BATON ROUGE, LA – A Baton Rouge high school student was stunned last week after learning Bon Marché was once a shopping mall and not an early French settlement established along the Mississippi River.
The discovery came after 16-year-old Tyler Landry overheard his grandparents discussing “going to Bon Marché” during the 80s.
“I just assumed it was some old French village near Baton Rouge,” Landry said. “Like maybe Bienville stopped there for supplies or something.”
Landry said the name had always sounded historically significant, leading him to believe Bon Marché probably featured a trading post, small Catholic church and several historical markers explaining which French explorer slept there.
Instead, his grandfather explained that it featured department stores, restaurants and acres of parking.
Landry initially remained skeptical until family members produced photographic evidence.
He said he now plans to research another mysterious Baton Rouge historical site his grandparents frequently mention called “Godchaux’s.”
