Istre Cemetery Grave Houses, Funerary structures in Morse, Louisiana, United States.

The Istre Cemetery Grave Houses are three small gable-roofed structures in Istre Cemetery at Morse, Louisiana: the LeBlanc Grave House (circa 1900), the Istre Grave House (1925) and the Henry Grave House (1935). Each is a complete miniature house with siding, hinged doors and windows, unlike the open grave shelters of Protestant southern cemeteries, which have only a roof, four corner posts and a fence.

The grave houses were constructed between 1900 and 1935, with the LeBlanc Grave House representing the oldest example from that period. They were built during an era when such burial structures were common across the region, reflecting how families invested in lasting memorial sites.

The origin of the Cajun Catholic grave house tradition in the Acadiana Prairie is unknown; legends abound, and historians have proposed protection or a local version of burial vaults. The houses resemble Upland South grave shelters, and some researchers think the practice derives from them. Local filmmakers Zach, Donny and Jeremy C. Broussard made the documentary Little Houses (2009) about the mystery and the National Register listing.

The three grave houses stand within Istre Cemetery in Morse, off the road through Acadia Parish; the grounds are open to walkers, and the houses are seen from the paths among the graves. The cemetery is a rural, grassy site, so footing can be soft after rain. The structures are small and low, so look for the gable roofs and hinged doors at close range rather than from a distance.

Of an estimated forty original grave houses that once stood in the cemetery, only three authentic examples remain today. This rarity makes the surviving structures the last examples of this regional building tradition and shows how many historical structures have been lost over time.