SAN FRANCISCO PLANTATION

With its strange look and! colors, this house is surprising. A construction of neo-Gothic, Victorian and classical style, she demanded three years of work (completed in 1856). Edmond Bozonier Marmillion, passionate about boat at dawn, built her in Steamboat Gothic Style. His plan was very original at the time: The main lounge is on the floor, dining room and service room (cellar and wine cellar) on the ground floor. The slate roof, huge, is also unusual construction, holes of skylights that aerate the attic. As for the water supply system with piping piping, it was simply revolutionary. The name of this house has nothing to do with the city of San Francisco. All this modernism cost high and the son of the first owner, Valsin Marmillion, appointed his residence Saint-Frusquin in 1860 - French patois without fruscins, "without a penny in pocket", because this madness had engulfed family fortune! In 1879 the new owner, Achille D. Bougères, renamed San Francisco. Today, it belongs to an oil company, the Marathon Oil Company, which participated in its restoration in 1974-1976.

Most of the decorations you see are authentic, the others have been reconstituted as faithfully as possible according to original fragments. The furniture and objects are not of origin, but all typical of the time, made in Louisiana and chosen according to the inventory of the family Marmillion. Upon the death of his father in 1856, Valsin redécora the house with his wife Louise Von Seybold, met in Bavaria. Its taste has particularly influenced the choice of the original colours and ornaments of the house.

His wall paintings and the friezes of ceilings have lost their brightness and remain very colourful. They date back to the Victorian period, like the blue amounts of the chimney. Notice the size and orientation of the mirrors, the girls used them to control the length of their dresses, which the satin should not exceed! In the room, at the foot of the bed, you will see a convenient or very rare toilet for the time. In all the plantations, the kitchen was located outside the home due to the fire risks. The slaves were therefore preparing the dishes in an outside building, and then brought them into the office. A large land jar is buried there in the ground: it was used to keep food at the expense. Finally, in the garden, the small tower contains a water tank.