INTRODUCED BY: CHRIS A. TREGRE
PARISH PRESIDENT
RESOLUTION NO. 4624
Title
A resolution to request the Office of State Parks to study the feasibility of including Homeplace Plantation House in the State Park System.
Body
WHEREAS, the office of state parks in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism is charges with the responsibility of preserving, protecting, and portraying historic sites of statewide importance, which responsibility includes the identification of sites worthy of preservation and the development of facilities and programs which interpret the site for visitors; and,
WHEREAS, the office of state parks holds and operates a collection of significant historic sites throughout the state, which when evaluated on a statewide basis possess historical, cultural, or memorial significance and serve to preserve and maintain a specific historical, cultural, or memorial theme; and,
WHEREAS, as a result of the efforts of the office of state parks, educational opportunities associated with state park historic sites have been expanded and such sites have become a popular destination for school groups around the state, thereby becoming a significant educational resource in the state particularly regarding Louisiana history and culture; and,
WHEREAS, Homeplace Plantation House, located in Hahnville, St. Charles Parish, along River Road (LA 18), is a French Colonial raised-cottage of West Indian type bousillage construction, constructed circa 1790; and,
WHEREAS, the original structure, described as "a true French Colonial house of the largest type," is one of the few left today, and owing to its age, size, and architectural quality is eminently worthy of preservation; and,
WHEREAS, the house and a carriage house constructed during the 1790's and used as part of a sugar can and rice plantation operation are still intact; and,
WHEREAS, Homeplace Plantation was owned by both Pierre Gaillard and Louis Edmond Fortier during its early years, and later by Pierre Anatole Keller and his heirs, is the only large plantation house still standing on the West Bank of the Mississippi river in St. Charles Parish; and,
WHEREAS, Homeplace Plantation House has been designated as a National Historical Landmark, being described as "one of the finest and least altered examples" of the French colonial raised-cottage by the Secretary of the U. S. Department of the Interior; and,
WHEREAS, the significance of the house makes it a potential candidate for inclusion in the state park system.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THAT WE, THE MEMBERS OF THE ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL AND THE PARISH PRESIDENT, do hereby urge and request the office of state parks to study the feasibility of including Homeplace Plantation House in St. Charles Parish in the state park system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution shall be transmitted to Lieutenant Governor Kathleen B. Blanco; to the secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Phillip J. Jones; and to the assistant secretary of the office of state parks, Dwight Landreneau.
Vote
The foregoing resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
YEAS: MINNICH, ALEXANDER, CHAMPAGNE, PHILLIPS, JOHNSON, SIRMON
NAYS: NONE
ABSENT: RAMCHANDRAN, AUTHEMENT, DUHE
And the resolution was declared adopted this 8th day of March , 1999, to become effective five (5) days after publication in the Official Journal.
CHAIRMAN :
SECRETARY:
DLVD/PARISH PRESIDENT:
APPROVED : DISAPPROVED :
PARISH PRESIDENT:
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