Venus House

Venus House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The house in 2010
Location	828 East Landry Street, Opelousas, Louisiana
Coordinates	30°31′52″N 92°04′29″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	c. 1800
Architectural style	Creole
MPS	Louisiana's French Creole Architecture MPS
NRHP reference No.	91000419
Added to NRHP	April 22, 1991

The Venus House is a historic house located in Opelousas, Louisiana in the United States. The house is named after its former owner and occupant, a free Creole woman of color, Marie Francois Venus. It is one of the oldest houses of its kind in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Today, the house serves as the center piece of the Le Vieux Village.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 1991.

History

The house, built c 1800, is the former home of Marie Francois Venus, a free Creole woman of color. The house was originally located in the small community of Grand Prairie. The house was constructed entirely of mortise and tenon construction. It features bousillage, a natural insulation that was once common in the walls of Cajun and Creole dwellings. It was usually made by mixing mud with spanish moss or animal hair and held into place by a series of wood bars (barreaux), set between the posts, which resulted into the walls.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana