Robicheaux Women's College

Robicheaux Women's College is a small, public women's college on the banks of Lake Maurepas and the Blind River, in the swamplands northwest of New Orleans. It is known for its strong programs in Environmental Science and French Literature, and for the fact that it has not had an Archaeological Department since its ill-fated sponsorship of the 1935 Robicheaux Expedition.

History
Robicheaux Women's College is named for its founder, Eulalie Freedman Robicheaux, the last of a prominent New Orleans family that made its money manufacturing and selling armaments during the Second War of Revolution. Several of Robicheaux's main buildings, most notably Freedman Hall and Wheatley Commons, were originally part of the Robicheaux summer estate, Montségur. Freedman Robicheaux's original endowment particularly favored semiotics, history, mechanics, and several obscure and very particular languages; the university has since expanded to include strong programs in English, French, and Environmental Science.

The Robicheaux Expedition
In 1935, the College sponsored an expedition into the Amazon, based on reports of recently discovered large-scale ruins on the banks of the Rio Negro. The expedition was led by Dr. Anne Devereaux, of the Archaeology Department, and Dr. Marian Walshe Prideaux, of History. Its goals were primarily archaeological and historical, though the party included noted anthropologist C. Evelyn Musgrove and Dr. Xochiq, the College's resident scientific prodigy. After heading out from Ciudad Bolivar in April, the expedition plunged into the depths of the Amazon. The sole known survivor, Pauline Sampson-Bellevue, was consigned to Mayview Lunatic Asylum in 1936.