CLOUTIER TOPONOMY LIST PART 3
Cloutierville, Louisiane
This time, we head towards the United States, in particular, the state of Louisiana, to learn the history of CLOUTIERVILLE. In 1982, Mrs. Lucille Carnahan of the Bayou Folk Museum wrote the text that follows. Our friend Raymond Denis Cloutier of San Ramon, California, a member of our association since the very beginning, travelled to Cloutierville to learn more about the history of this picturesque village and met with Mrs. Carnahan. In addition to introducing l'Association des Cloutier d'Amérique to the southern US, Raymond has been an exceptional recruiter. He also wrote a text on his visit to Cloutierville as well as his meetings with Father Wilber Cloutier and Mrs. Carnahan. The original of this text may be found at the office of the association in Quebec City. Raymond is one of the valued advertisers of our favourite newsletter, La Clouterie. Here then, is
"Cloutierville, Louisiana"
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The origin and early history of this unique little French village has long ago been buried with the early settlers and their descendants. Old family records, letters, diaries, journals and documents that were known to have existed were lost in the floods, the fires that were set during the civil war, or destroyed when older family members died. |
Though the name of the first settler is not known, it is recorded that in the 1700's early settlers came from the Poste de Natchitoches, from Canada, France, New Orleans and from the lower parishes. In the early 1800's, they came from St.Louis, and preceding the Civil war, they came from the New England states and other states to the northeast.
Early records refer to this little village as "Rivière-aux- Cannes" or Cane River indicating that the name Cane River was applied to both the river and the settlement on the river. Reference to this settlement on the Cane is made in early official documents and in church records. At this time it was a rambling little French settlement on one street winding along that part of Red River known as Cane River, so called because of the thick cane breaks which covered the riverbank.
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The early history of Cloutierville evolved around the church. The people, all Catholics, were first served by priests from Natchitoches and sometimes Avoyelles. These missionaries came once a year or less often to baptize the children and to bless the weddings performed during the year. The need for the benefits of a place of worship prompted ALEXIS CLOUTIER, a wealthy landowner, to donate a portion of his property on which a small frame church was constructed. Records set the Building of this church and its dedication in 1816 under the name of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. In 1822, Alexis Cloutier decided to organize the inhabitants of Cane River into a town. Giving it the name of Cloutierville, he petitioned the legislature and incorporated the town with the idea of making it the parish seat of the new parish. |
There were complaints at this time concerning the distance that had to be covered to get to the parish seat in Natchitoches. Many dangers were involved in getting there: some even lost their lives. Cloutier was so sure that the new parish would be created that he donated land on which a large building was erected to accommodate the civic and political business to be associated with the expected formation of the parish. But the town was destined to remain a village; the new parish was never created and the old hall was used as a store, a saloon and a dance hall.
In the 1700's and early 1800's there were no schools in Cloutierville, but most of the landowners had private tutors or they sent their children to boarding schools such as the Sacred Heart Convent in Natchitoches and Grand Couteau. Some sent their young people to St. Louis or to the old country where relatives took care of them. In 1858, a public school was opened, but it did not last very long. In 1889, the Sisters of Divine Providence opened the first convent. Today, it, too, has closed and only the public school system remains.
In 1849, the most disastrous flood ever recorded occurred. The people had to flee to the hills when the overflowing waters of the Red and Cane Rivers met. Hardly over the effects of this disastrous flood, the town was to go through another year that brought more sorrow. In 1853, the yellow fever epidemic was felt by nearly every family. Many entire families were wiped out.
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The little village suffered through the horrors of the terrible war years
that wrecked the entire country. After the heart breaking years of the reconstruction
period, life was revived very much as it had always been. The highlight of the late 1800's
was the appearance of the riverboat - freight boats, passengers boats, and the most
thrilling of all, show boats. Though many of its quaint French and Acadian houses have been torn down in the interest of progress, there are enough left to provide an atmosphere of an earlier era. Two old houses dating from early 19th century and twins in appearance are of early Louisiana type construction with the first story of hand made brick and the second story of cypress. The best known was once the home of Kate Chopin, the internationally known author of Creole stories. It is now the Bayou Folk Museum.
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Much of the old remains in Cloutierville, but with the coming of rural electrification, gas for heating, and more recently (1982) the installation of a water system, the little town now enjoys today's modern conveniences and boasts a state chartered Volunteer Fire Department, a far cry from the old bucket brigade.
CLOUTIERVILLE is still a rambling little French village with its one street paralleling the river and its residences and commercial buildings facing each other across the street -- the city that failed to grow.
According to the LOUISIANA CENSUS RECORDS, Volume II, we learn that in 1790, Alexis Cloutier was a prosperous planter with six slaves. In the census of 1810, in addition to his family of four, he was master of 23 slaves. This leads us to believe that he was financially well off and that he had enough land to be able to give part to build a church in his parish of Cane River (« Rivière aux Cannes »), later to become Cloutierville.
At the entrance to the Bayou Folk Museum, we see a commemorative plaque erected by the Louisiana State Tourist Commission in 1979, which says :
 Bayou Folk Museum |
BAYOU FOLK MUSEUM Home of Kate Chopin 1880-1883, ERECTED BY THE LOUISIANA TOURIST COMMISSION 1979 |
Note: Seventeen (17) years later, the small village of Cloutierville has
changed.
It has been connected to the Internet.
Here are some interesting links to the Louisiane.
Footprints in Cloutierville
http://www.literarytraveler.com/summer/south/clout.htm
Cloutierville, Louisiana
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9680/
The song "J'ai Passé Devent Ta Porte"
comes from the following site:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2073/devporte.htm
Kate Chopin