Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana

Date added: February 12, 2024
Categories:
North (1987)

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Natchitoches Parish is well known as a center of Creole architecture in Louisiana. It was a very early area of French settlement in the state, and hence had time to develop a significant Creole building stock. In addition, it has retained a fair number of examples, partly because it was bypassed by development in the mid-nineteenth century. Creole architecture is noted as a very important historical context in the Louisiana Comprehensive Plan because it is the primary factor that makes Louisiana's patrimony fundamentally different from other southern states.

Cedar Bend is important because it helps establish the significance of Natchitoches Parish as a center of the Creole style. The main house is a typical example, being a large bousillage structure with wraparound mantels, French doors inside and out, a hall-less plan and fairly plain details. It is comparable with nine other surviving Creole plantation houses in the parish. Of course, at one time there were many more, although it is difficult to say how many with certainty. The 1860 census indicates that on the eve of the Civil War there were 42 major slave holdings (50 or more slaves) in the rich cotton-producing parish of Natchitoches. Given the agricultural history of the area, it is clear that there were once many more plantation houses in the parish than survive today, the vast majority of which would undoubtedly have been in the Creole style. Cedar Bend is a good example from what has to be a greatly dwindled complement of Creole plantation houses. In addition, Cedar Bend is one of only three plantations in the parish to retain a bousillage support structure (the garconnier).

Site Description

The Cedar Bend Plantation includes a c.1850 French Creole main house and two contemporaneous support structures. The buildings are located in a rural setting on the Cane River about two-and-a-half miles east of the village of Natchez.

The Main House c.1850

This is a large bousillage structure, three rooms wide and two rooms deep under a massive pitched roof. There is an extra long center room in the rear, with a mounted punkah, which serves as a dining room. The five-bay undercut gallery features a balustrade with a central gate and solid Greek Revival columns with molded capitals and necking. The front elevation features a somewhat irregular grouping of transomed French doors and a single sash window. Shutters have movable louvers and bolection molded panels. Shutters on the side windows do not have panels. All ceilings feature exposed beaded beams, including the gallery. There are six fireplaces, five of which feature French wraparound mantels. These have a rather unusual simple design with a molded shelf. The principal central rooms front and rear connect by means of a large pair of interior French doors under a wide transom. There is also a narrow corner staircase giving access to the unfinished attic.

In about 1900 the front elevation was resheathed in narrow gauge beaded board. More recently, the rear gallery has been enclosed. There is also a 1926 rear kitchen which has been connected to the house by means of an enclosed passageway. Because all major alterations are visible only from the rear, there is no doubt that the house still conveys its French Creole form and style.

The Garconnier (c.1850)

This residential dependency is constructed of bousillage with a single room and a single end wall chimney. The two entrance doors have board and batten shutters. Other features of the house include a Greek Revival mantel, wide clapboarding, and an undercut gallery.

The Kitchen and Wash House (c.1850)

This two room building features a large central chimney and a shed porch. It is constructed of heavy timbers and sheathed in flush boards. The two entrances feature board and batten doors. The large cooking fireplace is still extant, although some of the bricks are crumbling.

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana North (1987)
North (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Northeast (1987)
Northeast (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana South (1987)
South (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Kitchen and Wash house (1987)
Kitchen and Wash house (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Garconnier (1987)
Garconnier (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Kitchen (1987)
Kitchen (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Interior (1987)
Interior (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Interior (1987)
Interior (1987)

Cedar Bend Plantation, Natchez Louisiana Dining room (1987)
Dining room (1987)