Jump to content

Isle Brevelle: Difference between revisions

Add links
Coordinates: 31°38′37″N 093°01′43″W / 31.64361°N 93.02861°W / 31.64361; -93.02861
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Bot: Removing c:File:St Anne Church Spanish Lake.jpg , deleted by Infrogmation (Copyright violation; see Commons:Commons:Licensing (F1): www.diocesealex.org/church/st-anne-church-spanish-lake/).
Tag: Reverted
Line 39: Line 39:


== Location ==
== Location ==
Located in the Natchitoches Parish in Louisiana, in approximately 18,000 acres of land between the [[Cane River]] and [[Bayou Brevelle]] (near Montrose).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gregory|first=H. F.|title=Isle Brevelle|url=https://www.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/crcc/IsleBrevelle.html|website=Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, [[Northwestern State University]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Cane River Creole Community|url=https://www.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/crcc/default.htm|website=Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, [[Northwestern State University]]}}</ref> Two major highways in Isle Brevelle include [[LA 119]] and [[LA 484]].<ref name=":1" /> Isle Brevelle is a featured destination on the [[Louisiana African American Heritage Trail]] with over 60 cultural, religious, architectural, and historically significant African, Native American, and Creole sites including [[St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery (Natchez, Louisiana)|St. Augustine Parish Church]], [[Melrose Plantation]], [[Badin-Roque House]] and burial sites of [[Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana|Adai]], [[Natchitoches people|Natchitoches]], and [[Hasinai]] Native Americans.
Located in [[Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana]], Isle Brevelle consists of approximately 18,000 acres of land between the [[Cane River]] and [[Bayou Brevelle]] (near Montrose).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gregory|first=H. F.|title=Isle Brevelle|url=https://www.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/crcc/IsleBrevelle.html|website=Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, [[Northwestern State University]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Cane River Creole Community|url=https://www.nsula.edu/regionalfolklife/crcc/default.htm|website=Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, [[Northwestern State University]]}}</ref> Two major highways in Isle Brevelle include [[LA 119]] and [[LA 484]].<ref name=":1" /> Isle Brevelle is a featured destination on the [[Louisiana African American Heritage Trail]] with over 60 cultural, religious, architectural, and historically significant African, Native American, and Creole sites including [[St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery (Natchez, Louisiana)|St. Augustine Parish Church]], [[Melrose Plantation]], [[Badin-Roque House]] and burial sites of [[Louisiana Creole people]] and Native Americans of the [[Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana|Adai]], [[Natchitoches people|Natchitoches]], and [[Hasinai]] tribes of the Caddo Confederacy.


== History ==
== History ==

Revision as of 18:04, 18 January 2024

Isle Brevelle
Community
Melrose Plantation
Melrose Plantation
Isle Brevelle is located in Louisiana
Isle Brevelle
Isle Brevelle
Location in Louisiana, United States
Isle Brevelle is located in the United States
Isle Brevelle
Isle Brevelle
Isle Brevelle (the United States)
Coordinates: 31°38′37″N 093°01′43″W / 31.64361°N 93.02861°W / 31.64361; -93.02861
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishNatchitoches Parish
Founded byAnne des Cadeaux and Jean Baptiste Brevelle II
Named forJean Baptiste Brevelle II
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Magnolia Plantation House

Isle Brevelle is an ethnically and culturally diverse community, which began as a Native American and Louisiana Creole settlement and is located in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. For many years this area was known as Côte Joyeuse (English: Joyous Coast). It is considered the birthplace of Creole culture and remains the epicenter of Creole art and literature blending European (predominantly French and Spanish), African, and Native American cultures. It is home to the Cane River Creole National Historical Park and part of the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.[1]

Location

Located in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Isle Brevelle consists of approximately 18,000 acres of land between the Cane River and Bayou Brevelle (near Montrose).[2][3] Two major highways in Isle Brevelle include LA 119 and LA 484.[3] Isle Brevelle is a featured destination on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail with over 60 cultural, religious, architectural, and historically significant African, Native American, and Creole sites including St. Augustine Parish Church, Melrose Plantation, Badin-Roque House and burial sites of Louisiana Creole people and Native Americans of the Adai, Natchitoches, and Hasinai tribes of the Caddo Confederacy.

History

Isle Brevelle is named after Jean Baptiste Brevelle, Jr. (French: Jean Baptiste Brevel, Jr.), its earliest settler and the 18th-century explorer and soldier of the Natchitoches Militia.[4] He is the son of Jean Baptiste Brevelle, a Parisian-born trader and explorer, and his Adai Caddo (French: Natao) Indian wife, Anne Marie des Cadeaux. The baptism of Jean Baptiste Brevelle Jr. is recorded on May 20, 1736 in the oldest Catholic Registry in the Louisiana colony.[5] Jean Baptiste Brevelle Jr. was granted the island by David Pain, the subdelegate at Natchitoches in 1765 for his service to the French and Spanish crowns as a Caddo Indian translator and explorer of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.[6]

The island is a narrow strip of land some thirty miles in length with three- to four-mile breadth located south of Natchitoches, Louisiana. It is delineated and split by waterways to include the Cane River, Red River, Old River, and Bayou Brevelle (named after Jean Baptiste Brevel). Isle Brevelle was considered "the richest cotton-growing portion of the south". Father Yves-Marie LeConiniat, a priest from France, referred to it as an "earthly paradise".[7][8]

As the colony changed hands from France to Spain, the spelling of the Brevel surname changed to Brevelle. Records kept by the Spanish Crown (and later by the United States of America after the Louisiana Purchase) changed the names of the Brevelle family members to reflect the new spelling: Jean Baptiste Brevelle. The Brevelle Plantation grew to become one of the largest plantations in the South producing cotton, tobacco, indigo, lumber, bear grease, cattle, and food crops.[9][10]

The Louisiana Creole community is made of descendants of French and Spanish colonials, Africans, Anglo-Americans, and Native Americans of the Caddo Confederacy (Natchitoches, Adai).[11][12]

Nicolas Augustin Metoyer (1768–1856), was the son of Marie Thérèse Coincoin and Claude Thomas Pierre Métoyer, and he has been considered the "grandfather" of the community of Isle Brevelle.[13] He was born into slavery and remained in bondage (initially to Don Manuel Antonio de Soto y Bermúdez and wife Marie des Nieges de St. Denis DeSoto)[14] until 1792, at the age of 24.[13] Around this same time his mother, Marie Thérèse Coincoin was also freed from enslavement and they, as a family started collecting local land, which eventually amassed to 6,000 acres.[13] At the center of this collected land was Isle Brevelle.[13] During this era and in this location, mulatto people lived similarly to white Southern planters, in large mansions with expensive furniture, and in some cases they held their own slaves.[13] Nicolas Augustin Metoyer's home no longer stands, but the church he built, St. Augustine Parish still does.[13]

St. Augustine Parish Church

St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church

St. Augustine Parish Church (or Isle Brevelle Church) was established as a mission church by Creole Nicolas Augustin Metoyer and other prominent Creole families of Isle Brevelle, St. Augustine is celebrated as the first church in Louisiana to be built by and for free people of color.[15] Augustin's father, Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer had taken him to France in 1801 to visit his homeland. While there Augustin was struck by the arrangement of the French villages where community life was centered about the church. Upon his return to the Isle Brevelle and with the help of the Creoles of Isle Brevelle, the first church was constructed in 1803 using their own money and land.[16] Tradition also describes the role of Augustin's brother Louis (founder of the nearby Melrose Plantation, a National Historic Landmark), as the chapel's designer and builder.[17] As a means of collecting money for the church in earlier times, families of the parish were required to rent pews for their personal use and to donate religious items. Name boxes where attached at the end of each pew which allowed its owner exclusive use, even if the church was full. The blessing of the church was done by Fr. J. B. Blanc on July 19, 1829 under the title of St. Augustine, the patron saint of Augustin Metoyer. At this time, the church was to be a mission of St. Francois of Natchitoches.[18] On March 11, 1856, the mission of St. Augustine at Isle Brevelle was decreed by Bishop Auguste Martin, the 1st Bishop of the Natchitoches Diocese, to be a parish in its own right and assigned his brother, Fr. Francois Martin to be its first resident pastor. [19] As a parish in its own right and with the financial backing of Creole families Metoyer, Brevelle, Guidry, Balthazar and Roques, St. Augustine expanded to serve four other churches in the area, St. Charles at Bermuda, St. Joseph's at Bayou Derbonne, St. Anne's on Old River, and St. Anne Church (Spanish Lake).[20][21]

In 1913 under Bishop Van de Van, the order of Holy Ghost Fathers took charge of the parish and remained until 1990. The dedication of the existing church structure by Bishop Van De Van was at a solemn high mass on February 15, 1917 with Fr. J. Baumgartner as its pastor.[22]

Representation in literary work

  • Descendants of Jean Baptiste Brevel: Soldier of Fort St. Jean Baptiste at Natchitoches (2015): Author Tony Vets' historical novel of one of the first settlers and soldiers of the Louisiana colony draws upon his research of early settlers of Louisiana including the nearby French post, St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches and the Spanish post, Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes. The son of Jean Baptiste Brevel is the first Creole settlor and founder of Isle Brevelle. The island was a land grant to him by the Spanish Crown for services rendered as a translator, explorer, arbitrator, and colonial militia soldier.[23]
  • Isle of Canes (2004): Elizabeth Shown Mills's historical novel draws upon her research in both family tradition and primary sources. She explores the founding of St. Augustine Churchand the character of the religious leadership of the Isle Brevelle community in Creole Louisiana.[24]
  • Natchitoches and Louisiana’s Timeless Cane River (2002): Philip Gould's book spotlights the Creole settlement of Isle Brevelle, which dates back to the area's colonial period. Gould celebrates the music, food, folklore, architecture, and landscape of this vibrant multiethnic community. Harlan Mark Guidry, one of the many descendants of Isle Brevelle now living throughout the United States, narrates the story of this unique cultural treasure.[25]
  • Recipes from the Isle (1999): Recipes from the Isle - Isle Brevelle, Louisiana Cookbook is a Creole cookbook featuring recipes from members of the St. Augustine Catholic Church.[26]
  • That Was Then (Memories of Cane River) (2017): Isle Brevelle resident Joseph Moran, photographs the historic settlement of Cane River—also known as Isle Brevelle-reputedly the oldest American settlement founded by and for people of color.[27]

Representation in film

Notable places

Badin-Roque House; National Register of Historic Places listed as nn exemplary example of Creole Architecture in Isle Brevelle

Notable people

  • Clementine Hunter (c. 1887–1988), self-taught folk artist, she lived at the Melrose Plantation within Isle Brevelle.[34]
  • Kellyn LaCour-Conant, restoration ecologist[35]
  • Marie Thérèse Coincoin (1742–1816), a planter, former slave turned slave owner, and businesswoman.
  • Anne des Cadeaux (unknown–1754), former Native American slave, mother of Jean Baptiste Brevelle II, and buried on Isle Brevelle at the Brevelle Plantation.
  • Billie Stroud (1919–2010), self-taught folk artist, used Isle Brevelle as one subject of her work and spent time there.[36]
  • Robert Brevelle (born 1977), entrepreneur, venture capitalist and professor, is a lineal descendant of Isle Brevelle founder Jean Baptiste Brevelle II and Anne des Cadeaux.[37][38]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dowdy, Verdis (5 October 1975). "Isle Brevelle and Festival". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  2. ^ Gregory, H. F. "Isle Brevelle". Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, Northwestern State University.
  3. ^ a b "Cane River Creole Community". Louisiana Regional Folklife Program, Northwestern State University.
  4. ^ Mills, Gary (1977). The Forgotten People: Cane River's Creoles of Color. LSU Press. p. 50-67. ISBN 0807137138.
  5. ^ Mills, Elizabeth (2007). Natchitoches. Abstracts of the Catholic Church Registers of the French and Spanish Post of St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in Louisiana 1729-1803. Heritage Books Inc. p. 4-8. ISBN 978-0931069109.
  6. ^ Mills, Gary (1977). The Forgotten People: Cane River's Creoles of Color. LSU Press. p. 50-67. ISBN 0807137138.
  7. ^ McCants, Sister Dorothea Olga (1970). They Came to Louisiana: Letters of a Catholic Mission. LSU Press. p. 122-125. ISBN 0807109037.
  8. ^ Mills, Gary (1977). The Forgotten People: Cane River's Creoles of Color. LSU Press. p. 51. ISBN 0807137138.
  9. ^ Vets, Tony (2015). Descendants of Jean Baptiste Brevel: Soldier of Fort St. Jean Baptiste at Natchitoches. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 6-89. ISBN 9781508913740.
  10. ^ "History Brevelle Conservation Trust". 13 April 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  11. ^ "Cane River Creole Community". nsula.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  12. ^ "History". Brevelle Conservation Trust. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Dowdy, Verdis (21 September 1975). "Discovering Cenla, Grandpere, a Church, and a Portrait". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. p. 43. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  14. ^ Chrysler-Stacy, Elizabeth M. (1994). "Marie des Nieges de St. Denis DeSoto: Mother of De Soto Parish". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 35 (3): 350–354. ISSN 0024-6816. JSTOR 4233129.
  15. ^ "Church once featured in Steel Magnolias was first Black-founded, financed, and attended church for Catholics in the U.S." KTALnews.com. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  16. ^ Fr. J.B. Blanc, Reg. 6: 116. For a lengthy analysis of the evidence surrounding the construction of the chapel, see Gary B. Mills, The Forgotten People: Cane River's Créoles of Color (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 197), 145–150.
  17. ^ Clyde Roque, "St. Augustine Church", Diocese of Alexandria, accessed 15 Jul 2008.
  18. ^ "History of St. Augustine Catholic Church". St. Augustine Catholic Church. Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Bishop Auguste Martin". Diocese of Alexandria. Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  20. ^ "History of St. Augustine Catholic Church". St. Augustine Catholic Church. Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Creoles in the Cane River Region", Cane River National Heritage Area: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park Service, accessed 15 Jul 2008
  22. ^ "History of St. Augustine Catholic Church". St. Augustine Catholic Church. Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  23. ^ Vets, Tony (2015). Descendants of Jean Baptiste Brevel: Soldier of Fort St. Jean Baptiste at Natchitoches ([better source needed]). PatriotDescendants.com. ISBN 9781508913740.
  24. ^ Elizabeth Shown Mills, Isle of Canes (Provo: Ancestry.com, 2004). [better source needed]
  25. ^ Gomez, Gay M. (2004). "Review of A River and Its City: The Nature of Landscape in New Orleans". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 45 (3): 359–361. ISSN 0024-6816.
  26. ^ Church, St Augustine (1999). Recipes from the Isle - Isle Brevelle, Louisiana Cookbook ([better source needed]). Catholic Church. ASIN B000P7M76S.
  27. ^ Morvan, Joseph (2017). That Was Then (Memories of Cane River) ([better source needed]). University of Louisiana Press. ISBN 9781946160065.
  28. ^ Ross, Herbert (1989-11-22), Steel Magnolias (Comedy, Drama, Romance), TriStar Pictures, Rastar Films, retrieved 2023-01-12
  29. ^ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  30. ^ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  31. ^ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  32. ^ Jason Buchanan (2013). "For Sale by Owner". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20.
  33. ^ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  34. ^ Catlin, Roger. "Self-Taught Artist Clementine Hunter Painted the Bold Hues of Southern Life". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  35. ^ "Kellyn LaCour-Conant, MSc Tales from the Trail: Adventures in Restoration Ecology – McWane Science Center". Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  36. ^ Register, James (6 January 1974). "Isle Brevelle Produces a New Primitive". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. p. 29. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  37. ^ Whitney, Amber (September 2023). "Robert Brevelle CEO". thetop100magazine.com. p. 64. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  38. ^ Vets, Tony (2015). Descendants of Jean Baptiste Brevel: Soldier of Fort St. Jean Baptiste at Natchitoches. Patriot Publishing. ISBN 9781508913740.

Further reading

  • Gould, Philip (2002). Natchitoches and Louisiana’s Timeless Cane River. LSU Press. ISBN 9780807128329.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isle_Brevelle&oldid=1196850288"