re: Carville leper colony

If you ever get a chance to visit it do so!
I know they don't have escorted tours everyday, maybe the 1st Saturday of the month.

But you can watch an incredible video, that I think was done on PBS. It has interviews with people who were patients there, and their children. And then you can do a self-guided tour.

Homeland Security uses the place now, so there will be Fed peaux-peaux at the gate.

It was started by some nuns from NOLA after the Civil War. When they bought the patients down from NOLA by boat, the Captain had the patients stay on the very last barge. Just think the Leper colony in Ben Hur. That's how people were treated until the last hundred years or so.
What really helped to change people's attitude, was that so many people from "nice" families got it. One was the wife of a high ranking US military officer serving in the Philippines. These people had connections, who helped to erase the stigma of leprosy.

It was also remarkable, the number of healthy spouses who went there to be with their sick partner. Many refused to be separated.

Really one of the most fascinating places I've ever visited.
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