Carmel near Mansfield in De Soto Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

Paul Boüet Laffitte

(1746-circa 1815)

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, May 28, 2025

1. Paul Boüet Laffitte Marker

Inscription. The progenitor of the Laffitte family in northwest Louisiana was born in Pouyroquelaure, Gascony, France on March 4, 1746 to Francois Jean Boüet and Marie de Laffitte. He immigrated to Louisiana in 1764 and eventually settled here in the Bayou Pierre community. Laffitte was a prominent figure in local affairs and a respected trader with the Yatasi and other Caddo Indian groups in northwest Louisiana and northeast Texas. He established a cattle ranch in the Dolet Hills region of present-day DeSoto Parish and was appointed a justice in the Bayou Pierre settlement by the Spanish. In 1770 he married Marie Magdeleine Grappe (1754-1781), of French and Chitimacha Indian descent. Although contemporaries, their eldest sons, Pierre and Jean Baptiste, were not related to the pirates Pierre and Jean Laffite of Barataria fame. In 1782 Laffitte married Eulalie Marie Anne de Soto (1762-1833), of French and Spanish descent and granddaughter of Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, founder of Natchitoches. Paul Boüet Laffitte's name disappears from local records after 1815, with the date and place of his death being unknown.

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Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is March 4, 1746.

Location. 32° 5.396′ N, 93° 36.577′ W. Marker is near Mansfield, Louisiana, in De Soto Parish. It is in Carmel. It is at the intersection of Smithport Lake Road and Mundy Road, on the left when traveling east on Smithport Lake Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mansfield LA 71052, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Louisiana.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Church of the Holy Apostles (within shouting distance of this marker);

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, May 28, 2025

2. Paul Boüet Laffitte Marker

Rock Chapel (approx. 0.4 miles away); Battle of Mansﬁeld or Sabine Cross Roads (approx. 6.3 miles away); Louisiana Monument (approx. 6.4 miles away); Texas Monument (approx. 6.4 miles away); In Memory of Lieut. Colonel Franklin H. Clack. C.S.A. (approx. 6.4 miles away); Capt. Elijah Parsons Petty (approx. 6.4 miles away); Battle of Mansfield or Sabine Cross Roads (approx. 6.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mansfield.

More about this marker. Located at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Cemetery.

Also see . . . Genealogical page on information about Pierre Paul Boüet Lafitte (Laffitte). (Submitted on July 8, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 28, 2017

3. Paul Boüet Laffitte Marker

The view south on Louisiana State Highway 509. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 28, 2017

4. The view south on Louisiana State Highway 509.

View from marker looking north. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 28, 2017

5. View from marker looking north.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 8, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,490 times since then and 65 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 31, 2025, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 8, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.