America 250: Celebrating Plaza Donated By Gras, Devall for St. Joseph’s, Market

The historic Gras-Devall Plaza at the corner of Main and Fourth streets was rededicated on Sunday, Oct. 4 by Liz Dent Sumrall, a descendant of Don Antonio de Gras, and volunteers who have been cleaning and improving the tiny park across from St. Joseph Cathedral.

Don Antonio deGras was born about 1738 in Palma de Majorca, Spain. He settled in the Spanish colony of West Florida in the late 1700’s and became a merchant, surveyor, and land owner.

Don Antonio donated the land for the church in the early 1790’s. At the time, it was Our Lady of Sorrows.

Don Antonio’s marriage to Genevieve Delatte on January 15, 1793, was the first marriage to be recorded at the church. A plaque in St. Joseph’s commemorates the 200th anniversary of their marriage on January 15, 1993.

In 1809, Don Antonio de Gras and his business partner, Richard Devall, donated the four corners of the intersection of Main and Fourth. The center was to be used as a market, and the corners were for hitching horses and wagons.

Genevieve died in 1809 and Don Antonio in 1811. Both are buried at St. Joseph’s on the land he donated.

Richard Devall was from Liverpool, England.  He immigrated here about 1776 when this was British West Florida. A portion of what is now Baton Rouge was known as Devall Town.

In recent years, the four corners have not been maintained as well as they should.  A homeless man lived there for years.  He got help not long ago and found a place to live. Unfortunately, he has since passed away.

Jennifer Richardson and volunteers from Keep Tiger Town Beautiful have taken the lead in cleaning up the area. Further improvements are planned, including a mural. An accomplished artist, Kristin Cerio, has volunteered to do the mural and has already created a design for the project. 

Baton Rouge was part of the British colony of West Florida from about 1768 to 1779, when it was captured by the Spanish. West Florida was a Spanish colony until 1810 when revolutionaries of the Republic of West Florida freed it. 

For information, contact Liz Sumrall at 225-505-3439.