Francois Cousin House

The Francois Cousin House near Slidell is located on Bayou Liberty in eastern St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, west of the City of Slidell, Louisiana. The house is a French Creole Cottage, likely built between 1778 and 1790, by Francois Cousin. Cousin, born in 1745 in New Orleans, managed his father's lumber and brick making business interests on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. He built this home facing Bayou Liberty which has direct access to Lake Pontchartrain. Behind the home are the pits used to mine the clay. Cousin also owned property in Lacombe, Louisiana. The core of the home, built c. 1790, was constructed with briquette entre poteaux walls (bricks between posts). The front gallery, running the length of the home, has chamfered gallery columns. Behind the gallery are two rooms of equal size, with one large additional room behind, all served by a central chimney with wrap around mantels. There is a dormer located above this section of the home. In the late 19th century or early 20th century, an additional three rooms were added to the rear of the home, along with side galleries.