New Orleans, Orleans Parish story
A Legacy of Resilience
Rosette Rochon was born in Mobile, Alabama, in seventeen-sixty, and she became one of the most successful women of her era. A wealthy free woman of color, Rosette was a prominent…
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Rosette Rochon was born in Mobile, Alabama, in seventeen-sixty, and she became one of the most successful women of her era. A wealthy free woman of color, Rosette was a prominent developer and early investor in the Faubourg Marigny. In eighteen-hundred-and-six, she purchased land from Bernard de Marigny and eventually built several houses, including a typical Creole cottage on Pauger Street.
Rosette's life was a testament to endurance and ambition; she lived to be one hundred and three years old, passing away in eighteen-sixty-three. When she died, she left behind an estate valued at one hundred thousand dollars. Her home now serves as a museum, reminding us of the powerful role that free women of color played in shaping the urban landscape of old New Orleans.
Updated June 2026