Bernard, Joseph D., House - Rayne, LA
N 30° 14.849 W 092° 16.195
15R E 570240 N 3346434
Also known as the Bernard-Bertrand House, this house is now used as Rayne Cultural center.
Waymark Code: WM97RY
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2010
Views: 5
Located about a half mile from Inerstate 10, the home was moved to this present location in 1999 to avoid being demolished. This was the home of Rayne's first mayor, Joseph D. Bernard.
From the State of Louisiana Historical plaque, located in front of home, it states:
"In 1883, the town of Rayne was incorporated and J.D. Bernard served as its first mayor. The Bernard residence stands today as one of Rayne's few remaining early structures. Originally located on West South 1st Street, it was purchased by E.J. Bertrand, the first operator of Rayne's Municipal Power Plant. The home was moved to its current location by the City of Rayne to make it more accessible to the public."
From the State of Louisiana register application page, located
here a brief statement about history states:
"The Joseph D. Bernard House is locally significant in the areas of Exploration/Settlement and
Politics/Government because it is the only surviving resource associated with Bernard, a co-founder and the first mayor of
the town of Rayne. The home's period of significance ranges from 1881, the date of construction, to 1918, the year
Bernard sold the residence.
Like many towns across Louisiana, Rayne came into being when the railroad arrived in the area. In 1880, the
Louisiana Western Railroad bypassed the nearby hamlet of Pouppeville, where three merchants (Bernard, M. Arenas and
Francois Crouchet) had businesses. Dr. William H. Cunningham, a railroad employee, purchased land along the route
and established a new town named Rayne Station after railroad official B. W. L. Rayne. Town lots went on sale in
November 1880. As occurred so often in similar cases, Bernard and his two fellow merchants relocated their stores to the
new community, as did church officials with their building. The town incorporated on March 20, 1883, and Bernard was
appointed to serve a two year term as the community's first mayor. Five councilmen, a town clerk and a town marshal
were available to assist him. Because all Town Council records prior to July 1886 were destroyed by a fire, it is
impossible to obtain an exact accounting of Bernard's activities as mayor. However, a newly formed community has a
number of needs, and research into the activities of the City of Westwego's first mayor, Conrad A. Buchler (for the
National Register nomination of his home), has identified some of these issues."