Laura Plantation, 2247 Highway 18, Vacherie, St. James Parish, LA

The address was updated from "River Road" to "2247 Highway 18" to more accurately reflect its location.
1990 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry
Significance: Located on River Road 70 miles north of the city of New Orleans lies Laura Plantation. It lies on property originally owned by Andre Neau, obtained in the French royal land grant of November 26, 1755. The plantation switched owners in the late 1700's to Guillaume Benjamin Desmessier Dupare. The existing house was built around 1810 for G. Dupare. It was then remodeled in 1821 on the occasion of the marriage of Elizabeth Giles Dupare to George Raymond Locoul of Bordeau, France. After G. Dupare's death Mrs. Dupare turned the plantation over to her children (August 7, 1829). The plantation was then named "Dupare Freres and Locoul." Upon the death of her husband and brothers Elizabeth became the sole owner of the property (April 8, 1856). After running the plantation for 20 years, Elizabeth donated the plantation to her two children. The plantation was split, the half of the property fronting the Mississippi River went to daughter Marie Aimee Locoul, while the area fronting Luc de Alemagne went to son Louis R.E. Locoul. The grounds were further divided when Aimee sold a central portion of the property to the partnership of Steib-Webre. Aimee left the remaining land to her daughter, Laura Locoul. In 1891 Laura, the sole owner, sold the plantation to Mr. A. Florian Waguespack, on the condition that the plantation retain the name "Laura Plantation." The house was passed down through the succeeding generations until 1980 when the final Waguespack residents moved out. The house now stands in a state of continuing decay and runs the risk of being sold for its valuable river frontage to one of the many growing industries now inhabiting the region.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-58
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2022
Survey number: HABS LA-1213
Building/structure dates: ca. 1810 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1821 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 92001842