La Grange Family House

The size, shape and profile of this small outbuilding is an iconic Acadian French Creole style building of South Louisiana. Acadian French Creole features include a steep gable roof with a ridge running parallel to the front façade, tall ceilings, a deep front porch across the front with a narrow, steep stairway providing access to the attic from the outside. It is built on brick foundation piers to lift the dwelling off the damp, often wet ground, and a fireplace located on an exterior side wall instead of an interior wall, to allow heat to disperse more quickly. This dwelling was originally built by the La Grange family of St. Landry Parish, and remained on La Grange family property for well over one hundred years. In 1984, the house was sold and moved to Grand Coteau to be used as an artist’s studio. Four years later, Vermilionville Folk Park and Living History Museum purchased the structure and moved it to their Vermilionville Historic Village. Today, it serves as an example of a priest’s living quarters or “Le Presbytére” typically found on a family farm in the early 1800s.