Maison des Marais

This house style is called the “Cajun Prairie” version of the Queen Anne style that became popular in South Louisiana starting in the waning years of the 19th century. The former abundance of this particular style reflects South Louisiana’s fondness for the house type, which features a one-and-a-half-story rambling interior floor plan with an “attached” front porch, a front-facing chamfered bay with windows, and an asymmetrical roofline with steeply pitched gables. Around the turn of the century, this style became the go-to “upgrade” to Acadian Cottage style homes. The Acadian Cottage version of Maison des Marais was said to have been erected in 1870 and was a well-known landmark of the area. “Maison des Marais”, if translated into English, means “house on the pond” or “marsh house”. This house, on 20 arpents land, formerly owned by Adam Chaisson and his wife, Adeline Hebert Chaisson, was purchased in 1914 by the sharecropping farmer, Mr. Joseph Saul Hebert. Researchers estimate that the house was remodeled shortly afterwards. The house remained in the family of Joseph Saul Hebert until the year, 2001, when Randy and Judy Hardy purchased and rehabilitated the house.