[Illustration: _Fig. 36. Commissary store on Garrett Plantation
(Bldg. 131)._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 37. 1920’s church on the plantation (Bldg.
98)._]
A commercial establishment which was necessary in the delta was the
commissary. It served the same function as the general store previously
described for the hill lands west of the river. The commissary depicted
in figure 36 has double doors flanked by large display windows. High
windows on the side walls provide light and cross ventilation. This,
too, would be a place for exchange of conversation as well as purchase
of goods.
The community church would serve the plantation workers and their
families. The buildings were generally composed of one large assembly
room and classrooms as appendages to the main building. A porch
protected the double entry doors. A mark of individuality might have
been created in the treatment of the belfry. The church illustrated in
figure 37 has a single small belfry, but often twin towers were
constructed. In addition to this function as a summons to worship, the
bell was often used as a community signal of momentous events such as a
birth or death on the plantation.
MONROE AND WEST MONROE,
THE TWIN CITIES ON THE OUACHITA...
[Illustration: Map]