Rene Delhomme House

Mr. Rene Delhomme, the founder of Lafayette’s Delhomme Funeral Home, built this structure in 1904 for his new bride, Helen Marie Gerac. Helen Marie Gerac was the daughter of Pierre Gerac who was born in Sauve Terre, France in 1835. 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 Victorian style house was a popular style during this period in Lafayette. It was a time of economic prosperity with the railroad having been completed through Lafayette in 1890, and classes having begun at the new college in 1898. 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 and subsequently removed from the historic register, after being destroyed by fire in 2012.