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
Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805.
The Natchito ...
, serving the Old River community. It is the cultural and religious center of the area's
Louisiana Creole people
Louisiana Creoles (french: Créoles de la Louisiane, lou, Moun Kréyòl la Lwizyàn, es, Criollos de Luisiana) are people descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana before it became a part of the United States during the period of bo ...
, predominantly of French descent.
Location
The church and cemetery are located Old River Road (Parish Road 615) on the banks of Old River near
Kisatchie Bayou at the Old River Creole community near
Natchez, Louisiana.
Like nearby
Cane River and
Bayou Brevelle
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 (Natchitoches Parish), Old River and Kisatchie Bayou at Montrose to Natchez, Lo ...
, Old River was once the Red River.
History
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
The Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana (also known as Adai Caddo Indian Nation of Louisiana and the Adai Caddo Tribe) is a state-recognized tribe in Louisiana and 501(c)(3) organization in Robeline, Louisiana. Its members are descendants of the ...
),
St. Joseph's Catholic Mission at Bayou Derbonne, and
St. Charles Chapel at Bermuda.
Notable Creole founding and patron families include Rachal, Longlois, Lacaze, Metoyer and Brevelle. The mission was initially under the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Natchitoches
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Natchitoches was a residential episcopal see of the Catholic Church from 1853 to 1910 and is now a titular see.
History
Originally, the bishopric of Natchitoches was the Catholic Diocese for the central portions of ...
, which is now part of the
Diocese of Alexandria The Patriarchate of Alexandria is the office and jurisdiction of the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, referred to since 531 as Patriarch of Alexandria. It originated from Mark the Evangelist and developed until the Council of Chalcedon in 451 when it ...
.
Notable people
*
Clementine Hunter (c. 1887–1988), self-taught folk artist, she lived at the
Melrose Plantation
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 Sta ...
and painted this chapel and old river.
*
Jean Baptiste Brevelle (1698-1754), early 18th century explorer, trader and soldier of
Fort Saint Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches.
*
Billie Stroud (1919–2010), self-taught folk artist, used this chapel, Kisatchie Bayou, and Brevelle Bayou as subject of her work and spent time there.
*
Robert Brevelle (born 1977), renowned entrepreneur and tribal councilman of the nearby Adai Caddo Indian Nation, is a lineal descendant of original patrons of St. Augustine Parish Church and St. Anne's Mission Church on Old River.
See also
*
St. Genevieve Catholic Church of Brouillette
References
{{Authority control
Churches in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
Louisiana Creole culture