(The Jamie Oak is located about a mile south of downtown Thibodaux at 567 Highway 308. On three or four neighboring properties north of the Jamie Oak are a number of live oaks that are in the same general age range – between 150 to 250 years of age.)

The Jamie Oak was registered with the Live Oak Society (#3910) by Dr. James R. Peltier who owns this property today. With a girth of approximately 20 feet 9 inches, the Jamie Oak is approximately the same age as several neighboring oaks on property north of its location.

In an 1810 census of people living along Lafourche Parish, two neighboring land grants at or near the site of the Jamie Oak were occupied by Doucet family members.  The Doucet family properties were just northeast of where the Laurel Valley Bridge is situated today.

Just north of the Jamie Oak (toward Thibodaux) are several other old oaks not registered with the Live Oak Society but with a similar girth and age range.  The Zeringue Oak (shown in the above photo) is approximately 22 ft. in girth. The Zeringue home (to the right of the oak in the above photo) is a renovated French Creole cottage design. According to Mr. Zeringue, the original walls of the structure are insulated with bousillage, a mixture of clay/mud and Spanish moss, horsehair, or other fibrous grass.

The neighboring Leblanc home (in the photo above) also has bousillage infill between the wall timbers (According to Mr. LeBlanc). Mr. Leblanc said he grew up in his family’s home (he now lives in a newer brick home across the highway and a younger family member lives in the older home) and he says the old oaks surrounding the home were just as large when he was a boy some 80 years ago.

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.