Last updated: June 5, 2022
Place
Oakland Main House
NPS Photo/Annabel Jones
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez, LA
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
As Europeans began settling along the Gulf Coast and Mississippi Valley, they incorporated old world architectural styles to suit their new climate. Built by enslaved workers, the Main House at Oakland retains the pitched or sloping roof that is characteristic in French structures from Normandy to Quebec, but it also shows characteristics brought to North America from the West Indian Creoles including the elevated first floor, spacious porch, and multiple double doors. All these innovations helped cool the house during the humid summer months. One regional component of the main house and other structures along Cane River is bousillage. Bousillage is mud from the river mixed with Spanish moss or straw creating a brick like substance which is prevalent in the interior walls of the house.
The 1821 house consisted of only four rooms on the main level and has seen several additions through the years. Below the house, the ground floor has a room for an enslaved nanny, who accessed the bedrooms on the upper floor through a staircase and trapdoor in floor. Also below the house are a wine cellar, several storage rooms, and "museum" that was used by the Prud'homme family in the mid-20th century to display various objects to visitors.
Oakland’s Main House stands as an excellent example of French Creole architecture that utilizes old world and new world concepts mixed with regional techniques. The Main House is open to the public on weekends from 10 AM to 2 PM.
The 1821 house consisted of only four rooms on the main level and has seen several additions through the years. Below the house, the ground floor has a room for an enslaved nanny, who accessed the bedrooms on the upper floor through a staircase and trapdoor in floor. Also below the house are a wine cellar, several storage rooms, and "museum" that was used by the Prud'homme family in the mid-20th century to display various objects to visitors.
Oakland’s Main House stands as an excellent example of French Creole architecture that utilizes old world and new world concepts mixed with regional techniques. The Main House is open to the public on weekends from 10 AM to 2 PM.