Documented as the first permanent settlement after the Louisiana Purchase, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, the parish is nationally known for its rich culture and history heritage, including Cane River Creole Heritage communities, antebellum cotton plantations, and Creoles of Color, and religious institutions founded by Free Persons of Color. The initial construction of the original plantation, known as the Yucca Plantation, was built by Louis Metoyer, a Free Man of Color, between 1810 and 1815 on the site of the 911 acres of land he was deeded in 1796. He also built the Africa House on the property during these years. The current Melrose plantation that resides on the same site was constructed around 1833. Metoyer was the son of Marie Therese dite Coincoin, a former slave, a trained nurse, and later slave owner, and one of her former owners, Thomas Pierre Metoyer, was also her partner. Louis Metoyer was deeded 911 acres of land in 1796, for which he used to build Melrose. Metoyer’s son Jean Baptiste Louis Metoyer completed the construction of the home in 1833 after his father abruptly passed away, leaving an estate of over $100,000.
The Yucca House is of early Louisiana French vernacular design with beamed walls atop brick footings. The walls are plaster made of Spanish moss, animal hair, and clay soil. The mixture of materials is called bousillage. According to the research claims of Elizabeth and Gary Mills by the 1830s, conveyance records, census, and inventories suggest that the children of Coincoin owned nearly 500 enslaved people. The entire plantation site was lost in 1847 by Jean Baptiste’s grandson Theophile Louis Metoyer and sold to the Hertzog family. it was later purchased by the husband of Cammie, Henry, who used it as an artists’ colony for artists and writers such as Lyle Saxon. Artist, Clementine Hunter who was born on Hidden Hill Plantation, would find her artistic genius after moving to Melrose Plantation in search of work.
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