JEANERETTE
by Mary Fonseca
A red brick, 19th century building that is a National Historic Landmark houses the Moresi Foundry on LA 182 in Jeanerette. The company's skilled employees make items such as cast-iron kettles and custom castings for machinery, and repair the huge grinders that crush sugar cane into juice.
The foundry is important in Jeanerette's history so it is well represented in Le Beau Petit Museé (The Pretty Little Museum), located in the town's Bicentennial Park, also on Louisiana 182. "Handmade cypress patterns displayed in our museum were once used at Moresi's to make gears and other parts for mills and steamboats," says museum docent Darlene Derise. "On pay day workers lined up at the old paymaster's station we have set up in front of the museum."
The Moresi Foundry exhibit is just one of many packed into the picturesque Victorian cottage that shelters this young museum. Its primary focus is Louisiana's 200-year-old sugar cane industry. Visitors can see videos and artifacts relating to sugar growing and processing, and enjoy intriguing exhibits that round out the museum's collection. A fascinating "Swamp Scene Mural" depicts more than 40 wildlife specimens native to the area, including a 71/2 foot canebrake rattlesnake. The cottage's kitchen is outfitted with out-moded implements, and a bedroom is decorated with antique furnishings and handsewn needlework pieces.
There are more items related to Jeanerette's past in the museum's annex and on the shaded grounds where the Moresi pay station and an old-fashioned outhouse are displayed. Inviting picnic tables on the banks of Bayou Teche encourage visitors to relax while children enjoy the large playground behind the museum.
Freshly baked French bread and spicy ginger cakes from Le Jeune's bakery, two stop lights west of Le Beau Petit Museé, are often part of the picnic fare. LeJeune's bakers have been kneading dough in Jeanerette since 1884. Their bread loaves rise in the oldest bakery in Louisiana and the only one on the National Register of Historic Places.
Three generations of the LeJeune family have baked goodies in the original brick ovens that are still in use. At first, the bakery turned out a large assortment of breads, pastries, and cakes, but for the last 20 years they have devoted their facilities to their popular French bread and ginger cakes. The spicy plank cakes can be found in stores from Texas to Mississippi, but LeJeune's scrumptious French bread can be found only at markets close to Jeanerette. Of course, the best way to enjoy it is to be at the bakery around 9:00 a.m. when a flashing red light, confirms that the tempting aroma titillating your nostrils is from the first loaves of LeJeune's bread that have just come out of the oven.
Moresi Foundry's Paymaster Station
Jeanerette is in Iberia Parish between New Iberia and Franklin. Signs along U.S. 90 between Lafayette and Morgan City direct travelers to Jeanerette which; is linked to U.S. 90 by Canal St.
A. Moresi Foundry, Inc., 506 Main St., Jeanerette, LA 70544. (337) 276-4533. Not open to the public. Historic building can be seen from LA 182.
For information on more attractions, and accommodations in the Jeanerette area, contact the Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2704 LA 14, New Iberia, LA 70560. 1-888-942-3742 or (337) 365-1540. E-mail: info@iberiaparish.com
www.iberiaparish.com
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All photos by Mary Fonseca
© 1999 Mary Fonseca. All rights reserved.
