For over 150 years people in the southern portion of Rapides Parish in Louisiana near the town of Cheneyville, LA have been going down to the Bayou Boeuf to worship at the Little Church on the Bayou - Trinity Episcopal Church.
A little church on the banks of the bayou where people of the area have worshipped continously in the same building - the oldest church building in continuous use in south Rapides Parish
The little church has seen good times and hard times, but still the church perseveres.
Shown at left is the original 1860 picture of Trinity Episcopal Church in Cheneyville.
Begun as a misson of St. James Episcopal Church, Alexandria, LA in 1856 it soon decided to organize as a parish on April 25, 1859.
But, before there was a church building, there was a cemetery.
The earliest presently marked grave is that of a young child, Josephine Ellen Johnson,[shown at left] who died in 1835 at the age of 19 months, 4 days. Certainly this child was not the first to be buried in Trinity cemetery; but the grave pre-dates the construction of the church building itself by more than 25 years. The cemetery was surely a major reason for the location of the construction of the church.
A number of prominent persons of the south Rapides Parish area are buried at Trinity. Among whom are: members of the pioneer Tanner, Pearce and Robert families; Mary McCoy, who was written about in the Solomon Northrup "Twelve Years a Slave" autobiography; Ralph Smith Smith, who built the first railroad west of the Mississippi River [1837], and veterans of the Civil War and political figures of times past.
Grave of Ralph Smith Smith [Shown at left] builder of first railroad west of the Mississippi, built in 1837 until destroyed by Union soldiers in 1864.
[Ralph Smith Smith picture shown below]
In 1856 a rectory was built on the rear of the cemetery site. In April 1859 the members of Trinity decided to organize the church as a parish, and a congregational meeting was held and a vestry and wardens elected.
General Montford Wells [shown at left] was elected as the first senior warden, together with Dr. Samuel Slaughter as co-warden.
General Wells' family was known for earlier being associated with the famous "Sandbar Duel" in which family friend Jim Bowie developed the fame of his "bowie knife" Also, Gen. Wells and his brother, Thomas Jefferson Wells, were owners of the famous racehorse of the day, Lecomte; but, this is another story for another day.
Money was subscribed for the building of the church in March 1860 with the request that construction be completed by November 1860. The construction was turned over to O. W. Bislies; with Major William Henry Chase serving as architect.
Construction began immediately with labor from the plantations - the slaves of the time being provided, under the supervision of Mr. Bislies. Materials for construction came from the surrounding woods of heart pine, oak and cypress; together with hand-made brick.
The cornerstone was laid on June 14, 1860. Though the stone itself has apparently been hidden by a later stucco covering of the church; records indicate that a time capsule type of box was included in the cornerstone in which were placed: a Bible, a Book of Common Prayer, a journal of the convention of the Diocese of Louisiana of 1860, a copy of the church Intelligence of the Red River Republican and the Louisiana Democrat [newspapers of the day]with the names of the Rector and Wardens and vestrymen of the church.
Construction was completed in November 1860 at a cost of over $6,000. It is a substantial brick building with 3 courses of hand-made brick. Gothic in order, with a well apportioned tower, its length is seventy-five feet, including the tower and thirty feet wide; the chancel is recessed, measuring fifteen by fourteen feet. The seating capacity is for 170 persons; including a gallery in which household slaves of some of the members attended as well.
The first service was held on January 1, 1861.
On April 7, 1861, the 2nd Sunday after Easter, records reflect that Bishop Leonidas Polk, 1st Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana, consecrated the church to the service of Almighty God.
Interestingly, Trinity is probably the last church so consecrated by Bishop Polk as on June 25, 1861 he resigned as bishop to accept an appointment as a major-general in the Confederate Army. He became known as the "fighting bishop", and was killed at the battle of Pine Mountain, Georgia on June 14, 1864, barely 3 years from the date he consecrated Trinity Church. Fort Polk in Louisiana is named for him as well.
Today, Trinity Church is one of 12 examples of mid-19th century Gothic Revival architecture in Louisiana. It is the only church of its architectural type in Rapides Parish.
The glass in the windows of the church came from England and are of a type that are no longer available to us. The rose colored glass is not stained, but rather painted with a technology that we have not been able to duplicate. The edging around the rose windows indicating the Trinity motif is not painted on, but rather is etched into the glass.
The dominating symbolism in the church is that of the Holy Trinity. The clover-leaf motif is used in the dual rose shades in the border of the windows, in the ends of the pews, in the ornaments of the Bishop's chair, and on the chancel rail at the altar.
The windows are hinged to swing out, and when opened provide wonderful air-flow within the church. On a spring morning one can hear the sound of the doves in the trees nearby, a neighbor's dog barking and a tractor passing on the road in front all while in worship.
The stained glass window over the altar replaced a plain glass window, and was provided by Robert Munson and Roy Linzay in the 1950's by the gift of a bale of cotton from each to purchase the window.
In the mornings the rising sun casts a beautiful reflection of soft green and pink hues on the wall of sanctuary adding to the beauty of the worship service.
The chandeliers are the original kerosene latterns which were re-fitted for electricity in 1951.
Water and butane gas were piped to the church that same year - the butane replacing a wood burning stove in the rear of the nave of the church to provide for heating. Violet Hardtner, whose father was the pioneer lumberman, Henry Hartdner, used to tell a story when she visited Trinity and her maid opened the wood stove, found a snake curled up in it - which she quickly dispatched to another place.
The pews are the orignal hand-made by the slaves. The wood grain in the pews was achieved by running a comb through the wet varnish. Attached to the bottom of the pews can be seen a "modesty board [or ankle-hider]which was so placed in order to hide the ankles of the ladies attending services.
The baptismal font was a gift from the family of General Leroy A. Stafford, C.S.A. General Stafford was a Cheneyville resident in the Confederate Army at the time. His young daughter was dying and his wife wanted the child baptized. They, at the time were members of another denomination which did not baptize persons until they reached the age of consent. Mrs. Stafford turned to the priest at Trinity, who agreed to baptize the child. The child subsequently died, and in memory of their daughter, General and Mrs. Stafford gave the font to Trinity.
[General Leroy A. Stafford, C.S.A.]
During a later restoration work it took 6 members of the local volunteer fire department to move the font, as it was so heavy.
Above the vestibule [narthex] of the church, is a gallery where the household servants sat while attending services.
The register of the church notates a number of instances in which slaves were baptized and married by the rector of the church. On one occasion on February 22, 1863 [the first Sunday in Lent] the register lists 52 children being baptized at Chase Land Plantation [located behind what is now the old sugar mill at Meeker, LA]. They are recorded by first name only, and in the section in the register where the parents name is recorded "parent" is lined out and "owner" is recorded. In the section where "sponsor" is recorded, "sponsor" is lined out and the "parent" is added. Such were the times.
[Register indicating baptisms of children]
Bullet holes [now plugged up] in the front door were made by Union Army soldiers. The story is told that the Confederate soldiers were in the tower of the church while the Union soldiers were across the bayou and in the exchange of gunfire, bullets hit the front of the church. The stucco covering has since covered those in the brick of the church.
Entries in the register of the church indicate that in June 1864 burial services were conducted for two Union and two Confederate soldiers - none of whom are buried at Trinity cemetery. Apparently there was a running gun battle in the town beginning at Trinity, with 2 Union troops buried at the Christian cemetery adjacent to Trinity and the Confederate troops buried in the Old Cheneyville cemetery located in the town.
Original altar vessels and plates made of Britannia metal are still at the church along with an old Bible used originally in the services.
The bell in the tower came from the Norton-Robert Plantation.
In 1864 the rectory of the church burned in a fire set accidentally by a young child.
The church was struck by lightning in 1868 and the bell tower and a wall were severely damaged and had to be re-built. A feat considered remarkable considering the economic and physical state of the area at the time following the Civil War, which had only recently ended.
The church went through a period of decline, with a series of deterioration occurring over the years. In 1980 - 120 years following the construction of the church - the first major work to be performed on the church was begun on restoring the exterior of the church, with additional work following on the interior; carefully retaining all of the original features. A total of $102,000.00 was raised for this effort.
Trinity Church and the cemetery are on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States, having been included in that historic register in October 1980.
In 2001 work was begun on another restoration of Trinity - 20 years after the first work performed on the church. Following two years of efforts and the support of many "friends of Trinity", a total of $305,000.00 was raised. Work on the exterior -as well as the interior - was begun in 2003 and completed in 2004.
Trinity has never been a large church - and in all probability never will - but, while showing many faces to its building, people have still come to the little church on the bayou to pray and worship continuously for over 150 years.
[Trinity - about 1960]
