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PARISH INFORMATION
POINTE COUPÉE PARISH VIGNETTES
- BRIAN J. COSTELLO -
HISTORIAN AND ARCHIVIST OF THE HISTORIC MATERIALS COLLECTION OF THE POINTE COUPÉE LIBRARY
1. Pointe Coupée Parish is one of the oldest settlements in the Mississippi Valley, with a recorded history dating from 1699 and continuous settlement by Creole French and African- Americans since the 1720s. Anglo-Saxons arrived after the Louisiana Purchase and Italians came in the 1890s.
2. Parish seat of New Roads was named for a new road built to link False River settlers with Mississippi River settlers around 1776.
3. Parish has two oxbow lakes, or former channels of the Mississippi: False River, which was cut off as a natural geological process by 1722, and Old River, which was cut off by state engineers in 1847. Both are popular fishing and boating venues.
4. Famous residents have included early 19th century philanthropist, statesman, merchant, planter and poet Julien Poydras; U.S. Marines Commandant John A. Lejeune; General Russell Honore; Congresswoman/Ambassador Corinne “Lindy” Boggs; New Orleans Mayor deLesseps “Chep” Morrison; novelist Ernest Gaines; Dr. George Tichenor of antiseptic fame.
5. New Roads Mardi Gras, held annually since 1922, is the state’s oldest celebration outside New Orleans. A family- friendly alternative to larger cities’ carnival traditions. Parade floats are built anew each year and entered in competition. The 2016 festivities drew the largest turnout ever, estimated at 100,000 by Pointe Coupée Parish law enforcement and parade officials.
6. Bergeron Pecans, shelled and packaged locally, are distributed nationwide and overseas.
7. Sports triathlons have been held each summer in New Roads since 1996.
8. New Roads is noted for quaint downtown shops and several fine dining establishments, many of which have river views.
9. The Harvest Festival on False River, the state’s quickest growing celebration, attracts as many as 60,000 people to downtown New Roads in October for music, food, exhibits and more.
10. Parish boasts one of the largest concentrations of Creole architecture in the Mississippi Valley. Several landmarks are more than two centuries old.
The parish has a long list of thirty-two properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including five in Jarreau alone: Jean Baptiste Bergeron House, Valmont Bergeron House, Jacques Dupre House, LeBeau House and Kitchen, and Saizon House. Additionally, Parlange Plantation – home of the Parlange family – is architecturally and culturally significant to the Parish.
In2014,ThePointeCoupéeOfficeofEconomicDevelopment and the Pointe Coupée Office of Tourism have joined forces to form Film Point (Pointe Coupée Film Consultants) in promoting opportunities in film and video production in Pointe Coupée parish. 3 Filming locations are varied and diverse. 4
The Pointe Coupée Parish Office of Tourism just themselves gave out information to 1.5 million people in 2018 and to over 2 million In 2017.
1 “State & County QuickFacts”. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
2 Brian J. Costello is native and lifelong resident of New Roads, Pointe Coupée Parish, is a noted humanitarian, author of more than two dozen books on local, Louisiana, European and religious studies and is a Knight of the Imperial Teutonic, St. Lazarus and Nobility of the Holy Roman Empire Orders.
3 http://pointeCoupéereporter.com/lights-camera-action-pointe-Coupée-p2230-1310.htm 4 http://pointeCoupéereporter.com/locally-shot-film-set-for-release-p9417-1938.htm
5 Office of Tourism, Pointe Coupée, Jeanie Andrew, Executive Director.
Via email: March 25, 2019.
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