San Francisco Plantation House is a historic
plantation house
A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...
in
Reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
,
St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
St. John the Baptist Parish (SJBP, french: Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 42,477. The parish seat is Edgard, an unincorporated area, and the largest c ...
. Built in 1853–1856, it is one of the most architecturally distinctive plantation houses in the American South. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1974.
[ and ] It is now a museum and event facility.
Description and history
The San Francisco Plantation House is located on the north bank of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, separated from the river by
Louisiana Highway 44
Louisiana Highway 44 (LA 44) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Ascension, St. James Parish, Louisiana, St. James, and St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, St. John the Baptist Parishes. It runs from west t ...
and a levee. The house stands on about of land, now surrounded by a farm of oil tanks. It is a -story structure, set on a full-height basement. The basement has a brick floor, reportedly deep, with brick piers rising to support the main structure. Side-facing divided staircases lead to the main floor, which is sheltered on three sides by an ornate porch, supported by fluted columns with iron Corinthian capitals. It has deeply overhanging decorative cornice, which in profile gives the house a styling called "Steamboat Gothic". The house is topped by a dormered hip roof. The interior is also richly decorated, with paintings attributed to
artist
Dominique Canova on ceiling and door panels.
The house is traditionally ascribed a construction date of 1853–1856, and may include elements of an older building. It was built for Edmond Marmillion.
The unusual name “San Francisco” is believed to be derived from Edmond's oldest surviving son, Valsin's comment about the extraordinary debt he was confronted with when taking over the estate. He declared he was sans fruscins or “without a penny in my pocket.” The name evolved into St. Frusquin and, in 1879, was changed into “San Francisco” by the next owner, Achille D. Bougère.
The house has been restored to an 1850s appearance and is open for tours. The on-grounds pavilion is also rented for special occasions.
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
This is a complete list of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana,.
The United States National Historic Landmark program is a program of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources according to ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
*
Frances Parkinson Keyes
Frances Parkinson Keyes (July 21, 1885 – July 3, 1970) was an American author who wrote about her life as the wife of a U.S. Senator and novels set in New England, Louisiana, and Europe. A convert to Roman Catholicism, her later works freq ...
(1885–1970), author of a novel called ''Steamboat Gothic''
References
External links
San Francisco Plantation– official site
{{Authority control
National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
Houses completed in 1849
Historic house museums in Louisiana
Plantation houses in Louisiana
Museums in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
Houses in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
1849 establishments in Louisiana
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana
National Register of Historic Places in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana