New Roads, Louisiana

Le Poste de Pointe Coupée ("the Pointe Coupée Post" or Cut Point Post) is one of the oldest communities in the Mississippi River Valley established by European colonists. The trading post was founded in the 1720s by settlers from France. It was located upstream from the point crossed by explorers, immediately above but not circled by False River. The name referred to the area along the Mississippi River northeast of what is now New Roads.

The post was initially settled by native French, as well as French-speaking Creoles born in the colony. Additional ethnically French settlers migrated down the Mississippi River from Fort de Chartres, Upper Louisiana. The colonists imported numerous African slaves from the French West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Domingue), and many directly from Africa, as workers for the plantations.

Historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall discovered extensive French and Spanish documentation of the early slave trade, which provided more information than is usually available as to the ethnicity and names of individual slaves, all in the court house at New Roads. Using this and other research, she has produced "The Louisiana Slave Database and the Louisiana Free Database: 1719–1820," which is searchable on line.

After several floods, Governor Luis de Unzaga in 1772 moved the European settlement from Pointe Coupee to a new post, the so-called Post Unzaga. Recently, historians Frank Cazorla and J. David Polo, from the Louis de Unzaga Historical Society research team, using satellite remote sensing techniques and comparative plans from the General Archive of the Indies, have managed to locate the position of the Unzaga post, which included, along with it , a parish. Unfortunately after the slave rebellion of 1795 this settlement was left uninhabited.[5]

After Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War in North America), France ceded this territory to Spain. About 1776, the Spanish built a Chemin Neuf, French for "New Road," connecting the Mississippi River with False River, a 22-mile (35 km) long oxbow lake and formerly the main channel of the Mississippi.[6]

In 1791, the Mina (an African people) slave uprising, the Mina Conspiracy, started on the estate of Widow Robillard at New Roads. Three years later, there was another area slave revolt near Point Coupee, the Pointe Coupée Conspiracy.[6]

In 1803 the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, and the territory became part of the United States. In-migration of American settlers increased, changing Louisiana culture.

In 1822, Catherine Dispau (a free woman of color called "La Fille Gougis") made a four or six block subdivision out of her False River plantation. This was located at the terminus of a "new road" linking False River with the older Mississippi River settlement to the north. This is the area now bounded by West Main, New Roads, West Second and St. Mary Streets. The latter was named for St. Mary's Catholic Church, founded in 1823. The community was referred to variously as the "village of St. Mary" or Chemin Neuf.[6]

The founding of the church helped the community develop. In 1847, New Roads was named as the seat of Pointe Coupée Parish, and a courthouse was built. Between these "strong celestial poles," the Main Street business district developed. After the abandonment of the competing parish port of Waterloo during 1882–84 due to flooding, New Roads became the major commercial port and city of Pointe Coupée Parish. The railroad reached the city in 1898–99, bringing much industrial development.[6]

The official name of the community changed frequently during the years after Louisiana became part of the United States. The first post office was established in 1858 as "False River," but it was discontinued in 1861. When the town was incorporated by the state legislature in 1875, it was named "New Roads." But, in 1878, when the post office reopened, it was named "St. Mary's." In 1879, the city and post office name was changed to New Roads. The old incorporation fell into disuse. The city was reincorporated in 1892, and received its charter two years later. Several names were proposed, among them "St. Mary" and "Rose Lake." But "New Roads" was finally chosen, although it was often misspelled "New Rhodes."[6]

New Roads was spared any major battles during the Civil War. There were periodic raids and the Union Army briefly encamped in the Place de la Croix, the public square in front of St. Mary's. On January 31, 1865, toward the end of the war, five squadrons of Union cavalry marched into New Roads. They found five Confederate officers under the command of Colonel John S. Scott hiding in closets, under houses, and in a hole.[7]

Scott and his guerrilla forces had operated around Morganza, trading for black market supplies from Union forces in control of Baton Rouge. Union officials exchanged food, clothing, and other necessities for cotton smuggled by Scott's men.[7]

Since its founding, New Roads has been the hub of an agricultural community that cultivated commodity crops of sugar cane, cotton, and pecans, among others. Today, the economy has grown to support large industries such as healthcare and social assistance, construction, and retail facilities.[8]

• Hewitt Leonidas Bouanchaud, politician, served as Lieutenant Governor and state House Speaker
• Brian J. Costello, humanitarian and author of more than two dozen books on Louisiana and European history, culture and religion, is a native and lifelong resident of New Roads
• Shelton Fabre, 4th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux
• Ernest J. Gaines, African-American fiction writer, writer-in-residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
• Jonas Gaines, baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues[9]
• J. Thomas Jewell, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1936–1968; House Speaker, 1960–1964; resided in New Roads
• John Archer LeJeune, Lieutenant General of the United States Marines, was born in 1867 at Raccourci-Old River, approximately 25 miles north of New Roads. Marine Camp LeJeune in North Carolina is named in his honor, and statues representing him are located there and on the grounds of the Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse in New Roads.
• Catherine D. Kimball, former chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, former New Roads resident, retired in Ventress
• Clyde Kimball, former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes; husband of Catherine Kimball
• DeLesseps Story Morrison, former New Orleans Mayor, was born in New Roads.
• Julien Poydras, a merchant, planter, poet, statesman, banker, and philanthropist, helped to establish the state's first public schools in Pointe Coupee Parish in the early 19th century. He endowed a trust fund to provide impoverished brides with dowries in Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes.
• Albin Provosty, district attorney and from 1912 to 1920 a member of the Louisiana State Senate, publisher of The Pointe Coupee Banner
• Patrick Queen grew up in Ventress, Louisiana and attended Livonia High School, where he played on the football team as both a linebacker and running back.[1] As a senior, he rushed for 1,487 yards and 19 touchdowns on offense and had 66 tackles, seven tackles for losses, and six passes broken up on defense. He currently plays middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He played college football at LSU and was drafted 28th overall by the Ravens in the 2020 NFL Draft.
• Scott L. Smith, Jr., attorney, theologian, and author of over a dozen books on Catholic theology and devotion.

New Roads hosts the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in Louisiana outside of New Orleans each Shrove Tuesday.[10] This parade, started by the Carnival Club, was founded by a French-Spanish Creole named James Mortimer Boudreaux, more commonly known as "Jimmy Boudreaux." He is buried in St. Mary's Catholic Church cemetery. The town's first recorded Mardi Gras ball was staged in 1881, and its first-known parade rolled in 1897. Today, as many as 100,000 people converge on the hospitable Creole town for family-friendly parades. New Roads' parades are civic events, open to public participation. The Community Center Carnival parade, founded in 1922 and the state's oldest outside New Orleans, rolls at 11 a.m. The New Roads Lions Carnival parade, founded in 1941 and which is staged as a charitable fundraiser, rolls at 2:00 p.m.[10]

New Roads' narrow, tree-lined streets include examples of 19th-century Creole and Victorian architecture, particularly along Main Street, Poydras Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, and North Carolina Avenue. Visitor attractions include Satterfield's Riverwalk and Restaurant, the Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse and Gen. John Archer LeJeune Monument, St. Mary's Catholic Church and Cemetery, the Julien Poydras Monument and Museum (old Poydras High School), and Morrison Parkway located next to False River.[6]

The city is home to Rosenwald Elementary, Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee, Catholic Elementary of Pointe Coupee, and False River Academy.

The Jumonville-Memorial Technical Institute, located in New Roads, is named for the late State Senator J. E. Jumonville, Sr., of Ventress.

New Roads is located at 30°41′47″N 91°26′20″W (30.696305, -91.438980)[11] and has an elevation of 30 feet (9.1 m).[12]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12 km²), all land.

Gradually sloping from a high of 36 feet (11 m) above sea level on Main Street immediately adjacent to False River to a low of 25 feet (7.6 m) along Portage Canal in the north, the city lies on a Mississippi River flood-plain but has never flooded to any great extent since 1912. Levee breaks or "crevasses" on the Mississippi River to the north and east overbanked False River and submerged all of New Roads in 1867, 1882 and 1884. The 1882 flood was the most severe, with four feet of water standing in Main Street during the height of the crisis. During the floods of 1912 and 1927, however, the southern portion of the town, including the main business district, remained dry, as the flood waters to the north and east were held back by the Texas & Pacific Railroad embankment. Mid-city flooding had periodically occurred during hurricanes and other heavy rainfall events due to the overbanking of the Portage Canal, the lowest part of the city.[13]

As of the census[15] of 2000, there were 4,966 people, 1,818 households, and 1,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,091.8 inhabitants per square mile (421.5/km²). There were 2,044 housing units at an average density of 449.4 per square mile (173.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 38.99% White, 59.32% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 1,818 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 23.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,583, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $32,679 versus $20,547 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,840. About 23.6% of families and 30.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.3% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

In 1978, Trina Olinde Scott (1920-2016) became New Roads' first female mayor, succeeding her late husband, William Haile "Booty" Scott, Sr., who had been elected mayor in 1960. Mrs. Scott was appointed to complete his term and was thereafter elected to two full terms of her own. A former educator who attended H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Trina Scott was instrumental in revitalizing Main Street, increasing the size and effectiveness of the police force, and extending the municipal boundaries. Under her administration, New Roads was elevated from town to city status. During William Scott's administration, New Roads joined with the Pointe Coupee Parish Police Jury to acquire property on which to construct needed facilities. Under Mrs. Scott, the city and parish brought forth the Scott Civic Center, False River Regional Airport, playgrounds, and sports parks.[16]

Trina Scott was succeeded as mayor by Sylvester Muckelroy, the first African American in the office. Former mayor, Robert Myer, also an African American, was first elected in 2010. On August 3, 2016, Myer was indicted by a Pointe Coupee Parish grand jury on nine counts of malfeasance in office and abuse of power. From 2011 to 2014, Myer allegedly used a city-issued credit card for personal reasons. He also allegedly permitted the former municipal finance director to use the card in exchange for sexual favors.[17]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Roads, Louisiana.

• City of New Roads
• Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, "The Louisiana Slave Database and the Louisiana Free Database: 1719-1820", iBiblio website
• Pointe Coupee Tourism
• Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce