Kate Chopin House (Cloutierville, Louisiana) facts for kids
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Kate Chopin House
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Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Historic American Buildings Survey photo of the house
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 Location in Louisiana
Location in the United States
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| Location | Main St. (LA 1), Cloutierville, Louisiana |
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| NRHP reference No. | 93001601 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1993 |
| Designated NHL | April 19, 1993 |
| Removed from NRHP | December 28, 2015 |
| Delisted NHL | December 28, 2015 |
The Kate Chopin House, also known as the Bayou Folk Museum or Alexis Cloutier House, was a historic home in Cloutierville, Louisiana. It was once the home of Kate Chopin, a famous American author. She wrote many stories, including the well-known novel The Awakening. The house was an important part of her life after she got married.
The Story of the Kate Chopin House
The house was located on Main Street in Cloutierville, a town in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. A man named Alexis Cloutier, who founded the town, built the home. It was constructed between 1806 and 1813. The building used a mix of handmade bricks, hand-cut cypress wood, and a special mud-and-moss plaster called bousillage. Enslaved people were involved in its construction.
Kate Chopin moved into this house in 1879 with her husband, Oscar, and their five children. Their sixth child, a daughter named Lélia, was born there soon after they arrived. Oscar ran a general store and managed the family's plantation business. He inherited part of the family property shortly after they moved to Cloutierville.
Chopin later wrote about the area in her stories. She described the neighborhood as having "two long rows of very old frame houses." Neighbors, who were mostly of French-Creole descent, had different customs. They sometimes found Chopin's habits, like smoking cigarettes, playing cards, or walking alone, a bit unusual.
Kate Chopin lived in the house for about four years. Her husband died during this time. She soon left the home and moved to St. Louis, Missouri by mid-1884 to be with her mother. Her sons stayed with her husband's family in Cloutierville.
Chopin used her experiences in the town as ideas for many of her writings. These included her books Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie, as well as her famous novel The Awakening.
From Museum to Memory
The Kate Chopin House opened as a museum in 1979. It was called the Bayou Folk Museum, partly because of Chopin's book with the same name. In 1993, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark. This was because of its connection to Kate Chopin's life. Her writings often shared stories about life in the bayou, inspired by her time there.
Even though the building was restored, some parts were still original. For example, the wooden panels on the walls and many of the windowpanes were from the original house. The museum displayed a collection of items that belonged to Kate Chopin in one of the basement rooms. The Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches managed the museum.
Sadly, the house was destroyed in a fire on October 1, 2008. The exact cause of the fire was never found. However, its destruction led to new safety measures for other historic buildings in Louisiana. Because the house was gone, its special historic designations were removed in December 2015.
Images for kids
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Ruins of the house after the 2008 fire
