The Greenhouse
The Greenhouse, originally built
around 1836 by Alexander Hebert and Clarisse Broussard, was officially entered
into the National Registry of Historic Places on December 8, 1997.
For driving directions to the Greenhouse, please click
here.
From a report by Rebtime Restorations:
The house
can be described as an Acadian style cottage, Class 3b structure.
It was built with poteaux sur sole, or post on sill, and bousillage entre
poteaux, which is a combination of mud, Spanish moss, and lime.
This mixture was commonly used as a wall filler and placed between the
wall post in Louisiana French Creole and Acadian style houses. The bousillage
dried hard as concrete and acted as insulation.
The Greenhouse interior bousillage walls were finished with plaster and
then painted.
The
original floor plan of the Greenhouse is typically French Creole in its origin.
It has four asymmetrical rooms all opening out to the gallery or exterior
of the house. The doors and windows
are aligned so the cross ventilation of natural breezes could be taken advantage
of. The attic of the house contains
a garconniere or young man's bedroom.
This space has walls constructed of vertical planks which were originally
unpainted. Wallpaper was applied to
these walls probably during the 1880's and newspaper was added as a dust barrier
during the turn of the century.
The
lumber types used in the Greenhouse are a combination of cypress and yellow
poplar. Most of the lumber was
milled using a "sash saw". The
larger timbers were hewn with an axe and adze.
The
windows of the Greenhouse have sashes and there is evidence that sash windows
were used at an early period of the house's history if not originally placed.
The early sashes are 16 over 16 light, which is very uncommon.
The smaller 8 light windows were added to the house much later, probably
during the late 19th century.
The window shutters are board and batten with wrought iron hardware.
Tom Watson
Greenhouse Report (PDF)
The Greenhouse:
Morgan Thielen (PDF)
The Greenhouse has recently undergone extensive restoration.
A visit to this historic home on its
breathtaking grounds is definitely worth the drive.
