This news brief appeared in the May issue of PRC’s Preservation in Print magazine. Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door nine times a year? Become a member of the PRC for a subscription!
The Natchitoches Historic Foundation and the Cane River Waterway Commission will partner in the preservation and restoration of the historic Pacale-Roque House at Rue Beauport Riverfront on the downtown banks of Cane River Lake.
Plans call for the estimated $1.5 million project to begin in September, with completion by May 2022. The Pacale-Roque House was built in 1803 by Yves Pacale, a freed man of color who, records indicate, was baptized Jan. 2, 1736. The building is a French Creole post-on-sill house with three rooms, according to a press release from the Natchitoches Historic Foundation. The house was relocated in 1967 to downtown Natchitoches from its original location in the Isle Brevelle community down Cane River Lake.
It is “a remarkable example of the Creole style of French architecture along Cane River,” according to the release. “Constructed in typical French colonial fashion with hand-hewn cypress and a bousillage fill (a mixture of mud, Spanish moss and animal hair), the structure was topped with an oversize roof of durable shingles. A close inspection of the house reveals the craftsmanship of Pacale in the jointing. It contained no nails.”
Renovation plans for the Pacale-Roque House include shifting the building to face the river and providing space for cultural displays. The house is among the oldest surviving examples of Creole architecture in Natchitoches Parish. Founded in 1714, Natchitoches is the site of the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory.
For more information about the Natchitoches Historic Foundation or to contribute to the renovation of the Pacale-Roque House, call 318.471.7489.
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