Little cemetery houses a grave affair in Louisiana

Credit: Stacey Scarce

            In South Louisiana, even the dead want to come in from the rain and cold.             

            There are two cemeteries that contain grave houses, structures that cover the graves of South Louisiana residents. At the Talbert-Pierson Cemetery near Pitkin, a row of graves are sheltered by identical houses. In Mermentau Cove, the Istre Cemetery contains grave houses that include windows and locks on the doors.

            Grave houses, although rare and usually found in older cemeteries, were simply structures designed to protect a gravesite or several graves from the elements. According to the historical marker at the circa-1889 Talbert-Pierson Cemetery, “the origins of grave houses are uncertain — some tracing the beginnings to European or Native American roots. Other sources simply attribute the custom to a form of protecting the graves before cemeteries were commonly fenced. Grave houses were a part of the Upland South tradition: this custom also included decorating the graves with shells.”

Istre Cemetery

            The houses had to be built before sunset on the day of the person’s burial, the marker claims. Since there was additional cost involved in creating both a grave and a house, the grave houses were reserved for important members of a family or community. The 15 grave houses at Talbert-Pierson were built from hand-cut wooden pickets with gabled roofs, the construction dating between 1889 to 1949.

            The Talbert-Pierson Cemetery contains graves of the Talbert and Pierson families who first came into this area of Louisiana known as “No Man’s Land” in the 19th century. Vernon Parish and the region along the Sabine River that borders with Texas was once a land of dispute between the Louisiana Territory belonging to the Americans and the Spanish in Texas. Pioneers of this “Neutral Ground,” many from the Upland South, attempted farms while criminals, runaway slaves and military deserters were attracted to the lawless country.

Istre Cemetery

            Meanwhile, over at the Istre Cemetery in Mermentau Cove, down in deep Cajun Country, “Petite Maisons” cover the graves of Cajun settlers. These cypress structures resemble homes that live people use — only on a miniature scale. The houses the size of a child’s playhouse one might see in a backyard often include windows, doors and working locks and shingled roofs. Peek inside and you’ll see the graves.

            Istre Cemetery is one of the last remaining examples of this unique custom; there used to be grave houses all over Cajun Country. The cemetery began in 1886 and was home to nearly 40 of these petite maisons, but today only three remain. South Louisiana filmmakers Zach and Jeremy Broussard examine these last remaining houses and the culture surrounding them in their documentary, “Little Houses.” Proceeds help preserve the remaining structures.

            Broussard has also written a book about the phenomenon.

            "There are theories that they were purely practical, to protect the graves from animals or the elements,” Broussard said in a 2013 interview with WVUE TV in New Orleans. “And there are theories that they were meant as shrines."

Talbert-Pierson Credit: Stacey Scarce

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Ducks, beer and ghosts in cemeteries

            I was in Jeanerette, Louisiana, this past Saturday doing a gris gris bag demonstration and signing copies of my new book, “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” at the Jeanerette Museum. The latter book makes people want to share their ghost tales and I’m more than happy to oblige.

            We discussed personal ghost stories and old plantation tales of residents throwing themselves from second story windows. But wasn’t there something about the old Beau Pré house, someone asks?  Everyone nodded but the house, which was owned by the town’s founder, John W. Jeanerette, and which withstood Civil War skirmishes in the area, is no longer there. In fact, the house is long gone and a cemetery erected in its place.

            A cemetery, I inquired? This was too good.

            Indeed Jeanerette’s former plantation, which John Jeanerette purchased after success as a store and saloon owner, was titled Beau Pré, French for a lovely pasture or meadow. Later it was called Pine Grove Plantation (didn’t Americans realize that those French names were more romantic?). Part of the house was used for postal service — Jeanerette was the town’s first postmaster — so people sent letters care of Jeanerette, which is how the town got its name.

            But back to that cemetery. The Beau Pré Memorial Park Cemetery lies on the property where the old home stood, at 7605 East Old Spanish Trail in Jeanerette. The 12 acres include above and below ground burials, plus a mausoleum. Throughout the property are live oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss, a small pond and — like the name suggested — lovely pasture fronting the languid Bayou Teche.

            Which is where I found my ghost.

            He wasn’t a Confederate or Yankee soldier, specters rumored to be haunting the place. Instead, he was a reptile from another era, a link to the time of dinosaurs. A nice sized alligator was sunning himself along the pond’s edge, enjoying the solitude that a cemetery could offer.
       I thought, “Only in Louisiana would one see such a sight,” but then Florida may have a few gators visiting the dead as well. And then I spotted the grave of Robert Francis Bourg, a Vietnam vet whose loved ones decorated his tomb with duck decoys, Mardi Gras beads and beer. I can’t imagine finding such an image anywhere else — with an alligator to boot! 

Gone but never forgotten

            

Our loved ones may be gone, but they are not forgotten. In the South, you’ll find cemeteries filled with trinkets, wind chimes, religious statues, non-religious statues, toys, fishing poles, solar lights and much more. Here’s a couple from cemeteries throughout the South.

Saints fans even in death

            We love to decorate our cemeteries in the South.

            Along the Gulf Coast, tombs are mostly above ground due to the high water table that makes it difficult to place our beloved departed into soil. Visitors will find simple crosses denoting graves or elaborate tombs that resemble small homes. In New Orleans, we call these collections of above-ground tombs “Cities of the Dead.”

            With all this grave architecture, it’s no wonder people like to enhance them a bit. And in South Louisiana around All Saints Day (Nov. 1), residents spruce up their family tombs and give them a fresh coat of whitewash as well.

            So throughout this month of October, we’ll be spotlighting some interesting tombs we’ve found over the years.
            At right is a grave found in St. Louis No. 3 in New Orleans, just outside of City Park. Not only did “Mother” get her share of Mardi Gras beads, but a nod to the Saints as well. The living ones who play football in the Superdome, that is.