KENT PLANTATION HOUSE
Executive Director Alice Scarborough and tour guide Patsy Brosett-Garcia, discuss Kent House Plantation in Alexandria, on Big Blend Radio.
Kent Plantation House in Alexandria, was built circa 1796 prior to the Louisiana Purchase, and is one of the oldest standing structures in the state of Louisiana. Depicting history from 1795 through 1855, this central Louisiana Creole cotton plantation is near Cane River Creole National Historic Park as well as the Cane River National Heritage Area.
This is the longest standing structure in central Louisiana, built by Pierre Baillio II, the son of a French, in 1794. The six room house was built by slaves and is an example of French Creole architecture. It is raised above the ground on brick piers to keep it above flood waters, to deter insects, and to help keep it cool in the warm, humid Louisiana summers. Later, the Hynson family purchased the plantation and added a pavilion to each end of the home. They also replaced some of the French Creole Posts at the front of the house, embracing the Greek Revival architecture popular at the time. They painted the house white and added green shutters and sculpted doors–so some of the home is still French Creole and some of it is Greek Revival.
Inside the home, as you explore each of the rooms, you can view artifacts up-close that let you get a glimpse of how self-sufficient the residents were, and what life on a plantation was like. Outside, you can view the gardens, milk house, slave cabins, plantation kitchen, the barn, blacksmith shop, and carriage house, as well as a sugar mill where sugar cane was turned into molasses.
Kent Plantation House is located at 3601 Bayou Rapides Road, Alexandria, Louisiana, 71303. For more information call (318) 487-5998 or visit www.KentHouse.org.
