The alluvial lands on the east side of the Ouachita fostered a
settlement pattern which contrasted greatly with that of the hilly
country west of the river. Large holdings had been claimed during the
latter part of the 18th century and early 19th century. The Ouachita
River then was the only source of regional transportation. Therefore, it
was necessary from a communication transportation aspect that the land
holdings possess headrights on the river.
The resulting land holdings tended to have narrow frontage but deep
extent. Annual spring overflows deposited silt near the river edge, and
this high bank was the obvious location for the main buildings of the
holding. Thus, the land also determined the hierarchy of architectural
development on the holding.
This hierarchy of spaces on the plantation followed a definite pattern.
First, the river landing provided an entry to the owner’s house. Behind
the house would be the workers’ quarters, and beyond these were the
buildings necessary for the operation of the plantation.
Pictured on this page are details of two plantation houses typical of
those which once lined the east bank of the Ouachita. The 1838 Filhoil
raised cottage of figure 19 has a Greek Revival portico with fan light
in the front gable, Doric columns and a balustrade. The house was
elevated for protection from the river overflow.
The Whitehall Plantation house, figure 20, was built in 1858. Greek
Revival style details include the squared transom and sidelights at the
front door, low roof pitch, and pedimented window trim detail on the
front gallery, figure 21. The gallery siding was flush but beaded. The
windows extended to the floor allowing easy passage from interior rooms
to the gallery. Operable, slatted shutters allowed sun control,
ventilation, privacy.
Whitehall is a 1½ story house with dormers, attic rooms, and an integral
gallery. These were typical features for the Greek Revival cottages of
both North and South Louisiana. The central hall plan is another
characteristic of this type, which is generally associated with American
settlement.
[Illustration: _Fig. 19. The 1830 Jean Baptiste Filhoil Greek
Revival plantation house (Bldg. 134)._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 20. Whitehall Greek Revival plantation house,
1858 (Bldg. 127)._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 21. Detail of Whitehall gallery window,
pilaster (Bldg. 127)._]
“TURN OF THE CENTURY” ONE ROOM, TWO ROOMS AND SHOTGUN HOUSES
[Illustration: _Fig. 22. Circa 1910 two room house with integral
gallery (Bldg. 120)._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 23. Front view of a circa 1920 one room house
(Bldg. 115)._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 24. Side view of 1920 one room house (Bldg.
115)._]
The alluvial lands east of the Ouachita contained two categories of
dwellings, those of the plantation owner as previously described and the
houses of the tenants and small land owners. The dwellings depicted on
these and subsequent pages are typical of the latter category. The basic
folk house plan types used were the one room, two room, shotgun and
later the bungalow. Houses were usually constructed of wood frame with
vertical board and batten siding or horizontal milled siding.
A feature which the basic one room and two room plan dwellings had in
common was the integral front gallery. The gallery roof framing was part
of the roof structure of the core of the dwelling. One might notice in
figure 22 that although two gallery columns are absent, the roof is
still standing.
The one room type is illustrated in figures 23 and 24. The front view of
the circa 1920 house shows a side addition to the original core room.
The side view, figure 24, shows that this was originally two rooms deep
since the space usually occupied by the rear gallery was enclosed. The
roof had wood shingles on wood lath. The shingles were later replaced
with sheets of tin.
The two room plan houses in figures 25 and 26 were expanded as the space
requirements of the occupants increased. The first example has a rear
appendage. Vertical board and batten siding was used on the addition,
but an inconsistency in window sash selection occurred. In figure 26 the
appendage was built as a shed addition on the side. This large two room
house is two rooms in depth. This additional depth allows the roof to be
higher, a definite advantage for the reduction of summer heat.
[Illustration: _Fig. 25. Two room house with board and batten siding
(Bldg. 118)._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 26. Circa 1910 two room house on the O.Z.O.
Plantation (Bldg. 129)._]
The shotgun type house plan, figure 27, was used abundantly on the river
plantations. The typical plan was one room wide and two or more rooms
deep. There were front and rear gables. Variety occurred at the front
gallery as evidenced in the pair of shotguns illustrated. The gallery
might be the full width of the core allowing space for chairs and thus
creating an extra “room” for relief from the summer heat of the interior
rooms. This gallery also provided a place for social interaction between
the occupants and passersby. In contrast with this situation, the porch
on the right was of the width necessary only to protect the door from
the elements and to provide shelter for those entering. As shown,
shotgun houses were often in close proximity to each other. This feature
may have had its background in the fact that the shotgun plan had been
used in urban situations in New Orleans where property was extremely
valuable. However, when the plan was transported to a rural situation,
the close proximity characteristic remained.
[Illustration: _Fig. 27. A pair of 1920’s shotgun houses (Bldg.
125)._]