We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audience is coming from. To find out more or to opt-out, please read our Cookie Policy. In addition, please read our Privacy Policy, which has also been updated and became effective May 23rd, 2018.
By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.
(function() {
var cbAdded = 0;
var cbComplete = 0;
var appDomains = ["https://auth.voxmedia.com/services/privacy_consent"];
function hex(size) {
var crypto = window.crypto || window.msCrypto;
var str = "";
if (crypto) {
var arr = new Uint8Array(Math.ceil(size / 2));
crypto.getRandomValues(arr);
str = .map.call(arr, function(b) { return ('0'+b.toString(16)).slice(-2) }).join('');
} else {
for (var i=Math.ceil(size / 11); i > 0; i-=1) {
str += Math.random().toString(36).substr(2);
}
}
return str.substr(0, size);
}
function setCookie(name, value, days) {
var cookie = [name +'='+ (value || '')];
if (days) {
var date = new Date();
date.setTime(date.getTime() + (days*24*60*60*1000));
cookie.push('expires=' + date.toUTCString());
}
cookie.push('path=/');
document.cookie = cookie.join('; ');
}
function addCallback(fn) {
cbAdded += 1;
return fn;
}
function done() {
cbComplete += 1;
if (cbAdded === cbComplete) {
location.reload();
}
}
var continentCode = document.cookie.match(/_chorus_geoip_continent=([^;]+)/i) || ;
var existingConsent = /_chorus_privacy_consent=d{13}-w{32};/.test(document.cookie);
if (existingConsent) return done();
var token = Date.now() +'-'+ hex(32);
var pickup = document.querySelector('#phonograph-pickup');
setCookie('_chorus_privacy_consent', token, 365 * 20);
Share The Secret History of a Louisiana Plantation Home
tweet
share
Reddit
Pocket
Flipboard
Email
It was "the oldest building of African design, built by Blacks for the use of Blacks," in the country, according to a 1974 Landmark Designation for Yucca Plantation, now known as Melrose Plantation. Recently named a National Treasure by the National Historic Trust in March, the two-story, hut-like building on the property is called the African House. It's part of an estate on the Cane River in Northwest Louisiana, a place separated from the rest of the state by many miles and unique circumstances. Settled by the Cane River Creoles, free people of color who became wealthy slaveowners and plantation owners, it also stands as a bit of an architectural mystery. The then-owner of the plantation, Louis Metoyer, commissioned its construction in the early part of the 19th century, but it was only given its current name decades later by Francois Mignon, a writer who said it obviously resembled a "Congo-type building."
The question around the structure's origins points to the cultural melting pot it arose from, a region with a blend of African, French and Spanish influences. Louis's story is a perfect example. He's the son of Frenchman Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer, who initially came to settle in New Orleans but wound up living in Northwest Louisiana, and Marie Therese Coincoin, a slave and housemaid with whom he became romantically involved. Over the next few years, Claude Metoyer would purchase Coincoin's freedom, along with the freedom of the ten children they would have together. The couple split in 1786—some speculate Metoyer wanted to produce an heir legal in the eyes of the French crown. He gradually becoming a big shot and large slaveowner in Natchitoches, and she built up her own empire, eventually purchasing a plantation and buying the freedom of all her children. Descendants of Coincoin would eventually control more than 11,000 acres and hundreds of their own slaves.
"They were part of a whole Creole community, free people of color, who were slaveowners and ran plantations," says Carolyn Brackett, a Project Manager for the National Historic Trust. "It's one of the fascinating things about that place, there are so many layers of history at Melrose. It takes a long time to sort them out."
Styles of African Architecture cited in the Historic Structures Report. The top is a Yoruba structure, from Nigeria or Benin, and the bottom is an Akan structure from Ghana.
Louis's own stint as a plantation owner started when he was granted 911 acres from his mother in 1795, land that was initially acquired as part of a grant from the Spanish crown. After settling in and planting crops such as corn and cotton, Metoyer began designing and building out what would become Melrose Plantation, starting with the Yucca house, finished sometime in the first decade of the 19th century and built with traditional French techniques. The Africa House, which was likely built by a slave he purchased in 1809, came next, made of bricks hand-pressed on site. Boasting a long, sloping roof, the building has been compared to the vernacular architecture of subtropical Africa or the West Indies. Different theories have been advanced about its design and purpose (some suggested that it was a storehouse and at one point, a jail for rebellious slaves). A 2002 paper makes strong connections between the building's style that that of barns from Eastern France (it makes sense that slaves and craftsman would pick up those kind of techniques in a French-speaking territory). Others have suggested that the builder or builders incorporated building designs from their homeland. The thin record on Metoyer makes it more difficult to discover the designer's intent.
These structures, and the development of his property, served as a prelude to Metoyer's rise. By the 1830s, this free man of color, or "gens de coleur libre," had become a wealthy planter, enough so he could afford to own a dozen slaves and become a local philanthropist (he helped his brother build a Catholic church on nearby Isle Brevelle). He would design the Big House, a grand plantation home done in French Colonial Style, in 1830, seeing construction start before he died in 1832.
"We don't have a lot of information about Metoyer," says Molly Dickerson, the site director at Melrose Plantation. "He had some other landholdings here, but there isn't a lot of documentation about his life or who he was as a person."
∙ Meet the Black Architect Who Designed Duke University 37 Years Before He Could Have Attended It [Curbed] ∙ National Historic Trust's List of 11 Most Endangered Places Focuses on American Diversity [Curbed]
Next Up In
Historic Preservation
Iconic modernist guest house by Paul Rudolph will hit the market soon
8 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings nominated to be World Heritage Sites
Want a piece of the Eiffel Tower? That’ll cost you $45K
Landscape preservation’s urgent challenge: Civil rights historic sites
Rare Paul Revere Williams home in Iowa seeking historic protection
You can now tour Le Corbusier’s Paris apartment and studio
Curbed Daily Newsletter
A daily dose of design and real estate news, intel, and eye candy
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy.
This Article has a component height of 6. The sidebar size is short.
The Latest
New Japanese desk lamp doesn’t cast shadows
It incorporates the same lighting technology used in surgery operating rooms to create an even, diffused light.
By
Liz Stinson
Microsoft announces $475M investment in Seattle housing
The news comes days after two former Microsoft executives announced the launch of an Opportunity Zone Fund in Seattle.
By
Jeff Andrews
10 organization tips to keep your camper tidy
Maintaining an organized space is key to enjoying your camping experience to the fullest.
By
Megan Barber
Backdrop wants to shake up the paint game
Say hello to another direct to your door paint company.
By
Liz Stinson
1 comment
/ new
Airy midcentury modern in Palm Springs wants $1.2M
The home boasts terrazzo floors, post-and-beam construction, and plenty of floor-to-ceiling windows.
By
Megan Barber
2 comments
/ new
Swanky concrete house loves glass too
The 5,000-square-foot home has a striking reflective facade.
Florida Star v. B. J. F. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search United States Supreme Court case Florida Star v. B. J. F. Supreme Court of the United States Argued March 21, 1989 Decided June 21, 1989 Full case name The Florida Star v. B. J. F. Citations 491 U.S. 524 ( more ) 109 S. Ct. 2603; 105 L. Ed. 2d 443; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 3120; 57 U.S.L.W. 4816; 16 Media L. Rep. 1801 Prior history The Florida Star v. B.J.F., 530 So.2d 286 (1988) Supreme Court of Florida; Florida Star v. B.J.F., 499 So.2d 883 (1986) Fla. Dist. Court of Appeals Holding Florida Stat. § 794.03 is unconstitutional to the extent it makes the truthful reporting of information that was a matter of public record unlawful, as it violates the First Amendment. Court membership Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blac
0
My stringified object data doesn't include quotation marks around object values, which errors when attempting JSON.parse() : '{ "affiliation": CORPORATE, "userId": 75c35d1c-5d12-4485-8fa8-b2f1551a3e6e }' I need the string to be: '{ "affiliation": "CORPORATE", "userId": "75c35d1c-5d12-4485-8fa8-b2f1551a3e6e" }' I'm using this regex to add quotes to the object keys: var newStr = str.replace(/(['"])?([a-z0-9A-Z_]+)(['"])?:/g, '"$2": '); For instance: '{ affiliation: CORPORATE }' to '{ "affiliation": CORPORATE }' There are only string values in my data, so I don't need to check value types. How can I alter my regex expression to add quotations to
