LAFAYETTE, La.—Even after 200 or so years, this rambling Creole cottage in Louisiana’s Cajun Country knows how to keep a secret. Who built it and when? Why are signatures scrawled on a wall ...

Often referred to as a “Creole cottage” or “Acadian,” the homes typically feature a large front porch shaded by a steeply pitched overhanging roof, explains Roxana Usner, a Lafayette ...