Bayou Brevelle

Bayou Brevelle
Brevelle Bayou,
Bayou des Jean Baptiste Brevelle
Bayou Brevelle; Brevelle Bayou, ; Bayou des Jean Baptiste Brevelle
	Bayou Brevelle
Location
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Natchitoches
Physical characteristics
Source	Old River, Kisatchie Bayou, Little River, Cane River
Mouth
• coordinates	31°34′30″N92°58′56″W / 31.57494°N 92.98228°W
Length	18 miles (29 km)

Last updated April 20, 2024

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.

History

The area was inhabited since time immemorial by tribes of the Caddo Confederacy including the Adai, Natchitoches, Yatasi, and Doustioni.^[1] Over the past 300 hundred years, the area has changed dramatically due to the Great Raft and its subsequent removal. Periodic flooding over the centuries and the deposit of river silt has made the area one of the most fertile farmlands in Louisiana.^[2]

Like nearby Cane River and Old River, Bayou Brevelle was once the Red River.^[3]

The name Brevelle is from the French (Brevel and Breville) and is an ancient surname originating in the 1200s Normandy region of France from the Fief of Breville.^[4] The bayou is named after metis (french and native american) Jean Baptiste Brevelle II, the area's earliest settler and the 18th-century explorer and soldier of the Natchitoches Militia at Fort St. Jean Baptiste. He is the son of Jean Baptiste Brevelle, a Parisian-born trader and explorer, and his Adai (French: Natao) Caddo Indian wife, Anne des Cadeaux. The baptism of Jean Baptiste Brevelle II. is recorded on May 20, 1736 in the oldest Catholic Registry in the Louisiana colony. Jean Baptiste Brevelle II was granted Isle Brevelle and the land surrounding Bayou Brevelle 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.^[5]

Jean Baptiste Brevelle II, his mother, and his father are buried at the old Brevelle Plantation along Bayou Brevelle south of the city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.^[6]

Creole culture

Along the banks of Bayou Brevelle lies the birthplace of Creole where the mixture of French, Spanish, African, and Native American cultures created a unique community and people.^[7] The Isle of Brevelle community, the original and oldest Creole community in Louisiana, was isolated until World War II, after which the community saw significant outward migration.^[8] The St. Augustine Catholic Church Fair, held annually, still draws back many former members of the community.^[9]

There are several noteworthy examples of Creole architecture in the area.^[10] One example is the Badin-Roque House.

Bayou Brevelle continues to be the inspiration and subject of Creole paintings, photography, and literature.^[11]

Notable places

Representation in literary work

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.^[12]
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 on Isle Brevelle and residents living along Bayou Brevelle.^[13]

Representation in film

Cane River: The Isle Brevelle Church and Bayou Brevelle are depicted in the 1982 historical romantic drama Cane River, which was lost for decades before being rediscovered a distributed digitally and in theaters beginning in 2020.
Steel Magnolias: Several scenes from the 1989 American comedy-drama film Steel Magnolias directed by Herbert Ross and starring Academy Award winners Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis with Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts were shot on Isle Brevelle. Character Shelby's wedding was filmed at St. Augustine Church.^[14] The film is an adaptation of Robert Harling's 1987 play of the same name about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own. The supporting cast features Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, Sam Shepard and Kevin J. O'Connor.^[15]
The Horse Soldiers: The Horse Soldiers is a 1959 American adventure war western film set during the American Civil War directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers. The screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Martin Rackin was loosely based on Harold Sinclair's 1956 novel of the same name, a fictionalized version of Grierson's Raid in Mississippi. Portions of the movie were filmed on Isle Brevelle including scenes of the plantation house along Bayou Brevelle.^[16]
Clementine Hunter’s World: Clementine Hunter’s World is a 2016 documentary filmed on Isle Brevelle featuring life along the banks of the Cane River and Bayou Brevelle and colorful paintings of self-taught, primitive artist Clementine Hunter.^[17]

Related Research Articles

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.

Natchez is a village in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 597 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village and parish are part of the Cane River National Heritage Area and located on Isle Brevelle.

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.

Established in 1994, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park serves to preserve the resources and cultural landscapes of the Cane River region in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Located along the Cane River Lake, the park is approximately 63 acres and includes two French Creole cotton plantations, Oakland and Magnolia. Both plantations are complete in their historic settings, including landscapes, outbuildings, structures, furnishings, and artifacts; and they are the most intact French Creole cotton plantations in the United States. In total, 65 historic structures and over a million artifacts enhance the National Park Service mission as it strives to tell the story of the evolution of plantation agriculture through the perspective of the land owners, enslaved workers, overseers, skilled workers, and tenant farmers who resided along the Cane River for over two hundred years. This park is included as a site on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.

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 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 people of color. 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.

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. 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.

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.

Kisatchie Bayou is a series of interconnected, natural waterways totaling over 38 miles in length in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, and Sabine Parish, Louisiana. The bayou is a tributary of Old River at Isle Brevelle. The bayou runs through a large portion of Kisatchie National Forest, the only national forest in the State of Louisiana.

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.

Jean Baptiste Brevelle II was a French and Native American explorer, translator and soldier of the militia at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana and Le Poste des Cadodaquious in Texas.

References

↑ "Isle Brevelle". NSULA. January 3, 2023.
↑ McCants, Sister Dorothea Olga (1970). They Came to Louisiana: Letters of a Catholic Mission. LSU Press. ISBN 0807109037.
↑ Cane River Creole National Historical Park: Historic Resource Study 2019 (PDF). US National Park Service (Report). Commonwealth Heritage Group, Inc. & Suzanne Turner Associates. pp. 1–5. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
↑ "Breville Heraldry". Heraldry Institute of Rome. January 13, 2023.
↑ Church, Catholic (1734–1761). Archives Immaculate Conception Church at Natchitoches (French). Register No 1. 17334-1761. Archives Immaculate Conception Church. pp. 4–10.
↑ "Marie Anne des Cadeaux". FamilySearch . Retrieved 2023-12-17.
↑ Owens, Maida (15 October 1997). "Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview". Louisianafolklife.org. Louisiana Folk Life. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
↑ Owens, Maida (15 October 1997). "Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview". Louisianafolklife.org. Louisiana Folk Life. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
↑ Dowdy, Verdis (5 October 1975). "Isle Brevelle and Festival". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
↑ Bazelle, Allison (18 February 2019). "Crumbling History: Fundraiser underway to save Isle Brevelle's first Creole convent". KALB.org. KALB Channel 5 News. p. 1.
↑ Gould, Philip (2002). Natchitoches and Louisiana’s Timeless Cane River. LSU Press. ISBN 0807128325.
↑ 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.
↑ Church, St Augustine (1999). Recipes from the Isle - Isle Brevelle, Louisiana Cookbook. Catholic Church. ASIN B000P7M76S.
↑ Ross, Herbert (1989-11-22), Steel Magnolias (Comedy, Drama, Romance), TriStar Pictures, Rastar Films, retrieved 2023-01-12
↑ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
↑ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
↑ "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

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[1] "Isle Brevelle". NSULA. January 3, 2023.

[2] McCants, Sister Dorothea Olga (1970). They Came to Louisiana: Letters of a Catholic Mission. LSU Press. ISBN 0807109037.

[3] Cane River Creole National Historical Park: Historic Resource Study 2019 (PDF). US National Park Service (Report). Commonwealth Heritage Group, Inc. & Suzanne Turner Associates. pp. 1–5. Retrieved 19 January 2024.

[4] "Breville Heraldry". Heraldry Institute of Rome. January 13, 2023.

[5] Church, Catholic (1734–1761). Archives Immaculate Conception Church at Natchitoches (French). Register No 1. 17334-1761. Archives Immaculate Conception Church. pp. 4–10.

[6] "Marie Anne des Cadeaux". FamilySearch . Retrieved 2023-12-17.

[7] Owens, Maida (15 October 1997). "Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview". Louisianafolklife.org. Louisiana Folk Life. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-17.

[8] Owens, Maida (15 October 1997). "Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview". Louisianafolklife.org. Louisiana Folk Life. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-17.

[9] Dowdy, Verdis (5 October 1975). "Isle Brevelle and Festival". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-12-17.

[10] Bazelle, Allison (18 February 2019). "Crumbling History: Fundraiser underway to save Isle Brevelle's first Creole convent". KALB.org. KALB Channel 5 News. p. 1.

[11] Gould, Philip (2002). Natchitoches and Louisiana’s Timeless Cane River. LSU Press. ISBN 0807128325.

[12] 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.

[13] Church, St Augustine (1999). Recipes from the Isle - Isle Brevelle, Louisiana Cookbook. Catholic Church. ASIN B000P7M76S.

[14] Ross, Herbert (1989-11-22), Steel Magnolias (Comedy, Drama, Romance), TriStar Pictures, Rastar Films, retrieved 2023-01-12

[15] "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

[16] "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

[17] "Natchitoches Film Trail". Official City of Natchitoches Site. Natchitoches Office of Tourism. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

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