While we’re still in the process of uncovering historic documents involving Marguerite Bed and Breakfast, we’ve found that the earliest records of Marguerite exist within the documents of land grants in St. Gabriel provided by the Spanish government to the Acadians, who were fleeing from persecution. It is estimated that they arrived in St, Gabriel, Louisiana, in the late 1760s. However, the land grant records note that the property where Marguerite was built was set aside for the Spanish militia or government use.

There were few structures in the area, so in 1770 when the Spanish governor, Alejandro O'Reilly, appointed Louis Dutisne to be the commandant of the Iberville District, Marguerite was constructed to house him and his family.

Dutisne resided here and governed the area under four Spanish governors. The last of those governors being Bernardo de Galvez, whose leadership led Spain to control the entire Gulf coast and greatly aid the American Revolution. So, it is likely that the home saw guests like Galvez and his 1,400 men—made up of Spanish and French soldiers, Acadians, Islenos, free people of color, native peoples of Louisiana, German immigrants and more—as they marched to take British Fort Bute in the early battles of the Revolutionary War. We imagine that the living space saw major players in Louisiana’s history breaking bread together and plotting the initial moments of the United States’ history.

Still, Marguerite gets its name from the home’s third owner and matriarch of the St. Gabriel area. Dutisne sold Marguerite to Joseph Landry in 1781, and Landry married widow Marguerite LeBlanc, whose family remains in St. Gabriel to this day.

Again, we’re still learning about the home every day, and we’d love to share more about the property and history of the area, highlighting the importance of St. Gabriel, Louisiana in the United States' history, with you during your next stay at Marguerite Bed and Breakfast.