Structures
The House
The Raised Creole plantation has the following features:
- The chimney is always located on the inside walls near the center of the roof line, never on the exterior gabled ends of the house;
- All front rooms open onto a gallery or porch, so that the front of the house is made of multiple doors;
- Internally, the floor plan may be several rooms long and from one to three rooms deep, and it distinctly lacks a central hallway inside. The outside porch acts as the hallway between rooms;
- All stairs are originally located on the exterior, never inside. However, some home owners eventually enclosed their stairs to increase indoor living space;
- The hip roof, gallery, and raised height are features which are inherently French traits on the Creole plantation mansion. (Sugar Plantations In Louisiana, Rehder, John B. University of Tennessee.)
The earliest recorded land purchase by Michel Prudhomme was in 1774. A US Commissioner's report from 1816 indicates the family had resided on the land for 22 years prior, which would make the earliest construction date for the actual house 1790. Structural details are consistent with the years 1790-1810.
Due to comparative architectural details, the house appears to have been built by the same architect who built Live Oak between Opelousas and Washington, the Poiret House, the "Halfway" House, and the Jacques Dupre House near Opelousas, although there is no existing documentation to prove this.
Other raised Creole plantations in Louisiana include Keller (Home Place Plantation) in Hahnville; Laura Plantation (l'Habitation Duparc) near Vacherie; and Magnolia Mound in Baton Rouge.
Pigeonnier
A pigeonnier is a two-story pigeon coop, with storage on the bottom and pigeons kept on top. Young pigeons (squab) were popular food. Pigeon guano was a source of nitrogen fertilizer before the commercial manufacture of nitrogen. In France, only royalty could have a pigeonnier, and they became a status symbol for the French settlers of Louisiana. There are only a few pigeonniers surviving in Louisiana today.
Corn Crib/Barn
A corn crib was originally a granary. They can also be used as barns. In this example, the corn would be stored in the raised portion off the ground (to protect it from pests), and the farm implements could be stored on the sides. Corn was raised on the Prudhomme House plantation as the staple diet for cattle and the enslaved. Renovations are planned for this corn crib.
Educational Resources:
Chemistry: Haber Process, which turns the nitrogen in the air into ammonia, easily converted in soil to the nitrate plants need to survive.
More information on the Raised Creole Cottage can be found on the website for the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development, Division of Historic Preservation.
