Arceneaux House
Hamshire, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Typical "daubed" house in which lower walls are plastered with moss, mud and sassafras strips. Built by Moise Broussard about 1856 when he brought to it his bride, Mary Gadrac Arceneaux, great-great-graddaughter of Louis Arceneaux, the "Gabriel" of Longfellow's poem "Evangeline." 1880 -- house passed to brother, Athenas Arceneaux, area pioneer in rice planting, and his heirs. Trees here came from acorns of oak shading "Evangeline" grave. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built about 1856, this is a rare Texas survival of a "daubed" house, its lower walls plastered with a mixture of moss, mud, and sassafras. Moise Broussard raised it for his bride, Mary Gadrac Arceneaux, whose family the marker ties to Louis Arceneaux — said to be the model for Gabriel in Longfellow's poem "Evangeline." The house later passed to Athenas Arceneaux, an early figure in the region's rice-planting, and the oaks around it were reportedly grown from acorns of the tree shading the fabled Evangeline grave.
Why it matters
The house links the Acadian (Cajun) heritage romanticized in "Evangeline" to the real settlers who carried that culture to the Texas coast and pioneered its rice country.
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Related people
- · Moise Broussard
- · Mary Gadrac Arceneaux
- · Athenas Arceneaux
Themes & tags
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