Oakland Main House Girls’ Room

Below the children's room was the room of the enslaved nanny.

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Natchez, Louisiana

Amenities

3 listed

Accessible Rooms, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

In 1821, the house had only two bedrooms, the children's room (later girls’ room) and the adjoining parents’ room. Smaller houses were typical in this area, as much of the day was spent on the galleries (porches) to catch cool breezes. It was common to have many children sleep in the same bed. As children got older, the boys would be moved into other rooms.

There is a “trundle” bed underneath that is pulled out at night and then is pushed out of the way during the day to give more floor space for the children to play. The large bed, typical of the 1830-1840 period, is a display of the Prud’homme family’s wealth.

Below the children's room was the room of the enslaved nanny. When she needed to care for the Prud’homme children, she came up a stairway through a trap door into this room. There is a photograph of a woman named Marie who was enslaved on the plantation– the caption says that she “grannied” seven of the family’s nine children. She may have been the widow of Solomon Wilson an enslaved carpenter.

By the 1950s this was the bedroom of Vivian Prud’homme, the last child born in the house, and her aunt Lucie Prud’homme.