Oaklawn Plantation (Natchez, Louisiana)

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Oaklawn Plantation
Oaklawn Plantation house.jpg
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Location Natchitoches, Louisiana
Coordinates 31°41′41″N93°01′53″W / 31.69473°N 93.03151°W / 31.69473; -93.03151
Area4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built1830 (1830)
Architectural styleFrench Colonial
NRHP reference No. 79001072 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 28, 1979

The Oaklawn Plantation is a historic cotton plantation house near Natchez, Louisiana. It is located on Louisiana Highway 494 southeast of Natchitoches in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. [2] [3] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 28, 1979. [4]

Contents

History

The mansion was built in 1830 for Narcisse Prudhomme, who held as many as 104 enslaved people on the property. [4] After his death in 1859, the plantation was inherited by his son, Achille Prudhomme. [4] Although the plantation survived the Civil War of 1861–1865 intact, [4] after Achille's death, the land was divided into parcels by his heirs and sold off. [4] In 1916, Charles Edgar Cloutier, the husband of Adeline Prudhomme, a great-grandniece of Narcisse Prudhomme, purchased the property. [4]

It is now owned by filmwriter Robert Harling, author of the play, later a film, Steel Magnolias (dir. Herbert Ross, 1989). [4] [5]

Architecture

The house has three stories, fourteen chimneys and a large gallery. [5] It is an example of French creole architecture. [4]

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Library of Congress
  3. National Register of Historic Places: LOUISIANA – Natchitoches County
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 National Park Service: Oaklawn Plantation
  5. 1 2 Natchitoches, Arcadia Publishing, 2003, p. 44