Bayou Brevelle
Brevelle Bayou,
Bayou des Jean Baptiste Brevelle
Location
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishNatchitoches
Physical characteristics
SourceOld River, Kisatchie Bayou, Little River, Cane River
 • coordinates31°35′26″N 092°58′38″W / 31.59056°N 92.97722°W / 31.59056; -92.97722
Length18 miles

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 at Montrose, Louisiana to Natchez, Louisiana 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 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]

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.[3] The bayou is named after metis (french and native american) Jean Baptiste Brevelle, Jr., 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, Jr. is recorded on May 20, 1736 in the oldest Catholic Registry in the Louisiana colony. Jean Baptiste Brevelle Jr. 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.[4]

Jean Baptiste Brevelle Jr., his mother, and his father are buried at the old Brevelle Plantation along Bayou Brevelle south of the city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.[5]

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. [6] 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.[7] The St. Augustine Catholic Church Fair, held annually, still draws back many former members of the community.[8]

There are several noteworthy examples of Creole architecture in the area.[9] One example is the Badin-Roque House.

Bayou Brevelle continues to be the inspiration and subject of Creole paintings, photography, and literature.[10]

Notable places

See also

References

  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. ↑ "Breville Heraldry". Heraldry Institute of Rome. January 13, 2023.
  4. ↑ Church, Catholic (1734–1761). Archives Immaculate Conception Church at Natchitoches (French). Register No 1. 17334-1761. Archives Immaculate Conception Church. p. 4-10.
  5. ↑ "Marie Anne des Cadeaux". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  6. ↑ Owens, Maida (15 October 1997). "Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview". Louisianafolklife.org. Louisiana Folk Life. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  7. ↑ Owens, Maida (15 October 1997). "Louisiana's Traditional Cultures: An Overview". Louisianafolklife.org. Louisiana Folk Life. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  8. ↑ Dowdy, Verdis (5 October 1975). "Isle Brevelle and Festival". Newspapers.com. The Town Talk. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Gould, Philip (2002). Natchitoches and Louisiana’s Timeless Cane River. LSU Press. ISBN 0807128325.

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