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The Faubourg Tremé, commonly known as Tremé, is the oldest neighborhood of “Free People of Color” in the United States. It is the only place where people of color were consistently able to own property before the Civil War. The area was first developed in 1725, when Chevalier Charles de Morand, an employee of the Companie des Indies, established the city's first brickyard in the area of Bayou Road. Morand also purchased much of the surrounding land and developed a large plantation upon the grounds. In 1774 he sold the land to the Moreau family. In 1793, namesake Claude Tremé, a Frenchmen, married Julie Moreau, thereby acquiring title to the property. Tremé and his wife began
to subdivide and sell the land. Many
of the lots were purchased by gens des
couleur libres or 'free people of color,"
many of whom were craftsmen, artisans
and musicians as well as creoles and Tremé remains today an enclave of African American musicians, writers, artists, activists and cultural guardians.
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