With a nod to its rich history, the now, Floyd's Morley Marina serves as a marina, watering hole and hot spot for live entertainment in West Baton Rouge.
A special thank you to Billy Hebert for keeping Morley’s history alive through incredible storytelling and image archives. Most of the historical information on this site was written by Mr. Hebert and can be found in the West Baton Rouge Families Sequel Volume III by the West Baton Rouge Genealogical Society.
Morley Marina
Inherited from his grandfather, H.T. Morley’s grandson, Dr. Morley Morgana opened Morley Marina on May 7, 1960 as a marina, restaurant and recreation center along the newly-constructed Intracoastal Waterway.
Morley Cypress Mill
In 1907, H.T. Morley left a successful business in Michigan to open a lumber mill in rural West Baton Rouge Parish on the 17,260 acres acquired by his family after the Civil War.
Town of Morley
H.T. also built housing and local businesses for millworkers and their families, creating a thriving town around the mill. On the wooded land now primarily used by Brusly Hunting Club members once stood the town of Morley, one of the biggest towns in West Baton Rouge during its peak.
Morley Bridge
In 1959, long after the town of Morley was gone, construction was completed on a $1.1million railroad bridge across the intracoastal which would allow trains to pass over the waterway. The Texas and Pacific Railroad named it “Morley Bridge.”
“So, when it’s all said and done, why should we care about a place that’s been gone 90 years? Well, while tiny, Morley, Louisiana may not have the historical significance of other “ghost towns,’ it was once part of our parish, and the mill provided jobs for ancestors of families still in the area. Our people lived, worked and died there. Even though no part of the town exists today, its impact on the residents of West Baton Rouge parish is still noteworthy and its memory deserving of preservation.”