Located in New Iberia’s Main Street District, the Shadows-on-the-Teche holds many layers of history in its walls and gardens. Built for wealthy sugar planters, Mary and David Weeks, the house remained in the same family for four generations. The story of the Shadows is as much about the hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored at this site and other family holdings as it
is about the Weekses. Their experiences, as well as those of their descendants, profoundly shape the house’s history and legacy--a history whose central figures are women, not men. Mary Weeks took on an active role in the operation of the plantation after her husband’s death. Louisa O’Brien, the enslaved housekeeper, oversaw the day-to-day operations at Shadows. Charlotte, a single woman, successfully sought freedom and was never recaptured. Charity, a skilled seamstress, is one of six women, white and black, residing at Shadows during Union occupation on the eve of emancipation. It is the Weeks Family Papers, a collection of over 17,000 letters, invoices, and receipts, that allow us to tell the story of these remarkable women. Guided tours are currently offered at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Please call to confirm the tour schedule. For more--
- History: www.shadowsontheteche.org/history
- Plan Your Visit: www.shadowsontheteche.org/plan-your-visit
- Purchase tickets on our website: www.shadowsontheteche.org
