Field Studies 08 - Natchitoches

Field Studies Natchitoches Weekend

Anthony DelRosario

Studio in Building Preservation

Professors G. Cizek, M. Thomas, and H. Knight

Master in Preservation Studies

Tulane School of Architecture

1 PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010

Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture

On April 17, Studio in Building Preservation made the eighth field trip of the

semester to Lafayette, Opelousas, Alexandria, Cane River National Heritage Area, and

Natchitoches. The class visited a variety of sites including a heritage and folk life park,

several National Park Services sites, a private home, ruins of a recent fire, a small city

town square, a historic main street district, a rehabilitated school building, and a training

center.

In Lafayette, two sites are found along Bayou Vermilion which was first settled by

Native Americans and later by farmers, trappers, and traders. The Acadian Cultural

Center is one of six sites in south Louisiana that comprise Jean Lafitte National

Historical Park and Preserve. Next to this center is Vermilionville (Fig. 1), a Cajun and

Creole folk life and heritage park that opened in 1990 and is operated by Lafayette

Parish.

The Acadian Cultural Center (Fig. 7) features an excellent exhibit (Fig. 6) that

“tells stories of the origins, migration, settlement, and contemporary culture of the

Acadians (Cajuns) and other area groups” (ACC website). The one small distraction

that I noticed was that the contemporary photographs in the exhibit appeared to be from

the 1980s or earlier. The center screens two short films each hour. One film tells the

story of the Acadian culture beginning in France, continuing through Canada, and

ending in Louisiana. A second film, Atchafalaya Swamp Revisited, tells the story of

Bayou Chene, “one of America’s last and most intriguing frontier communities” (LPB).

The center did not have a film about the life of the Acadians after their exile from

Canada; however, the exhibit provides a well-done overview.



As a heritage park, Vermilionville depicts the lifestyle of Acadians and Creoles

from 1765 to 1890. The grounds contain about twenty structures with about a third of

these being restored original buildings (Figs. 8 & 10). Costumed interpreters are in

several buildings where they demonstrate traditional crafts. In the recreated school

building, several members of the group were treated to stories and music from 86 year

old Merlin Fontenot (Fig. 9). The Interpretative Walking Tour brochure is well-done with

detailed information in English and French and a large site map.

Vermilionville can be compared to the Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge and

the house museums in Natchez and along River Road. Vermilionville and the Rural Life

Museum have both been open for at least twenty years and are successful tourist

destinations as outdoor museums. Vermilionville attracts more foreign visitors,

especially from France and French Canada, with the focus on the Acadian lifestyle. The

Rural Life Museum has an open feel with few structured pathways and no costumed

employees, whereas Vermilionville feels like a theme park – a Cajun Williamsburg –

with the cement walkways and interpreters in traditional clothing. If Vermilionville had

more land available as the Rural Life Museum, the park would not be so confined and

possibly have a more realistic feel. The costumed interpreters of Vermilionville provide

educational value as opposed to the hoopskirt-clad tour guides found at Oak Alley,

Stanton Hall, and Longwood that are dressed merely for the “Moonlight and Magnolia”

effect.

After Lafayette, the class traveled to Opelousas to take a look at the town square

which is a National Register Historic District. The center of the town square is the St.

Landry Parish Courthouse (Fig. 2), an Art Deco building from 1939. Among other



buildings of note along the square were the Romanesque Revival Old Federal Building

from 1890 (Fig. 11) and a Greek Revival law office from 1845 (NRHP) (Fig. 12).

After Opelousas, the class was welcomed to the home of friends of Professor

Cizek. Their house, called the Bleak House (Fig. 13), was moved about 19 miles from

Cheneyville to near Alexandria. The couple also moved a country store (Fig. 14) that

had been across the road from the Bleak House. Professor Cizek led the restoration of

the house and designed a back porch addition. The store has been converted to a

wonderful artist studio.

On Sunday, the class visited several sites along a corridor designated as Cane

River National Heritage Area. “The heritage area includes Cane River Creole National

Historical Park, seven National Historic Landmarks, three State Historic Sites, and many

other historic plantations, homes, and churches” (CRNHA website). The first stop was

the ruins of the Bayou Folk Museum and Kate Chopin House (Figs. 3, 15, 16, 25) which

unfortunately burned in 2008. As with Laura Plantation, the question arises of what to

do with the remains of a historic house after a fire. Laura Plantation had the benefits of

the deep story of Laura Locoul Gore and the proximity to New Orleans to spark

rebuilding efforts. On the other hand, the Kate Chopin House does not have the benefit

of the built-in tourist base of New Orleans to provide a reliable stream of paying visitors.

If the Kate Chopin House is not rebuilt, the Association for the Preservation for Historic

Natchitoches could create weather-proof displays to showcase information.

Along the Cane River National Heritage Area corridor, the class visited three

plantations. Magnolia and Oakland Plantations are owned by the National Park Service



and comprise the Cane River Creole National Historical Park. Melrose Plantation is

owned by the Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches which also owns the

ruins of the Kate Chopin House.

The Cane River Creole National Historical Park provides excellent views into the

history of the cotton plantation. Magnolia Plantation (Fig. 17) is one of the largest and

most intact plantations in the South with the only 19th Century cotton gin (Fig. 20) in

Louisiana and the rare brick slave cabins (Figs. 18 & 21). The NPS created a nice site

plan map and a cell phone tour for Magnolia. However, a couple of points can be made

about actions that NPS took in regard to preservation. First, the wheelchair elevator at

the Overseer’s House (Fig. 19) is poorly placed. A better position is in the back of the

building by the additions. Second, the steel beams added to the barn (Fig. 4) that

houses the cotton gin and press is more than is needed and takes away from the purity

of the building.

The second plantation that is part of Cane River Creole National Historical Park

is Oakland. As with Magnolia, the NPS created a nice site plan map and a cell phone

tour for Oakland. In addition to being the first national park focused on Creole life, this

plantation provides a unique view with an interpretation of its appearance circa 1960

(Figs. 22 & 24). The main house of Magnolia is not owned by NPS, but at Oakland the

main house is operated by the NPS. Ranger Nathan Hatfield (Fig. 35) enthusiastically

led the group on a tour of the main house (Fig. 5) and focused on the architectural

information of the house including additions made to the house. As with Magnolia, the

point of wheelchair elevator placement arises (Fig. 23).



The class made a short stop at Melrose Plantation to see Yucca House and

African House. Yucca House (Fig. 27), a French Creole cottage, is currently being

completely restored. New wooden gutters are being constructed. A major problem

facing Yucca house, as well as many other buildings in the area, is the boring of

carpenter bees into the bousillage (Fig. 26). African House (Fig. 28) is a unique

structure with a cantilevered roof possibly inspired by buildings found in the Congo of

Africa. The roof has been reinforced with new wooden supports in each corner that

take away from the purity of the building.

The group ended the Cane River National Heritage Area corridor tour in the

Natchitoches National Landmark Historic District. The district is one of only two

designated in Louisiana, with the Vieux Carré being the other. In 2006, Natchitoches

received a Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic

Preservation. The group saw two interesting projects on Jefferson Street, the main

street of the district that runs along Cane River. First, the group considered a new

construction building at the end of the commercial blocks of Jefferson Street (Figs. 29 &

30). The site which had previously been a Ford dealership is now filled with a large

building that has commercial space on the first floor and condominiums on the upper

floors. The massing of the building relates to the rest of the block; however, façade and

balconies do not quite fit. Instead of balconies created from the façade of the building to

edge of the sidewalk to match the other buildings, the building has balconies that start

at the façade and go towards the inside of the building. Second, the group considered a

historic building (Fig. 31) in the middle of the commercial stretch of Jefferson Street.

The owners of this building turned down historic tax credits in order to build the



balconies as they wanted. The balconies were not constructed in the historic manner

as those along Jefferson Street and the “curved” corners of the balconies are not

smooth curves (Fig. 32).

On Monday, the group visited the National Center for Preservation Technology

and Training (Fig. 36). Several staff members gave short presentations about Historic

Landscapes Program, Materials Research Program, Architecture and Engineering

Program, and Preservapedia (Fig. 33). The group also saw three laboratories at the

center where various technologies are tested (Fig. 34).

The weekend trip to Natchitoches felt less rushed as the weekend trip to

Natchez. This may have been due to fewer time restraints and the lack of evening

gatherings. I enjoyed the NPS operated sites especially Oakland with its 1960s

interpretation. I would have like to have spent more time at Melrose in order to see the

Clementine Hunter murals in the African House. After seeing the Cane River National

Heritage Area was presented, I see the potential of this concept to be applied to River

Road. The main difference between Cane River and River Road is the involvement of

the National Park Service. A possible plantation house and buildings that the NPS

could look into purchasing is Homeplace Plantation. Another difference would be the

number of different groups involved. The Cane River National Heritage Area is a

partnership between NPS and Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches.

For River Road, this would require many different parties.

i PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Sources

Acadian Cultural Center Website. <http://www.nps.gov/jela/new-acadian-cultural-

center.htm>

Atchafalaya National Heritage Area. <http://www.atchafalaya.org/>

Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Atchafalaya Swamp Revisited. <http://www.lpb.org/programs/atchafalaya/Atchaf_Swamp_Rev_PressKit.pdf>

Cane River Creole National Historical Park Website.

<http://www.nps.gov/cari/index.htm>

Cane River National Heritage Area Website. <http://www.caneriverheritage.org>

Cane River National Heritage Area Travel Itinerary.

<http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/caneriver/index.htm>

Cane River National Heritage Area Website. <http://www.nps.gov/crha/index.htm>

Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.

<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/>

Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation's National Register Website.

<http://www.crt.state.la.us/hp/nhl/default.htm>

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. <http://www.ncptt.nps.gov>

Vermilionville Website. <http://www.vermilionville.org>

ii PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Images

Figure 1: Vermilionvile Figure 2: St. Landry Parish Courthouse in Opelousas

Figure 3: Ruins of Kate Chopin House Figure 4: Barn at Magnolia Plantation

Figure 5: Main House at Oakland Plantation Figure 6: Acadian Cultural Center exhibit

iii PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Figure 7: Acadian Cultural Center Figure 8: La Maison Broussard, Vermilionville

Figure 9: Merlin Fontenot, Vermilionville Figure 10: Le Presbytère, Vermilionville

Figure 11: Old Federal Building, Opelousas Figure 12: Greek Revival Law Office, Opelousas

iv PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Figure 13: Bleak House Figure 14: Store at Bleak House

Figure 15: Kate Chopin House Ruins, Cloutierville Figure 16: Kate Chopin House Ruins, Cloutierville

Figure 17: Sketch of Store, Magnolia Plantation Figure 18: Slave Cabin, Magnolia Plantation

v PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Figure 19: Overseer’s House, Magnolia Plantation Figure 20: Cotton Gin Barn, Magnolia Plantation

Figure 21: Slave Cabin Wall, Magnolia Plantation Figure 22: 1950s décor, Oakland Plantation

Figure 23: Wheelchair Elevator, Oakland Plantation Figure 24: 1950s décor, Oakland Plantation

vi PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Figure 25: Bee Holes in Bousillage, Chopin House Figure 26: Bee Holes in Bousillage, Yucca House

Figure 27: Yucca House, Melrose Plantation Figure 28: African House, Melrose Plantation

Figure 29: New Construction, Natchitoches Figure 30: New Construction, Natchitoches

vii PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – April 23, 2010


Figure 31: Historic & New Balcony, Natchitoches Figure 32: New Balcony, Natchitoches

Figure 33: Preservapedia, NCPTT Figure 34: Dirty Lab, NCPTT

Figure 35: Nathan Hatfiled, Oakland Plantation Figure 36: Professor Cizek & Andy Ferrell of NCPTT

All photographs were taken by the author. All drawings are by the author.

Field Studies 08 - Natchitoches

Documents

atchafalaya swamp revisited

anthony delrosario master

landry parish courthouse

rural life museum

cell phone tour

national park service

kate chopin house

acadian cultural center