 Mulberry Grove - White Castle, LA
N 30° 11.517 W 091° 02.050
15R E 689252 N 3341688
Privately owned Greek Revival style Southern plantation home, located along a very rural portion of River Rd. (Hwy. 405).
Waymark Code: WM5CF4
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 12/17/2008
Views: 10
Nice large plantation home. Was on a VERY rural section of road easy to photograph and enjoy. Grounds and home were in fine well maintained condition. Very nice place, I have seen it before, but as is so often true, never stopped to really look at it to enjoy. I could not find any History on plantation so here is an excerpt from the National Register Application located here. Mulberry Grove is significant in the area of architecture at the state level because it is a
superb and rare surviving example of the grand Greek Revival plantation homes which once lined
Louisiana's Great River Road between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Its quarters houses are
significant at the local level in the area of architecture because they are exceedingly rare within grand Greek Revival plantation homes. The state's most famous and recognizable group of
monumental Greek Revival plantation houses is found on the historic River Road. These homes,
built by immensely wealthy sugar cane planters during the thirty years prior to the Civil War, were
the absolute apex of the Greek Revival style in Louisiana. They may be briefly characterized as
columned or pillared two story mansions with broad double galleries which sometimes encircle the
house. The columns may be monumental, in which case they rise to the roofline in one continuous
shaft, or a separate series of columns may be found on each level. No one will ever know the exact
number of these houses which once existed on the River Road. However, an 1858 map of
Mississippi River land holdings suggests that many more once existed than have survived. Today,
only eight River Road Greek Revival landmark plantation houses remain. Mulberry Grove is one of
these monumental structures, all of which are individually eligible for the National Register. Mulberry
Grove is especially distinguished by its superior Greek Revival woodwork, which features pediment
shaped lintels, shoulder molding, and tapered door surrounds.
The Mulberry Grove quarters cabins are locally significant in the area of architecture
because they are extremely rare survivors of a once common building type. Hundreds of these
cabins existed in rural Ascension Parish at one time. However, survey data collected by the Division
of Historic Preservation indicates that only 34 quarters houses survive. Of this number, most are
isolated cabins scattered throughout the parish. Only two clusters of cabins still stand in the row
configurations in which they were built. Mulberry Grove's cabins form one of these clusters.
Historical Note
Mulberry Grove was built for Dr. Edward Duffel, a native of Virginia, and his Acadian bride.
After the Civil War the property was acquired by John B. Reuss, who made it a part of his large
Germania Plantation holding. Upon his death, Reuss left the Mulberry Grove portion of Germania to
one of his daughters. In 1951 she sold it to Mrs. C. C. Clifton, who accomplished the home's
restoration. In the late 1980s Mrs. Clifton sold Mulberry Grove to the Noel family, who operate the
property as a working plantation.
Street address: LA 405, 7 mi. ENE of jct. with LA 1 White Castle, LA USA
 County / Borough / Parish: Ascension
 Year listed: 1993
 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
 Periods of significance: 1825-1849, 1850-1874, 1875-1899
 Historic function: Domestic. Sub - Secondary Structure, Single Dwelling
 Current function: Domestic. Sub - Single Dwelling
 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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