(The Webre Oaks are located on the property at 1523 Highway 308; six miles south from downtown Thibodaux and 9 miles from Raceland. This is still within the community of St. Charles.)

There are several old oaks surrounding the weathered Creole Cottage on this property, the largest of which is more than 24 feet in girth (approximately 200-300 years of age).

The current owner of these oaks is Lafourche Parish Sheriff, Craig Webre. According to Mr. Webre, the land was never part of any of the neighboring plantations (Melodia Plantation is directly south and Webster Plantation was to the north). But like many of the homes and properties in the St. Charles Community, the land has been owned by a series of descendants of the original French and Acadian families that settled along Bayou Lafourche in the late 1770s and early 1800s. The Zeringue family were the previous owners of the property, and Mr. E.P. Zeringue was born and raised in the Creole Cottage there.

According to Mr. E.P. Zeringue, a Babin family owned the property before the Zeringues and due to inheritance laws, the land was split between two Babin sons, Traisemond and Hector. Mr. Webre was able to purchase both sections of the split property to bring the original land-grant settlement together again. The old Victorian-style home being restored on the property was moved from Homeplace Plantation in Gheens, almost 20 miles away.

NOTE: According to a recent clarification by Mr. R. L. Rhodes, the Zeringue family never actually owned the property but married into the Babin family and though the Zeringue family lived on the land, the property was part of the estate of Babin family heirs.

The Lafourche Live Oak Tour was created through the generous support of Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou Tourism. For more information on Lafourche Parish events and activities, visit their website at LACajunBayou.com.