In the early 1960s, Fazendeville was a small but thriving village. It stood in the middle of what is now Chalmette Battlefield.
US Marine Corps
Established in 1867, Fazendeville was an African American community located on land that is now part of Chalmette Battlefield, site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. Jean Pierre Fazende, a free man of color and New Orleans grocer, had inherited the land in 1857. After the Civil War, he divided it and sold land to formerly enslaved people from area plantations. The community grew to be the home of more than 200 people. The National Park Service bought the land in the mid-1960s after long, contentious negotiations (learn more about why and how Fazendeville was removed). Many Fazendeville residents relocated to New Orleans' 9th Ward but kept their community alive through regular communication and social events.
(This link is currently unavailable; the park is working to restore this link.) "Life in the Village: A Cultural Memory of the Fazendeville Community" by Joyce Marie Jackson, Ph.D, grew out of a desire on the part of the National Park Service to share this story from Chalmette Battlefield. A cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist, Jackson was hired by the NPS to do a cultural and historical study of Fazendeville and conduct oral histories with members of the community. The study was completed in 2003 and although "the village" is no longer on the battlefield, the voices of this unique community remain strong in memory and through this study.
