The True Story Of Louisiana’s Casket Girls
In 1728, New Orleans was chaotic. The streets were filled with men yelling as they worked and fought, and horses’ hooves pounded on the street. The men were unruly and officials believed it was due to a lack of women. The men’s prayers were answered when a ship, the La Nouvelle Orleans, arrived carrying a group of young women handpicked by the Bishop of Quebec by the order of the French King. The young women were there for one reason, to marry the men of the budding Louisiana colony. The women’s belongings were all packed in casket-like boxes. Rumors quickly began to spread about the women who were so pale that just moments in the sun left them blistered. While waiting to find their future husbands, the women were cared for by the Ursuline Nuns. The casket-shaped chests were kept on the third floor of their home. The door was sealed shut. Later the nuns went to the attic to
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