Edward Douglass White Historic Site

The national Historic Landmark, situated on the banks of scenic Bayou Lafourche near Thibodaux, Louisiana, was the residence of two of Louisiana' s foremost political figures, Edward Douglas White, who was governor from 1835 to 1839, and his son, Edward Douglass White, who was appointed to the United States Supreme Court in 1894 and served as chief justice from 1910 to 1921.  Historians date the construction of the plantation home anywhere from the late eighteenth century to the 1830's due to the evidence of contrasting architectural features found within the house. The house more prominently represents the Creole-style cottage design that was popular in south Louisiana prior to the Civil war, but was transformed into a Greek Revival house in the 1840's, reflecting the impact of Anglo-American culture on the Acadian Bayou landscape in the mid 1800s.  Put together with hand hewn cypress logs and fastened together by wooden pegs, the main floor features four rooms divided by a central hallway. The latter, provided ventilation for the house during the humid Louisiana summers. A gallery across the front of the home also provided relief from the Louisiana heat. An inverted stairwell at the end of the hallway provides access to the two bedrooms on the third floor.  An exhibit tells the story of the Bayou Lafourche area, with sections on the Chitimacha Indians, Acadian settlers, sugarcane plantations, slavery and the White family. The Department of the Interior has designated the house and grounds as a National Historic Landmark.