Rene Delhomme House

Mr. Rene Delhomme, the founder of Lafayette’s Delhomme Funeral Home, built this house in 1904 when he married Helen Marie Gerac. Helen was the daughter of Pierre Gerac, a partner in Gerac Brothers General Merchants Company in Lafayette. Pierre was a native of Sauveterre, France, born 1837. He was the son of a planter in France, Pierre and Mary (Bellau) Gerac. Helen Marie Gerac was born to Frances Chavez from Mexico. The Rene Delhomme’s were married in February, 1905 at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church. In 1921, Rene founded the Delhomme Funeral Home in Lafayette. Their Eastlake style house was a popular style during the early 1900s, a time of economic prosperity in Lafayette. The railroad through Lafayette had been completed in 1890, and classes had begun in 1898, at the predecessor to UL Lafayette. The Industrial Revolution brought technological advances that allowed lumber mills to produce massive amounts of reasonably-priced architectural elements, which in turn made highly adorned houses like this one affordable to many. Unfortunately, this house has been demolished after being destroyed by fire in 2012.