Monday, February 25, 2008
Natchitoches, La a bit of southern history
Natchitoches, LA – If you aren’t sure how to pronounce the name, don’t feel that you are alone. (Try Nack-i-tish). The name is Indian and several meanings have been suggested including its use as a girl’s name, Paw Paw or Indian for friendship and more. The town is about 60 miles south east of Shreveport, LA and a delightful find, thanks to an article is Country Discovery Magazine. French Traders who took advantage of the town’s access to the Cane River settled the town in 1714.
This photo of what was called Yucca House was the first residence of the Metoyer family, former slaves and then slave owners (yes, it seems redundant but it was common practice). The house is typical of the architecture of the mid to late 1700’s. Preceding the building of the house, Yucca plants covered the landscape and had to be pulled out of the soil using a great deal of sweat and toil to clear the way for building. It was said at the time, “they (Yucca’s) grow so thick, that the sun never reaches the ground underneath. In addition, the land is infested with insects, the air is hot and humid, and cypress grows all around.”
The houses as shown in the photograph were built with local materials, walls, floor and ceiling beams of ”hand-hewn” cypress beams, walls covered with Bousillage, river-mud mixed with deer hair and the plentiful Spanish moss. Windows were placed precisely across from each other to force good ventilation and cooling. The blue stain on the doors and shutters is Indigo dye grown on the plantations for the purpose of decoration for buildings and clothing.
Typical plantation crops included indigo, tobacco, corn and food crops and later, the cotton that is so indigenous to our image of the South. If you are in this area, a visit to Natchitoches is a must and should include a stop at Melrose and the other Plantations.
In addition, we learned about Clementine Hunter, a cook (of color) at Melrose in the 1940’s. She became a renowned, self-taught primitive artist, capturing life in this fascinating place. Her point of view is sassy, refreshing and playful. Her work is represented on the walls of this site and has received attention among art scholars in the last few decades. You can find out more about her work and her life on the Internet.
This photo of what was called Yucca House was the first residence of the Metoyer family, former slaves and then slave owners (yes, it seems redundant but it was common practice). The house is typical of the architecture of the mid to late 1700’s. Preceding the building of the house, Yucca plants covered the landscape and had to be pulled out of the soil using a great deal of sweat and toil to clear the way for building. It was said at the time, “they (Yucca’s) grow so thick, that the sun never reaches the ground underneath. In addition, the land is infested with insects, the air is hot and humid, and cypress grows all around.”
The houses as shown in the photograph were built with local materials, walls, floor and ceiling beams of ”hand-hewn” cypress beams, walls covered with Bousillage, river-mud mixed with deer hair and the plentiful Spanish moss. Windows were placed precisely across from each other to force good ventilation and cooling. The blue stain on the doors and shutters is Indigo dye grown on the plantations for the purpose of decoration for buildings and clothing.
Typical plantation crops included indigo, tobacco, corn and food crops and later, the cotton that is so indigenous to our image of the South. If you are in this area, a visit to Natchitoches is a must and should include a stop at Melrose and the other Plantations.
In addition, we learned about Clementine Hunter, a cook (of color) at Melrose in the 1940’s. She became a renowned, self-taught primitive artist, capturing life in this fascinating place. Her point of view is sassy, refreshing and playful. Her work is represented on the walls of this site and has received attention among art scholars in the last few decades. You can find out more about her work and her life on the Internet.
# posted by Ann Carol @ 6:02 PM 
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