Field StudiesEvergreen Plantation and Whitney Plantation
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 – March 12, 2010
On March 5, Studio in Building Preservation made our third field trip of the
semester to Evergreen Plantation (Fig. 1) and Whitney Plantation (Fig. 2). Again, we
were able to compare and contrast two properties of similar age but in different stages
of preservation. The previous week we toured two Creole raised plantation houses,
Destrehan Plantation House and Homeplace Plantation House, that were built during
the same period (and likely by the same craftsmen) but differ in size and amount of
preservation work. During the first week, we were able to compare two masonry
fortifications, Fort Jefferson and Fort Pike, which differed in time period, size, and
amount of preservation work.
The first stop of the day in Wallace, Louisiana was the National Historic
Landmark, Evergreen Plantation. The extensive complex is the “most complete
plantation community along the River Road” (Sternberg 268). The property is
composed of 39 buildings (31 of which are antebellum). The complex includes the main
house (Fig. 3), pigeonniers, garçonnières (Fig. 8), a rare Greek Revival privy, kitchen,
office, overseer’s house, and an oak-lined alley of 22 slave quarters. The one building
that would complete Evergreen as a full plantation is the missing sugar mill. According
to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination form, all but two of the 39
buildings are considered contributing.
The story of Evergreen Plantation can be traced back to the early Eighteenth
Century when Ambroise Heidel emigrated from the lowlands of the German coast.
Heidel, who Francofied his name to Haydel, settled along the Mississippi River in 1760
with his family of five sons. One of the sons, Christophe, built a two story French Creole
farmhouse about 1790 on his portion of the family property. His daughter Magdelaine,
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
2 PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
who had married into the Becnel Family, exchanged her late husband’s estate with her
sister for the plantation (HABS). Her grandson Pierre Becnel eventually purchased the
estate after her death. In 1832 Pierre Becnel, who had been fascinated with Greek
Revival for several years, remodeled the house in this style. Historian and architect
Samuel Wilson, Jr. speculated that Francois Correjolles, architect of the Le Carpentier-
Beauregard house, and Joseph Pilie, builder of Oak Alley, may have had a hand in the
1830’s remodeling at Evergreen (Banks 215). According to the NRHP nomination form,
John Carver led the remodeling of the original residence, which included constructing a
new roof, removing a room at each end of the house, and adding a large gallery and
portico. Pierre Becnel went bankrupt turning the French Creole farmhouse into a Greek
Revival manor and only one winding staircase had been built. The property remained in
the Becnel Family until 1893 when the Songy Family purchased it. After disasters that
included the flood of 1927, sugar cane disease in 1928, and the depression in 1929, the
Songy Family had to release ownership in 1930. The house sat vacant until 1944 when
Matilda Gray purchased the property.
Matilda Gray was the daughter of John Geddings Gray who made a fortune with
cattle and oil in Lake Charles, Louisiana. “In the way some collectors accumulate
paintings, Miss Matilda collected houses, including a hunting lodge in Lake Charles, the
mid-nineteenth-century Gauche house in the French Quarter, a rambling Spanish
Colonial house in Guatemala and, of course, Evergreen” (Banks 217). Richard Koch
served as architect for the restoration to return the house to its 1832 grandeur until he
and the owner had a disagreement over rebuilding the staircase and closing in the rear
loggia. According the Professor Cizek, Ms. Gray wanted to be able to go from room to
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
3 PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
room without having to go outside and had the loggia enclosed (Fig. 5). According to
HABS photographs taken by Koch in 1936, the single front staircase had a square
landing platform; however, Ms. Gray wanted a pair of sweeping stairs without a landing.
While at Evergreen, we were shown some of the current work on the staircase by
Charles Lesher who works with Milton Freewater Construction. We saw several steps
taken to help preserve the staircase such as raising the base of the hand rails off of the
lower masonry steps to avoid moisture wicking up the wood from the brick (Fig. 4).
Today, Evergreen Plantation is owned by Matilda Gray Stream, the niece of
Matilda Gray. Mrs. Stream has been very involved with the restoration of Evergreen.
Due to the use of improper paint and mortar in the 1940s, many problems have arisen
over the years. According to the Preservation of Evergreen handout, major restoration
has been going on for thirteen years. Much work has addressed problems with the
failure of paint on the exterior and the interior of the main house. We saw that the use
of lime wash has been successful inside the house except and a couple of places where
exterior columns caused water to be pushed into the wall of the enclosed loggia on the
ground floor (Fig. 6). In addition to the staircase, Charles will be working on the
belvedere (or widow’s walk) which needs its railing restored. We were very fortunate to
be able to go up to the belvedere and look out over the property including the parterre
garden (Fig 7.).
Evergreen Plantation is unmatched with the number of original dependencies
that remain. The privy in the garden is uniquely Greek Revival. I found the most
extraordinary part of the site to be the row of slave quarters. The fact that these
quarters have been in the location for over 150 years is quite amazing. According to the
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
4 PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
NRHP nomination form, a Mississippi River Commission map from 1876 shows the 22
cabins in the same location and configuration. These slave quarters (Fig. 10) are
showing quite a bit of deterioration from the elements which has been increased by not
having been painted for many years. Applying lime wash in historical colors would help
maintain the cabins. Recently, one of the cabins has been rebuilt (Fig. 9) using sunken
cypress and original building methods at cost of a quarter of a million dollars, according
to Professor Cizek. Luckily, Evergreen Plantation is owned by a wealthy family that can
afford such projects, unlike Homeplace Plantation.
The story of Whitney Plantation can also be traced back to Ambroise Heidel.
According to the NRHP nomination form, archaeological evidence suggests that the
Heidel family may have a built a house as early as 1750. Current owner on the
property, John Cummings, said that a Louisiana State University dig located the
foundation of this early house. Around 1790, Jean Jacques Heidel, another son of
Ambroise, built a raised Creole house which was expanded in 1803. The Whitney
Plantation House (Fig. 11) and the Evergreen Plantation House had identical original
plans that were modified in different degrees over the years. Marcellin Heidel, one of
Jean Jacques’ children, owned the tract after consolidating adjacent land acquired from
cousins and commissioned remodeling of the house from 1836 to 1839 (NRHP form).
During this time, Renaissance Revival ornamental painting was added to the interior
living room upstairs. These paintings have been painstakingly conserved by removing
several layers of finish and dust according to Mr. Cummings (Fig. 12). The rear loggia
features large wall murals (Fig. 13). The painting work has been attributed to
Dominique Canova, the nephew of Napoleon’s artist. The loggia at Whitney appears
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
5 PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
today much like it would have in 1850 while the loggia at Evergreen was drastically
modified by Ms. Gray’s enclosure in the 1940s.
The plantation includes several other interesting original buildings. This includes
the lone French Creole barn (Fig. 17) in America and the oldest kitchen in Louisiana.
Adjacent to the main site is the Mialaret property (Fig. 18), former home of Yves-Louis
Hippolyte Mialaret, Napoleon’s tutor while on Elba.
Currently Whitney Plantation is owned by lawyer John Cummings, who has
amassed money as a trial lawyer. He acquired the property in 2003 from the Formosa
Chemical Corporation, whose planned rayon factory on part of the property met stiff
opposition in the 1990s. Cummings has a vision “to preserve the historic estate as a
memorial to southern slaves” (Matrana 257). When we arrived at Whitney Plantation,
Mr. Cummings took us to a church building that he had moved from Paulina, Louisiana.
Here he explained his various plans for the slave memorial which include inscribing into
granite slabs all of the names of the slaves from Louisiana, creating a Field of Angels
(Fig. 16) dedicated to the 2200 slave infants that died before reaching the age of two in
St. John the Baptist Parish, and making realistic statues of slave children (Fig. 15). I
can appreciate the fervor the Mr. Cummings has to memorialize those that were treated
so inhumanely as slaves; however, I believe that some of his ideas need to be more
polished and more focused. Also, I hope that his vision of a “living experience,” to live
like a slave in actual slave quarters (Fig. 14) and to work in the field, is presented in a
way that does not offend anyone.
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
6 PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
Mr. Cummings also would like to donate the property to the Smithsonian when
the projects are completed. However, the site is quite a mélange of buildings that he
has collected. The site would benefit from separating the buildings that were moved to
the property. This would help present a better picture of what the plantation looked like
in the Nineteenth Century.
These two plantations offer interesting contrasts. First, we see differing ideas of
remodeling of the once identical houses in the 1800s. The change at Evergreen was
mainly on the exterior by changing the style to Greek Revival while the change at
Whitney was mainly on the interior by adding the decorative painting. Second, we see
differing ideas of preservation in the present. At Evergreen, we see an organized
restoration effort focused on traditional craftsmanship to create a picture of the mid-
Nineteenth Century. At Whitney, we see a variety of projects including conservation of
the main house and the somewhat disjoint slave memorial. However, with both
plantations, we see that these efforts require a great deal of money.
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
i PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
Sources
Banks, William N. "Evergreen Plantation: Harold and Matilda Stream's Antebellum
Estate in Louisiana." Architectural Digest, v.43 no.5, May 1986, pp.212-218+.
Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana: A National Register of
Historic Places Travel Itinerary.
<http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/louisiana/index.htm>
Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.
<http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/>
Evergreen Plantation documentation, <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/la0338/>
Whitney Plantation documentation, <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/la0244/>
Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation's National Register Website.
<http://crt.louisiana.gov/hp/nationalregister/historicplacesdatabase.aspx>.
Evergreen Plantation National Register document.
<http://crt.louisiana.gov/hp/nationalregister/nhl/document2.asp?
name=48005001.pdf>
Whitney Plantation Historic District National Register document.
<http://crt.louisiana.gov/hp/nationalregister/nhl/document2.asp?
name=48011001.pdf>
Matrana, Marc R. Lost Plantations of the South. Jackson: University Press of
Mississippi, 2009.
Preservation of Evergreen: June 1997-Present. Handout provided by Evergreen
Plantation.
Sternberg, Mary Ann. Along the River Road: Past and Present on Louisiana's Historic
Byway. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996.
The History of Evergreen Plantation. Handout provided by Evergreen Plantation.
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
ii PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
Images
Figure 1: Evergreen Plantation House Figure 2: Whitney Plantation House
Figure 3: Evergreen Plantation House Figure 4: repair work on staircase at Evergreen
Figure 5: Evergreen enclosed rear loggia Figure 6: Investigating water damage at Evergreen
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
iii PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
Figure 7: Evergreen parterre garden and privy Figure 8: Evergreen pigeonnier and garçonnièr
Figure 9: Evergreen rebuilt slave quarters Figure 10: Evergreen slave quarters
Figure 11: Whitney Plantation House Figure 12: conservation and memory of interior ceiling painting at Whitney
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
iv PRST 6510 - Studio in Building Preservation – G. Cizek, M. Thomas, H. Knight – March 12, 2010
Figure 13: Whitney rear loggia Figure 14: Whitney slave quarters
Figure 15: Statues of slave children at Whitney Figure 16: Field of Angels at Whitney
Figure 17: Creole barn at Whitney Figure 18: Mialaret House at Whitney
All photographs were taken by the author.
Anthony DelRosario – Master in Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture