Louisiana Tunnel Tales: The Legend of Jean Lafitte Lives On in New Iberia
(99.9 KTDY) - A new marker has been placed in New Iberia as part of a grant from the Legends and Lore Grant program to commemorate a legend of a tunnel that has persisted about famous pirate Jean Lafitte, according to KLFY.
What Is the Legends and Lore Grant?
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation offers grants to assist communities in placing markers in places where legends, not necessarily factual information, have had an impact on local legend in the area.
The foundation seeks to sponsor markers that highlight aspects of folklore, legends, and folklife from communities nationwide. The institution is not interested in history, per se, but in aspects of everyday life that commemorate people, events, and places supported, not by facts, but by folklore.
Why Folklore Matters to Communities
They do this as part of an effort to help the stories continue as part of that community's culture.
According to the website, the types of things they give grants to commemorate include the following:
Folktale — Fictional stories passed down about people or events not proven to have existed.
Legends — Stories passed down that are popularly regarded as historical, although not verifiable.
Folklife — Traditions such as music, skills, crafts, and events passed along within a community. Often involving real people* that can be verified with primary sources.
Where Is the New Marker Located?
The new marker has been placed at Place Eugenie on Bridge Street in New Iberia.
The marker was placed as a reminder of a folktale about pirate Jean Lafitte. It is said that a tunnel exists near or under Mount Carmel, where the pirate would go to access the Teche waterway and escape anyone pursuing him.
Who Was Jean Lafitte?
Jean Lafitte, according to the National Park's website, was a privateer and pirate who worked the Gulf Coast area in the early 19th century. He ended up living in Louisiana with his older brother, Pierre, by 1810.
In addition to the story about the tunnel, dozens of rumors and stories continue to tell tales of Lafitte's various areas of hidden treasure caches all up and down the Gulf Coast.
When the U.S. made it illegal to trade with France and Great Britain, major retailers in ports like New Orleans started to run out of goods to sell, and Lafitte was a smuggler in order, he claimed, to get goods on the shelves.
The Tunnel Rumor at Mount Carmel School
In a story from the Daily Iberian, former students of Mount Carmel in New Iberia remembered the legends of the tunnel being in the principal's office,
For instance, mention was made by Mark Mouton of a tunnel under the school. Debbie Delahoussaye-Sundberg added that it was supposedly used by Jean Lafitte, and located under principal Sister Rose Marie’s chair – the one students sent to her office would have to sit in. Carrie Drago Honey said, 'I do recall having to go to Sr. Rose Marie’s office, for what don’t remember. I was petrified thinking the chair I was sitting was over the entrance to the so-called tunnel. I was scared she would make me crawl the length of the tunnel and end up in the bayou where no one would find me.'
Local Memories Keep the Legend Alive
READ MORE: 10 SOUTH LOUISIANA GHOST STORIES SO GOOD WE CAN'T BELIEVE THEY AREN'T REAL
How to Visit the Lafitte Tunnel Marker