Point Coupee is the name of an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in Pointe Coupee Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States. It is the home of St. Francis Chapel and is located along Louisiana Highway 420, north of New Roads, the parish seat.

History

The community was settled in 1719/1720 by French colonists. It is one of the oldest European/western communities in the Mississippi River Valley. Originally, it was called ''Le Poste de Pointe Coupée'' (the Pointe Coupée Post or Cut Point Post). About 1776, a ''chemin neuf'' (new road) was built to connect the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

with False River. The area has since been known as New Roads and is the basis for naming the town of New Roads. The Saint Francis Chapel at the Point Coupée settlement was originally completed in 1728. A new church building was constructed in 1760, but built too close to the Mississippi River. Flooding unearthed graves and the church was taken down, and a smaller version was erected using materials from the previous church. This newer structure was dedicated in 1895. The church is known as the fourth-oldest continuously operating

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Louisiana. St. Francis Chapel is now a mission church of St. Mary's of False River. The town of St. Francisville, on the opposite (east) side of the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, is named for the St. Francis Chapel. In 1792, when this area was part of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, the Spanish suppressed the Mina Conspiracy near New Roads and four years later, during the Easter holiday, they suppressed a slave insurrection near Point Coupée, which became known as the Pointe Coupée Conspiracy That led to 23 heads of decapitated rebels being displayed on the road to New Orleans, and 31 additional slaves were flogged and sent to serve hard labor in other Spanish outposts.

References

Unincorporated communities in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana Baton Rouge metropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Louisiana {{Louisiana-geo-stub

History

See also

References