| Franklin, Louisiana is rich in history and
unique Anglican antebellum houses that are all within easy
walking distance of each other. Founded
in 1808 as Carlin's Settlement, Franklin (named for
Benjamin Franklin) became the parish seat in 1811 and
the first incorporated town in 1820. Though early
settlers included French, Acadian, German, Danish and
Irish, the town's culture and architecture is heavily
influenced by the unusually large numbers of English
that chose to settle there after the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803. Numerous large sugar plantations arose in the
area, and with the development of steamboating, Franklin
became an interior sugar port. By the 1830s, Bayou Teche
was the main street of Acadiana, with one plantation
after another. >>> CLICK
HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF FRANKLIN
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Foster - O'Neill House
201 Main - Built prior to 1852, the house was
the residence of Thomas J. Foster, father of
Governor M.J. Foster. The sloping room has
two gable end dormers with two corbeled chimneys
at either end of the house. The front
gallery is faced with cypress flushboard of a
narrow width. |
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Trowbridge House
808 First Street - Built in 1827 by Issac
Trowbridge, a native of Connecticut, it is the
oldest two-story building in the area. The home
was made of cypress using wooden-peg
construction. The house remained in the
Trowbridge family for more than a century and a
half. It was restored in the 1990s
and donated to St. Mary's Episcopal Church. |
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Mentz-Fleming House
203 Main - Built circa 1890 by Phillip H. Mentz.
The house has gable end construction with a
hipped transverse section extending out to a bay
below it on one side. There is a Quatre-Foil
design in the center in the pediment just above
the second floor gallery. |
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Alfred Gates
205 Main - Built by Alfred Gates. The
house has a hipped roof with a widow's walk at
the top which shows an open balustrade of
lozenge design above a paneled section. A
wide stairway leads to the front gallery which
extends across the width and partial sides of
the house. |
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Schwartz House
813 First Street - Constructed between 1830 and
1832, this cottage was occupied by the school of
Miss Carolyn Burroughs for a period. It
was the home of the Joseph Schwartz family from
1909 to 1993. In 1994 it was restored as a
rental property. |
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Bittersweet
301 Main - Built in early to middle 1800's.
Bittersweet has window and door surrounds of
neo-classic design with a multi-paned lunette
over the original front door. Louvered
shutters remain on all windows and doors. |
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Allain House
909 Second St. – Built in 1832 as a
dwelling, it housed the first bank outside New
Orleans in South Louisiana. It was occupied by
Union forces during the Civil War and, according
to legend, Davy Crockett stayed there as he
traveled to Texas and the Battle of the Alamo. |
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Three Oaks
305 Main - Built on the site of the present post
office by the Hine family in the 1850's.
The house was moved to its present location in
1910 with the four beautiful free standing
Corinthian columns being moved intact. An
elegant recessed front door has a double
elliptical arch supported by pillasters which
match the main columns. |
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Frere-O'Neill House
307 Main - Late Victorian two-story residence,
owned at one time by the late Charles Austin
O'Neill, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The imbricated fish scale shingles, which are
prominent on the front of the upper story, are
an interesting detail. |
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Smardon-Hanson House
114 Main - Built around 1849 by Thomas Smardon,
an Englishman. Well framed formal doorways
open onto the portico at both levels having top
and side lunettes with leaded glass panels, and
leaded glass door at the center. The
upstairs balustrade has a fleur-de-lis motif. |
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Palfrey House
200 Main - Built circa 1851 by Governor Joshua
Baker for his daughter Frances Baker Palfrey.
On the site of a former grits mill and sugar
plantation, the house has a Neo-Classic doorway
framed with multi-paneled lunettes. The
four wooded Corinthian columns which are across
the front of the house are repeated on the rear
porch facing Bayou Teche. |
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Cypress House
300 Main - Built at the turn of the century by
Wilson McKerall, one time Mayor of Franklin.
Outstanding features are the pyramidial roof,
beveled and leaded door and side lunettes, and
Corinthian columns supporting a one-story
gallery with a parapet above. |
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Darby House
606 Main St., Baldwin – One of the few
French Colonial homes in the area, and probably
the oldest extant building in St. Mary Parish,
the home was built by Alfred Hennen near the end
of the 18th century. It is named for Francois
Darby, its 1856 purchaser. |
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Magnolia House
302 Main - Built in 1966 by Mr. and Mrs.
Clarnece W. Baughman. Patterned after
Landsdowne in Natchez, Mississippi, it is of
brick of the cottage type with wide steps curved
upward to a gallery bordered by fluted columns
and iron gridwork. |
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Oliver-Todd House
607 Second St. – Built for Jules Oliver in
1854, the home was later divided into
apartments. During the 1930s it fell into
disrepair, but it was saved in the 1980s by a
new owner who completely restored the home. |
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Sterling Gates House
304 Main - Built circa 1904 by Dr. Sterling
Gates. An interesting feature is the
Cross and Bible solid wooden paneled door.
Small cypress columnettes, brackets and
elliptical arches are accented by scalloped
design on the front gallery. |
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Saint House
303 Main - Built by Judge and Mrs. Percy Saint
in 1908. Judge Saint later became the
Attorney General for the State of Louisiana.
Styled in the manner of the Woodcraft movement,
the house has columns which are shingled with
overlapping weatherboard. The front
gable pediment has a wattle and daub treatment. |
