(On the east side of the intersection of Hwy. 308 and St. Patrick Street at 104 St. Patrick St., situated in front of the Thibodaux Funeral Home, is this group of six historic oaks. A seventh, older oak stands farther back from the others to the right, on the northeast corner of the property. The oldest tree is 22 feet in circumference and was probably planted in the early 1800s. The other six trees were likely planted a little after that date.)
Jean Boyer, a French planter, who moved to the Bayou Lafourche area around 1800, originally settled farther up (north) Bayou Lafourche. Boyer had two sons named Eugene’ and Desire’. Around 1814, when Desire’ was fourteen years old, his father moved the family into their new home at this location in Thibodaux and named the plantation home Desire’. (It’s possible that the plantation home was even older and that Boyer purchased it from a previous owner.)
The plantation property had a series of owners. In 1897 it was purchased by Nicholas Coulon, who around 1907 divided the land into lots creating the neighborhood of North Thibodaux. In the 1920s, a large portion of the property became the site of Thibodaux’s first country club and golf course. Much of the neighborhood behind the Funeral Home was once part of that golf course.
In 1930, the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization, purchased the old Desire’ Plantation home and property. In 1976, the original plantation house was torn down and replaced by a newer brick building (to the east of the six oaks). Today, the six oaks are on private property owned by the Thibodaux Funeral Home (the brick building behind the group of six oaks).
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.