JB Mouton
We Built Dat St. Pius Edition T Shirts
Lafayette, Louisiana
JB Mouton’s story starts with a mule named Blue. In 1915, farmer and carpenter John Berchman Mouton used his father’s mule team to build houses around what was then a small Lafayette, running the young business from a converted garage near the cathedral.
His sons William and Francis moved the company into commercial work, grandson Manning “Bozo” Billeaud joined as a superintendent in 1948, and great-grandson Robert “Popie” Billeaud came aboard in 1976. The fifth generation now leads it: Stuart Billeaud serves as CEO and president, while Popie remains vice president of preconstruction.
The St. Pius X project ties that family line to a personal milestone. Popie had long wanted to build a traditional church, and its 2017 completion gave him that chance. The French- and Spanish-influenced building was Lafayette’s first new Catholic church since 1999—a local landmark built by a contractor whose history is written across the city.
We paired a heather gray tee with a stark black church portrait, bold “We Built Dat” lettering and full back credits to commemorate the finished landmark.
