The Pargoud Family

You have probably heard of Pargoud Blvd. and Upper and Lower Pargoud Plantation. You may have also heard the story that it was a Pargoud who planted the catalpa trees that became Lover’s lane [I have reason to doubt that]. Let me tell you the story about the family.

According to Dr. E. Russ Williams’ “Founding Families…” books, the first mention of Jean Francois Hypolite Pargoud, the first Pargoud in the area, was when he applied for citizenship in 1825. He stated he was from Thone in Savoy in the Kingdom of Sardinia, but had lived in France before coming to America. I see a reference to him in a New Orleans paper in April of 1823. In 1828 he married the widow Harriett Breard Soubercaze. She was the sister of the Breard brothers who founded the Breard line in Ouachita.

Jean became a wealthy merchant and land owner in Ouachita Parish. He decided to build a home near what is now known as Pargoud Mound on Island Drive. This home was built by enslaved hands from hand hewn cypress logs. It is not known exactly when the home was built, but probably not long after he arrived in Ouachita parish. This home became known as Upper Pargoud plantation. He built a twin of it around 1824 south of Monroe, which became known as Lower Pargoud plantation. Unfortunately, the Lower plantation burned in 1914 and the overseer’s house is now called Lower Pargoud.

Getting back to the family, Hypolite and his wife Harriett were the parents of Jean Francois “Frank”, Nicholas Hypolite and Marie Leontine Pargoud. Hypolite and Harriett took the two younger children back to France, leaving Frank, the eldest to look after the Monroe property. Hypolite died in Paris in 1857 and was buried in Pere LaChaise Cemetery. (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/269096185/jean_francois-hypolite-pargoud)

Young Frank, as you can imagine, was quite wealthy. I have told you before how he ended up giving Father Gergaud $1000 to go visit his family in France, but Gergaud ended up using the money to buy land to start a Catholic cemetery. When the Civil War broke out, Pargoud outfitted an entire Cavalry unit, which became part of the 3rd Louisiana. When a steamboat captain approached him with a plan for a new steamboat, Frank gave $30,000 towards it and it was known as the Frank Pargoud. All of Frank’s clothes, down to his socks were imported from France. His stables were full of pure blooded Arabian stock. He gave Grace Episcopal Church the bell still used today. When he first started to dine with Father Gergaud, he sent his servants with a set of the best china, silverware and glassware. Frank was way too generous with his money. By 1875, he was bankrupt. To avoid the disgrace, Frank and his wife Mary retreated to her summer home in Connecticut where Frank passed away in 1908. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197755412/jean_francois_john_frank-pargoud .

The Cole family bought Upper Pargoud and the Wooten family bought Lower Pargoud. Upper Pargoud even had to be moved back a few hundred feet after the devastating flood of 1927. Due to their preservation efforts and that of subsequent owners, you can still see Upper Pargoud at 2500 Island Drive and the overseer’s house, Lower Pargoud, at 2111 South Grand Street.