I’m told that the road to Lake Hermitage (Judge Perez) was only paved about four years back—that prior to that, it was just crushed shell, meandering through a decaying oak grove along Bayou Grande Cheniere, which has been cut off from its original source at the Mississippi River. Google certainly knows very little about the area, and I have yet to find property info on the homes that have since been swallowed by the lake, but a local tells me that early commerce in the area centered on trapping and collection of Spanish moss for pillow and mattress stuffing.
![An unincorporated fishing town at Lake Hermitage, near Port Sulphur, Louisiana An unincorporated fishing town at Lake Hermitage, near Port Sulphur, Louisiana](https://paprikastudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Collier-SP-Lake-Hermitage-0316-scaled.jpg)
![Three houses surrounded by water in Lake Hermitage Three houses surrounded by water in Lake Hermitage](https://paprikastudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Collier-SP-Lake-Hermitage-0331-scaled.jpg)
![A boat crosses open water near restored marshes west of Lake Hermitage A boat crosses open water near restored marshes west of Lake Hermitage](https://paprikastudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Collier-SP-Lake-Hermitage-0327-scaled.jpg)
![Broken marsh along the now-paved road to Lake Hermitage Broken marsh along the now-paved road to Lake Hermitage](https://paprikastudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Collier-SP-Lake-Hermitage-0340-scaled.jpg)
![Marsh and open water forming the western edge of Lake Hermitage Marsh and open water forming the western edge of Lake Hermitage](https://paprikastudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Collier-SP-Lake-Hermitage-pano-1-scaled.jpg)