A Pioneer’s Tale

As told by Daniel Armand Breard, Sr. to the News-Star, December 4, 1925, Page 5.

BREARD HAS SEEN CITY GROW FROM VILLAGE OF 350
Octogenarian Tells of Early Days in Ouachita Parish Seat.

Recalling Monroe as a little village of 350 people, back when his memory first began to function, D.A. Breard, Sr., told reminiscently today of affairs in the old Monroe that has gone forever. It is improbable that there is anyone older than Mr. Breard living in this city today. While this fact may be possibly disproved, it is declared as almost incontrovertible that there is today a resident of the city so old, who has lived all his or her life in Monroe. At his next birthday, Mr. Breard will be 83 years of age, having been born in 1843.

The house where Mr. Breard was born was upon the present River Front, south of the present Forsythe park. It was constructed of whip-sawed lumber for then no other way was known in the manufacture of siding. For many years the house remained. It was the center of a plantation owned by A.G. Breard, father of D.A. Breard, Sr. This plantation was of about 350 to 360 acres. In the ante-bellum days there were thirty-five or forty slaves.

Beyond the homestead where D.A. Breard, Sr., was born, was the plantation of his grandfather, Alex Breard, which comprised about 750 acres and was centered around the present site of the new Grace church.

Beyond this plantation came that of the Pargoud from the Alexander Breard place to the shores of Bayou DeSiard. Then came the Noble place – we know it now best as the Hardtimes plantation.

The Lamy plantation was just further on and next was the Betin place and then the McGuire plantation. Ever place is most vividly recalled by Mr. Breard, for his mind is today as clear as when he was fifty years younger.

Beyond the McGuire planation came the Masons, the Wilsons, then Ingleside, McEnerys, Gleasons and Mrs. Warfield. Going to the south was the Bry place, and then began the Pargoud plantations. Farther south was General S.W. Downs’ expansive acres.

When the name of General Downs was mentioned Mr. Breard waxed even more deeply reminiscent.

“Downs was the first United States senator from Louisiana, as I recall,” he stated. “He became embroiled in an affair with another man ; it was purely a ‘gentlemen’s’ affair. The two shot it out in gallant fashion near the capital in Washington. Downs received a bullet that he carried through the rest of his life.

[Torn] I can recollect Monroe had 350 people in the year 1849,” stated Mr. Breard.

“Where Circle S stands with a filling station, was a farm house. Roy Burns lived there. One night the house was destroyed by fire and two children of the family were burned to death. The father was also so severely burned that he died soon after.

“Where the Parish school stands [was] the two-room school of the children of early Monroe. It was fortunate enough to be of brick. There the early teachers were Messrs. Ryan, Wilson and Hawkins. Their first names I cannot recall. They have all died years ago.

One fellow-student of Mr. Breard is still alive and may be possibly the only one so surviving at this time. She is Mrs. Mattie Nelson of Monroe. She and Mr. Breard were in the same grades at school.

Many a time, Mr. Breard, as a young lad, killed wild turkeys and wild pigeons at what is today Forsythe park. Game in those early days was most plentiful in this section.

Reverting back to the old days, Mr. Breard recalled Dr. Calderwood, who owned an extensive farm right in the heart of the present down town section of Monroe. His holdings were from the present V.S. and P. freight depot to Jackson street. St. Francis sanitarium stands on some of the old Calderwood farm, he declared.

When the war broke out, and the Pelican Grays left Monroe one proud morning, the very first to go from this section, Breard went along, too. This organization had as officer: Captain, A.M. Martin; lieutenants, Frank Stubbs, S.B. McEnery and Henry Williams. All though the four years of strife, Breard stayed with is company. All the important battles in Virginia were participated in by him, such as Antietam, Fredericksburg and also Gettysburg. He was never wounded, although many times in imminent danger.

When the war ended, the plans of Breard were all upset. It had been the family plan for him to go to West Point. Instead he found that upon return home that he must quit his hopes for education and go to work to make a success of his father’s planation. This he succeeded in doing to a high degree.

He engaged in merchandising and for years operated a general country store, having constructed the brick building now occupied by Hipp Marks, corner of DeSiard and Grand. This was built in 1871. Incidentally Mr. Breard stated that the same slate roof is on the building today in as good condition as it was years ago.

In 1871, Breard married Miss Mary Bres, related to other old time and honored citizens of early Monroe. From this union, there were born the following children: Louis, Dan, Herbert, Charles, Ernest, Mrs. W.O. Winston (of Shreveport) and Mrs. Rinehart of Monroe.

After a married life of more than fifty years, Mrs. Breard died several years ago.

Mr. Breard’s chief delight, these days, is to sit at the local cotton exchange and watch the “ticker” as the cotton quotations fluctuate hour by hour and often minute by minute. To him this is as much fun as a baseball bulletin board is for a younger man. Hour after hour, Mr. Breard gets substantial enjoyment in this manner.