Album: Sorapuru House

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

The Sorapuru House is a French Creole cottage in St. John the Baptist Parish has unique, historical ties to Free Persons of Color in the River Parish community which is also a part of Louisiana’s German Coast. This cottage that was constructed circa-1825 was the home of Judge Joseph Terence LeBlanc Villeneuve, a Frenchman and Free Woman of Color, Josephine Fourcher. Their daughrer, married Frenchman Adolphe Sorapuru whose family has resided in Louisiana since the 1700s. Sorapuru served as the recorder of mortgages of the parish in the 1850s The French Creole architecture of the home is that of the common raised cottage, French doors, four wraparound mantels, exposed beams in the ceiling. Descendants of the Sorapuru family continue to own the cottage today and are working to restore and further preserve the home.