St. Rita's Catholic Church

ID: 1536 ~ Creator: Marie Hamilton ~ Date: April 10, 2024.

This file appears in: A Lost Paradise: Rousseau's Catahoula Inn

Gaston Rousseau and his wife Lena donated the land on which St. Rita's was built. According to news accounts, the Inn was situated nearby, behind the chapel.

This file appears in: A Lost Paradise: Rousseau's Catahoula Inn

A Lost Paradise: Rousseau's Catahoula Inn – The Tragic Story of a Forgotten Getaway

By Marie Hamilton

Gaston L. Rousseau was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, on November 7, 1881. In 1908, Gaston moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he lived for ten years. There, he met Lena Hogan of Illinois. The couple married in New Orleans in 1918. Within two…