Pacalé
Although he did not live to see the Civil War, another early skilled worker who left his mark on the landscape was Pacalé, born into slavery in the 1730s. In 1801, Pacalé was able to purchase his own freedom, possibly by hiring himself out as a carpenter. Within two years, he had purchased 91 acres on Isle Brevelle, where he constructed a home, the structure now known as the Roque House.
Located today on the banks of the Cane River Lake in downtown Natchitoches, the Roque House reveals Pacalé’s skills in carpentry; the same skills that had helped him become a free man. The structure echoes the style of a small French farmstead and was produced from local resources. Reflecting a French colonial architectural style, poteaux sur celles, the Roque House is constructed of cypress and bousillage, a mixture of mud, moss, and deer hair. Although Pacalé died in 1818, the home was occupied throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries at its original homesite on Isle Brevelle. It was moved in 1967, to its present location on the riverbank in downtown Natchitoches.
The Roque house at its original location on Highway 484 on Isle Brevelle, ca. 1965. Photograph by H. F. Gregory.