The home was built by the town's founder, Alexis Cloutier[3] and was constructed using a combination of handmade brick, hand-hewn cypress boards, and bousillage.

[7] Chopin would later describe the neighborhood in her 1891 short story "For Marse Chouchoute" as "two long rows of very old frame houses, facing each other closely across a dusty roadway".

[8] Neighbors, mostly of French-Creole descent, did not approve of Chopin's fashion and tendency to smoke cigarettes, play cards, and go for walks alone.

[10] Chopin used some of her experience in the town for inspiration for several of her writings, including Bayou Folk, A Night in Acadie, and The Awakening.

[12][13] Though the cause of the fire was not determined, the home's destruction inspired the use of preventative measures at other historic structures in Louisiana.