Examining Cane River life

Two new books look at one of the most fascinating regions in the United States, that of the Cane River in north-central Louisiana. When a French post was established at Natchitoches in 1714, African slave Marie Therese Coincoin took up with French merchant Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer and the couple produced many children. Metoyer freed Coincoin and she later bought several of her children out of slavery. As a free woman of color, she purchased land that would become Yucca Plantation, now Melrose Plantation, a National Historic Landmark. Her descendants and many of her plantation-owning neighbors formed a unique Creoles of color society 

That was Then

Joseph Moran lived in the Cane River area for 20 years, the central Louisiana region of his ancestors, and his photography of this unique place was used in many publications. He currently lives in New Orleans but the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press has compiled his black and white photos of Isle Brevelle, the oldest settlement in Louisiana, in a collection that ranges from hog butchering to river baptisms and everything in between. Above all, “That Was Then: Memories of Cane River” showcases the people, who include young boys fishing, faith healers, retired schoolteachers and artist Clementine Hunter, among many other residents.

“Having been enamored of the place since a child, I increasingly came to recognize how unique Cane River was and how much its spirit intrigued and haunted me,” Moran writes in the preface. “I decided to move there to become more deeply entrenched in the environment and the culture. I wanted to document in some small way my view of a community that was so integral to my make up.”

Life at Melrose

By the beginning of the 20th century, Melrose Plantation was purchased and restored by Cammie and John Hampton Henry. When John Henry died, Cammie went on to run the plantation and raise her children, but she also used her residence as an artist community, inviting painters and writers to visit. Notable artists included Louisiana naturalist Caroline Dormon, author Ada Jack Carver and painter Alberta Kinsey. Some, such as writer and journalist Lyle Saxon, lived for periods of time in one of the plantation's original buildings. Folklore artist Clementine Hunter was also a longtime employee and resident of Melrose.

Patricia Austin Becker, a teacher of English and creative writing in Bossier City, details Cammie Henry's relationship with these artists, her elaborate scrapbooks (now housed at Northwestern State University's Library) and Henry's extensive library that's on display to tourists who now visit the plantation in "Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and Her Circle at Melrose Plantation," (LSU Press).

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.