Sunday, June 28, 2026
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Siltborn
"Well the rumor is, back in the Indian days, when there was Indians in the territory... we not that far from Opelousas and there was an Opelousas tribe and they claim when the tribe would go to war, they'd come over here and hide their women. That's how they got the name of Prairie of the Women."
Cameron Escoyne and his grandfather | Deer Hunting The Louisiana Bayou | Project Hunt
Friday, June 26, 2026
In the Fields of Prairie des Fermes
I watch the fields of Prairie des Femmes. They rotate soybean and sorghum most years, with a fallow year in there also. Some of the old timers will call the prairie "Prairie des Fermes" (Prairie of the Farms) because it was and still is an agricultural enclave. Some of the most persistent stories about this place revolve around the women (les femmes) who ran the farms (les fermes) and dairies while the men left to work or fight. However this anecdote is true in most places around the country in war times. The wars that the neighbors have given vary from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, WW1 or 2. Further research suggests that the memory of the prairie is older than American wars and that the wars in question were of the native Opelousas, Chitimacha or Atakapas tribes and may not have been traditional wars at all. Prairie des Femmes was said to be the peace zone between tribes. It is also said the men hid the women back here, or simply went hunting and never came back. Some say they were nomadic and just moved along the Teche while leaving this prairie as the base village for the women and children. It's even more interesting when one considers that we are on the western edge of the Teche Escarpment and tucked behind the ancient alluvial bluffs of Grand Coteau, where the Mississippi itself flowed. I also suspect that Grand Coteau was ceremonial grounds of some sort to the natives of this prairie.
This year there's a special atmosphere along the road because the close fields are in sugarcane and it creates the loveliest (for a prairie girl) vignettes while we search for broken ceramics in the late light of the summer afternoon.
Sale of Land of Michel Cormier
Michel Cormier was an Acadian who settled the Prairie des Femmes prior to 1773. Here is some information about him through Acadians in Gray.
Prairie Mirage
Prairie Scene: Mirage Alfred Jacob Miller (American, 1810-1874) (Painter) 1858-1860 watercolor on paper (18th and 19th Centuries )
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Cornerstone Holiday for Prairie des Femmes School 1909
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The Opelousas courier (Opelousas, La.), March 19, 1909 |
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22
Nonco Pelafigue Principal at the Prairie des Femmes School 1920
August "Nonco" Pelafigue was a Servant of God with the gifts of the Sacred Heart who lived simply in the Arnaudville area. He taught at the Coteau Rodaire School and eventually was principal at the Prairie des Femmes School.
Read Nonco's Bio HERE.
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| 1916, 1917,1918 |
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Vilify Prairie des Femmes? Mais Jamais says the Clarion, 1897
"The Clarion's mission upon earth is not to vilify Washington-not more so than it is to vilify Opelousas, or Grand Coteau, or Ville Platte, or Prairie des Femmes, or an other place."
Repairs in 1888 to the Prairie des Femmes School
Repairs to the Prairie des Femmes School in 1888, Thank you Mr. Boudreau
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