to the prevalence of Isleño culture in the traditional Isleño communities of the St. Bernard Parish. == See also ==