New Roads and Old Rivers

New Roads and Old Rivers reveals the natural and cultural vitality of Pointe Coupée Parish Louisiana, as seen in the stunning photographs of Richard Sexton, with text by Randy Harelson and Brian Costello.

 Pointe Coupée is one of the oldest settlements in the Mississippi Valley, dating to the 1720s. French for “a place cut off,” the name refers to the area’s three oxbow lakes, separated from the Mississippi over centuries. Edged by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers,  Pointe Coupée remains a land rich in Creole heritage, distinct in geographical beauty, and abounding in historic homes and farms.

In 200 color images, Sexton artistically portrays the region’s sights: Native American mounds, bayous and lakes, agricultural fields and industries, slave cabins and plantation homes, small towns, and family and civic celebrations. Photographs include most of  Pointe Coupée's seventy surviving  antebellum structures, along with some of its sixty-two massive trees listed on the Live Oak Society register.

A timeline of key events situates the parish’s history within the wider world. From the Pointe Coupée Coast—where in the early 1700s explorers, soldiers, missionaries, colonists, and enslaved and free people of color began settling the banks of the Mississippi River—to the Acadiana Trail—New Roads and Old Rivers illuminates the history and cultural foundations of the entire state.

Richard Sexton is a noted photographer and author of books on architecture, design, urbanism, and the natural landscape. He is equally known for his fine art photographs held in museums, private collections, and galleries.

Randy Harelson is an artist, writer, horticulturist, and educator originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has lived in New Roads since 2006.

Brian Costello’s family has called Pointe Coupée home through eleven generations. He is the author of A History of Pointe  Coupée Parish, Louisiana and a prolific historian and author of eighteen other books.