Old Rapides Cemetery
Pineville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, USA
The history of the Old Rapides Cemetery is tightly intertwined with the settlement history of central Louisiana which probably began in the 1760s. After the Spanish government acquired Louisiana from France in 1763, Etienne Marafret Layssard was eventually appointed the first commandant of the settlement or post located on the Pineville side of Red River on February 12, 1770. The post was called either El Rapido in Spanish or Poste du Rapides in French. The 1788 Spanish Census for the post records six named adults and three unnamed children who died the previous year; all were doubtlessly buried at the cemetery.
As the settlement expanded in all directions, the burials of family members from miles away and from both sides of Red River took place there. Some were born in the surrounding area while others were immigrants, both from Europe and elsewhere. They represented every race and every walk of life.
The need for formal cemetery supervision prompted a group of local citizens to establish the Rapides Cemetery Association in 1872 to erect fencing and hire a sexton or caretaker to manage the cemetery grounds. For over one hundred years the Association persisted in those labors until ownership of the cemetery was transferred to the City of Pineville in the year 2000.
The history of the Old Rapides Cemetery is tightly intertwined with the settlement history of central Louisiana which probably began in the 1760s. After the Spanish government acquired Louisiana from France in 1763, Etienne Marafret Layssard was eventually appointed the first commandant of the settlement or post located on the Pineville side of Red River on February 12, 1770. The post was called either El Rapido in Spanish or Poste du Rapides in French. The 1788 Spanish Census for the post records six named adults and three unnamed children who died the previous year; all were doubtlessly buried at the cemetery.
As the settlement expanded in all directions, the burials of family members from miles away and from both sides of Red River took place there. Some were born in the surrounding area while others were immigrants, both from Europe and elsewhere. They represented every race and every walk of life.
The need for formal cemetery supervision prompted a group of local citizens to establish the Rapides Cemetery Association in 1872 to erect fencing and hire a sexton or caretaker to manage the cemetery grounds. For over one hundred years the Association persisted in those labors until ownership of the cemetery was transferred to the City of Pineville in the year 2000.
Nearby cemeteries
- Added: 23 Jun 2003
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 1965515
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