It began with a simple idea...Gardens at Bayonne

Jules Bayonne, a young, former domestic servant, a free person of color, in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, had a friend, also a former employee of the Parlange Family in 1872, when the two, ambitious men, embarked on a partnership purchase of approximately sixty-six acres of farmland.

Shortly afterwards, François Francis, also in the employ of the Parlange Family, decided to sell his one-half ownership interest to his friend, Jules, brining the entire purchase price at $600.00 to Jules Bayonne.

The details of our ancestry history as it relates to Jules Bayonne, my maternal second great-grandfather, is well summarized by my cousin, Patricia at:  https://africanroots-pbj.blogspot.com/2013/02/jules-bayonne-revisited.html

At twenty-six years-old, in 1870, five years after the Civil War, and in the early years of Reconstruction, Jules, then a single, free man of color, was still not a common occurrence in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, a place less than 125 miles from where one of the most horrific events occurred during Reconstruction in a town called Colfax, Louisiana (see Note 1 below) a few years after he purchased his property. 

In 2006, in an effort to fund the legal struggle to retain this historically relevant property to the legitimate heirs of Estate of Jules and Victorine Bayonne, the family members collectively agreed to create a Heritage Garden on the twenty-nine acres of land, pictured on our website at:  https://gardensatbayonne.com/, where we have established a 'virtual' representation of our family's vision in 2006.

It is our hope to realize a 'material' memorial garden, in the near future, as a tribute to Jules and Victorine Bayonne and their descendants, from the efforts of projects like these with the support of our  sponsors, garden members and contributors.

Thanks to all of our supporters, past, current, and future!

"Enjoy the Journey!'

Note 1:  https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/colfax-massacre-louisiana