Historic House Museums in Louisiana

Kent House is a classic example of French colonial architecture. Standing on the original land grant from the King of Spain to Pierre Baillio II, it offers a glimpse of the French, Spanish and American cultures that have influenced Louisiana. All three flags fly over the entrance.

BREC's Magnolia Mound Plantation is a rare survivor of the vernacular architecture influenced by early settlers from France and the West Indies. This venerable landmark is unique in southern Louisiana not simply because of its age, quality of restoration, or outstanding collections, but because it is still a vital part of the community.

Established in 1787, Destrehan is the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley. She has survived colonial and civil wars and the perils of time, but with dedication, has now been preserved in all its glory for you to enjoy.

The 1851 home was saved and meticulously restored by the St. Mary Landmarks Society. It is a magnificent example of Greek Revival-style architecture with its fluted Corinthian columns, upper and lower galleries opening into spacious entrance halls and adjoining double parlors.

San Francisco Plantation House, the most oppulent plantation house in North America, is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River less than 40 minutes from New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a galleried house of the Creole open suite style, nestled under centuries old Live Oaks and contains one of the finest antique collections in the country.

Southdown Plantation House is a 19th-century sugar manor house and home to the Terrebonne Museum of history and culture. It was built in 1859 as a one-story Greek Revival house by sugar planter William J. Minor. His son, Henry C. Minor, added the second floor and Victorian-style architectural features in 1893.

A restored professor's residence is on the grounds of Centenary College.

Vermilionville authentically portrays a way of life preserved with a distinctly French accent. Situated on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion, this Cajun/Creole heritage and folklife park recreates life in the Acadiana area between 1765 and 1890. The beautiful grounds, which are laid out as an historic village, contain eighteen structures, including six restored original homes. In most of the structures, costumed interpreters demonstrate traditional crafts or musical styles.

Melrose began life as The Louis Metoyer Plantation in 1796 and was named Melrose in 1884 when Joseph Henry bought the plantation. It is one of the first and is one of the best surviving examples of a Creole plantation built by former enslaved persons known as "free people of color." There are out- buildings from the late 1700's, one of which houses the 1955 murals painted by the internationally known African-American Folk Artist, Clementine Hunter, who lived and worked at Melrose.

A white-columned brick building constructed between 1831 and 1834 by sugar planter David Weeks and his wife, the Shadows is both a survivor and a reminder of another time. It is a tangible link to the past, representing over 150 years of history, stories about people and events, about life.

In 1857, esteemed New Orleans architect, James Gallier, Jr., put his considerable talent to work designing a residence of his own. Gallier House is an outstanding example of accurate and comprehensive historic restoration of one of New Orleans’ loveliest and time-honored landmarks.

In 1805, Job Routh built a winter hunting lodge on a Spanish land grant located on the Mississippi River flood plain in what would become Tensas Parish. During the early 1830s, Routh's heirs added several more rooms and a gallery. Dr. Haller Nutt and his wife Julia (granddaughter of Job Routh) bought the property in 1850 and began the final phase of construction, which gives Winter Quarters Planatation is distinctive look.

The tall, airy house where John James Audubon stayed is a splendid example of colonial architecture adapted to its climate. Built circa 1806, Oakley predates the relatively heavy details of classic revival in Southern plantation homes and claims distinction for its beautiful simplicity. The rooms of Oakley have been restored in the style of the late Federal Period (1790-1830), reflecting their appearance when Audubon stayed there.

When the grant was sold and subdivided, this section was developed as an indigo plantation. In the early 1800s, Pierre Olivier Duclozel de Vezin, a wealthy Creole, acquired this property to raise cotton, cattle, and eventually, sugarcane. He built the Maison Olivier, the circa 1815 plantation house which is the central feature of Longfellow-Evangeline SHS. His son, Charles, made improvements to the home in the 1840s. The structure is an excellent example of a Raised Creole Cottage, a simple and distinctive architectural form which shows a mixture of Creole, Caribbean, and French influences.

Historians date the construction of the plantation home anywhere from the late eighteenth century to the 1830's due to the evidence of contrasting architectural features found within the house. The house more prominently represents the Creole-style cottage design that was popular in south Louisiana prior to the Civil war, but was transformed into a Greek Revival house in the 1840's, reflecting the impact of Anglo-American culture on the Acadian Bayou landscape in the mid 1800s.

The quarter-mile canopy of giant live oak trees, believed to be nearly 300 years old, forms an impressive avenue leading to the classic Greek-revival style antebellum home.