Jean and his brother Pierre terrorized the Gulf of Mexico during the early 1800s. By 1817, Lafitte developed a pirate colony around his home in Galveston and called it Campeche. At its peak, Campeche had 2,000 inhabitants and 120 structures. Lafitte's home doubled as a headquarters for the colony's piracy business. It was painted bright red, and for obvious reasons became known as Maison Rouge. In 1821 the United States sent a ship to Galveston to forcibly remove Lafitte from the Gulf. Lafitte agreed to leave without a fight. After he left Galveston, his men set fire to all the buildings and destroyed the village.
Several years later a second dwelling was built on the foundation of Maison Rouge. That dwelling no longer exists either but the crumbling foundation still remains.
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