St. Joseph's Catholic Mission at Bayou Derbonne | |
Location | Montrose, Louisiana |
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Coordinates | 31°32′23.5068″N92°59′53.45″W / 31.539863000°N 92.9981806°W |
Area | Montrose Creole Community |
Built | 1800s |
Architect | Francois Brevelle |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
St. Joseph's Catholic Mission at Bayou Derbonne is a historic Catholic mission founded in the 1800s along the banks of Bayou Derbonne near Montrose and Isle Brevelle in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, serving the Montrose and Cloutierville Creole community. It was the cultural and religious center of the area's Louisiana Creole people, predominantly of French descent. [1]
The remnants of the church and cemetery are located on Highway 493 on the banks of Bayou Derbonne near the Cane River Waterway Commission. Nearby are the historic Magnolia Plantation (Derry, Louisiana) and Melrose Plantation.
The chapel was founded by French Creole families in the 1800s as a mission of St. Augustine Catholic Parish Church of Isle Brevelle. During this period, St. Augustine Catholic Parish Church founded 3 other missions: St. Anne Church (Spanish Lake) (serving the Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana), St. Charles Chapel at Bermuda, and St. Anne Chapel at Old River. [2]
Notable Creole founding and patron families include Rachal, Longlois, Lacaze, Metoyer and Brevelle. The mission was initially under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Natchitoches, which is now part of the Diocese of Alexandria. [3]
Natchitoches Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,515. The parish seat and most populous municipality is Natchitoches, the largest by land area is Ashland, and the most density populated area is Campti. The parish was formed in 1805.
Robeline is a village in western Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 183 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Cane River is a 30-mile-long (48 km) river in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, originating from a portion of the Red River. Historically, in the 19th and 20th centuries, it gained prominence as the locus of a notable Creole de couleur (multiracial) culture, centered around the National Historic Landmark, Melrose Plantation, and the adjacent St. Augustine Parish Church.
The Diocese of Natchitoches was a Latin Church residential episcopal see of the Catholic Church from 1853 to 1910 and is now a titular see.
The Cane River National Heritage Area is a United States National Heritage Area in the state of Louisiana. The heritage area is known for plantations featuring Creole architecture, as well as numerous other sites that preserve the multi-cultural history of the area. The heritage area includes the town of Natchitoches, Louisiana and its national historic district. Founded in 1714, it is the oldest community in the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase. Cane River Creole National Historical Park, including areas of Magnolia and Oakland plantations, also is within the heritage area.
Melrose Plantation, also known as Yucca Plantation, is a National Historic Landmark located in the unincorporated community of Melrose in Natchitoches Parish in north central Louisiana. This is one of the largest plantations in the United States built by and for free blacks. The land was granted to Louis Metoyer, who had the "Big House" built beginning about 1832. He was a son of Marie Thérèse Coincoin, a former slave who became a wealthy businesswoman in the area, and Claude Thomas Pierre Métoyer. The house was completed in 1833 after Louis' death by his son Jean Baptiste Louis Metoyer. The Metoyers were free people of color for four generations before the American Civil War.
St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery, or the Isle Brevelle Church, is a historic Catholic parish property founded in 1829 near Melrose, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. It is the cultural center of the Cane River area's historic French, Spanish, Native American and Black Creole community. It is also the oldest surviving Black Catholic church in the United States.
Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site in Natchitoches, Louisiana, US, is a replica of an early French fort based upon the original 1716 blueprints by Sieur Du Tisné with the improvements made in 1731 by Boutin. The French called the original fort: Fort Saint Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches. In the 1970's, the State of Louisiana anglicized the name to Fort Saint Jean Baptiste.
The St. Anne Church in the vicinity of Robeline, Louisiana is a historic church founded in the 1800s as a mission from the St. Augustine Parish Church of Isle Brevelle. The current building was built in 1916. It is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of LA 485 and Blosmoore Road. It was added to the National Register in 1994.
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. It is considered the birthplace of Creole culture and remains the epicenter of Creole art and literature blending European, 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.
Anne des Cadeaux (unknown—1754), was a Native American active in early colonial Louisiana, and was from one of the early Louisiana Creole families. She was a devout Catholic, and was enslaved but later gained her freedom.
Bayou Brevelle is a series of interconnected, natural waterways totaling over 18 miles in length in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Its main channel is at Old River and Kisatchie Bayou at Montrose to Natchez near the Cane River. During heavy rains or floods, Bayou Brevelle joins the Cane River. The bayou is flanked by Interstate 49 on the west and the Cane River on the east, and is one of the many waterways on Isle Brevelle.
Brevelle Lake is a lake in Red River County, Texas. It is located near County Road 4621 and the towns of Avery, Texas and Annona, Texas. Below its dam is Shawnee Creek (Texas), which flows into the Sulphur River.
The Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana is a state-recognized tribe in Louisiana and 501(c)(3) organization in Robeline, Louisiana. Its members are descendants of the Adai people.
St. Genevieve Catholic Church and Cemetery of Brouillette is a historic Catholic Church founded in the 1800s along the banks of the Red River of the South near Marksville, Louisiana, United States, serving the Brouillette community. The current structure was built in the 1950s. It is the cultural center of the area's historic Louisiana Creole people, predominantly of French descent.
St. Anne Chapel at Old River is a historic Catholic chapel founded in the 1800s along the banks of Old River near Cypress and Isle Brevelle in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, serving the Old River community. It is the cultural and religious center of the area's Louisiana Creole people, predominantly of French descent.
St. Charles Chapel at Bermuda is a historic Catholic chapel founded in the early 1900s along the banks of the Cane River on Isle Brevelle in Natchitoches Parish serving the unincorporated community of Bermuda, Louisiana. It is the cultural and religious center of the area's Louisiana Creole people, predominantly of French descent.
Bermuda is an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located near the Cane River Creole National Historic Park on LA-112, south of Point Place near Isle Brevelle and the Oakland Plantation. Local waterways include the Cane River.
Old River (Natchitoches Parish) is a series of interconnected, natural waterways totaling over 25 miles in length in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Its main channel runs along LA Highway 1 from South of Natchitoches, Louisiana, to Colfax, Louisiana. The river is flanked by Interstate 49 on the west and the Red River of the South on the east, and is one of the many waterways on Isle Brevelle.
Jean Baptiste Brevelle was a Parisian-born trader, explorer, and one of the first soldiers garrisoned at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana and Le Poste des Cadodaquious in Texas.