Valverda Plantation House - Maringouin, LA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Privately owned home, located on State Hwy. 977. Care should be used, highway is quite busy at times. Home appeared to be in fine, restored condition. The grounds were also well kept.Could not find any historical information on internet, except the Register application I located here.

Among Louisiana’s chief architectural assets are its plantation houses, whether they be in the earlier French Creole style or the grand Greek Revival taste. At the apex of the Greek Revival are the monumental homes found along the Mississippi River and the bayous of South Louisiana. Generally built by sugar planters, they may be briefly characterized as pillared two story houses with broad galleries across the front and back and sometimes encircling the house. The Greek temple form was not much in evidence. The grandest houses had colossal columns rising to the roofline in one continuous shaft. It is these houses that have become an icon of the Deep South. No one will ever know the exact number (often grand enough to be mansions) that existed along the waterways of South Louisiana. Various sources, however, reveal that more have been lost than have survived. Today there are some 30-40 major Greek Revival plantation homes in the state. And while Valverda is admittedly not in the same category as mansions such as Houmas House and Madewood, it nonetheless is a major expression of the Greek Revival taste in a Louisiana plantation house. (Major is defined loosely as a convincingly styled large two story example, in contrast to the medium and small galleried cottages found in greater abundance.) Of the 30-40 major Greek Revival plantation homes in the state, it is among the minority in featuring colossal columns, with those on the façade having the additional refinement of paneling. Valverda is also distinguished by its abundance of boldly articulated Greek Revival woodwork reflecting the style as it was seen typically in the 1840s and ‘50s.
In 1855 Valverda Plantation was purchased by former Louisiana governor Henry Johnson, who retained ownership until his death in 1864. Johnson’s political career included the U. S. Senate, 1818-24; governor, 1824-28; U. S. Congress, 1834-39; U. S. Senate, 1844-49. Apparently Johnson moved to Pointe Coupee after his unsuccessful bid for re-election to the Senate in 1850. Significance on the basis of Johnson is not being claimed at the present time because sufficient research has not been done to determine if there are surviving buildings associated with his productive life, per National Register guidelines. A retirement home is generally not eligible unless one can demonstrate it is the sole surviving property associated with the significant individual. If such a case can be documented, the nomination can be amended. The origin of the Valverda name is unknown. Presumably it is a corruption of valle verde, “green valley” in Spanish, although there are no valleys in flat South Louisiana. There is a small community of the same name.

Street address: 2217 LA 977 Maringouin, LA USA 70757 County / Borough / Parish: Pointe Coupee Year listed: 2002 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1850-1874 Historic function: Domestic. Sub - Single Dwelling Current function: Vacant/Not In Use Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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