Update 5/13/25: The Legends and Lore Marker unveiling has been rescheduled to May 29 at 10 a.m. Please follow and check their Facebook page for updates.
Photo by: Margaret Melancon
The TECHE Project has been awarded a Legends & Lore Marker grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. The marker will be installed at Place Eugenie at 109 Bridge St. in New Iberia, on the site of the old Mount Carmel Academy, on May 29 at 10 a.m.
Legend goes that a tunnel located beneath the building was used an as escape route for pirate Jean Lafitte to Bayou Teche in the early 19th century. The tunnel is the subject of the Legends & Lore Marker, a program administered by the Center for Louisiana Studies and designed to promote cultural tourism and commemorate legends and folklore as part of our heritage.
The Herman J. Schellstede family purchased the facility in 1998 and continues to enjoy the many facets of Place Eugenie’s historical significance. Herman J. Schellstede named the facility after his late wife, Eugenie Fortier Schellstede.New Legends & Lore Marker – iberiatravel.com
The deep red marker will be unveiled and dedicated on May 29 at 10 a.m. and will be located on the Bridge Street side of the property right across from Bayou Teche. The public and media are invited to attend.
“This marker program has been on our wish list for a while, and we are so excited to finally get it in the ground,” said TECHE Project Administrator Erin Z. Bass. “We look forward to sharing the bayou-centric legend of this tunnel with locals and tourists—and keeping its oral history alive.”
About TECHE Project:
The TECHE Ecology, Culture and History Education Project started in 2008 in St. Landry Parish. Our nonprofit, membership-based organization is made up of individuals passionate about making Bayou Teche a healthier waterway for fishing, kayaking, canoeing, boating, tubing and even swimming. We advocate for improved water quality in the Bayou Teche watershed and have removed 60 tons of garbage to date. The TECHE Project encourages everyone to ENRICH, EXPLORE and EMBRACE the Bayou Teche.
About the William G. Pomeroy Foundation®:
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation® is a private, philanthropic organization located in Syracuse, N.Y. As the nation’s leading funder of historical roadside markers, the Pomeroy Foundation has awarded more than 2,600 grants for markers and bronze plaques in 49 states and Washington, D.C. To learn more about the Pomeroy Foundation, visit wgpfoundation.org.
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