Venus House
The Venus House was the first building to be relocated to Le Vieux Village in 1973. This French Creole style home was donated by the Earl Fontenot family. The home was originally located in the small community of Grand Prairie. In 1975, the house was restored and opened as the new Opelousas Tourist Center, under the direction of the Opelousas Tourist Commission. It later housed the Jim Bowie Museum.
The house is named after its former owner and occupant, Marie Francois Venus, a free Creole woman of color, who lived in the home during the 18th century. Other former owner names include Guillory, Doucet, Bourque, Perkins and Fontenot.
The Venus House is one of the oldest houses of its kind in the Lower Mississippi Valley. The house was constructed entirely of mortise and tenon construction. It features bousillage, a natural insulation that was once common in the walls of Cajun and Creole dwellings. It was usually made by mixing mud with moss or animal hair and held into place by a series of wood bars (barreaux), set between the posts, which resulted into the walls. Sometimes hay or prairie grass was substituted for Spanish moss. Although porches of many Louisiana Creole houses have been enclosed, the home's open porch survives. In addition, the early and unusual French mantel inside the home has survived. The house has become the center piece of Le Vieux Village.
The Kiwanis Club of Opelousas funded the relocation of the Venus House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.