Page 24 - THE BOOK MCLHHC

MAISON CHENAL & LACOUR HOUSE PROPERTIES & COLLECTION A Louisiana French Creole Tout Ensemble
archetypes, though evidence of such subdivision is inconclusive. The enclosed portion of the house measures approximately 24’-9” x 61’-0” with a nominal 9’-5” wide gallery surrounding the structure on all four sides. The primary floor surface is raised 27” above grade with the gallery columns extending to the earth without a raised floor. Evidence of an original gallery at grade can be seen where the sill plates appear to have residual whitewash or plaster similar to the wall above the plate. The house is sheltered by a large broken pitch hipped roof common in 18th century Louisiana. The gallery rafters frame directly into the principal rafters without the use of a principal purlin. The structure does indeed have a purlin element, but it appears to act only as a method for transferring the mid-span load of the principal rafters to the truss system. The gallery rafters span from the principal rafter over a diminutive trussed knee wall to the gallery plate. Trussed knee walls are typically seen when gallery rafters span from the ridge beam down to the gallery plate forming a mid-span support; however, in the case of the LaCour house, the trussed knee wall configuration appears to be similar to the earliest buildings of New Orleans designed by military engineers.
The structure is much larger than any known extant Creole cottage with a salle at least a full 30 percent larger than any comparable structure.
Not only is the structure large, it could have been even larger at some point in its life based on gaps in the numerical sequence of French carpenter markings. The possibility of the structure being a “cut down” version of a larger building is fascinating in that the only buildings larger than the LaCour house present on the 18th century rural Louisiana landscape were buildings at military posts or forts. Coincidentally, two inactive forts were in the vicinity that could have been the provider of raw material for the structure-the first post at Pointe Coupee and Fort Rosilie in Natchez after the 1729 massacre. Obviously, this hypothesis is conjectural and needs further research.
The fact remains that this structure is important in the lineage of creole architecture and may be one of the oldest structures in the Mississippi Valley.
The author wishes to Thank the following individuals for sharing their insight, experiences and research materials on the Lacour House in the preparation of this statement of significance: Dr. Jack Holden, Marjorie Hollensowrth, David Beason, Robert E. Smith, Glenn C. Morgan, Mike Richard, Sid Gray, and Paul LaCour, with special thanks to Dr. Jay D. Edwards and Pat Holden.
Above doorway hangs an 18th century French Charleville musket. Large room furnished with Ursuline Convent tables.
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