Overview

Destrehan Plantation home located near Destrehan, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. The house is a unique example of a plantation home outliving the oil refinery that had been built around it.

One of the oldest homes in the Louisiana Purchase, Destrehans's construction was begun in 1787 and completed in 1790. Garconnieres were added to both sides of the house n 1812. Fobin de Logny contracted with a free man of color, Charles Pacquet, for the house and outbuildings for the grand sum of "one brute negro", on cow and a calf, 100 bushels of both corn and rice, and $100 in cash upn completion.

Twelve years later, de Logny sold the house and land to his son-in-law, Jean Noel Destrehan de Beaupre, who expanded his holdings 1,050 acres and enlarged the house. Destrehan continued to hold the land until 1910, when it was sold to a syndicate.

In 1914 the Mexican Petroleum Company bought the property and built a refinery. Subsequent owners were Pan American Southern Company and American Oil Company, which closed the refinery in 1959.

The following twelve years brought rapid decay for Destrehan Manor. Vandals and treasure hunters stripped the house of its italian marble mantels, cypress paneling, and windows, and left gaping holes in the walls.

In 1972 American Oil donated the house and four acres of land to the River Road Historical Society, which through its all-volunteer efforts has raised sufficient funds to halt the process of decay and has begun to bring the house and grounds back to their former glory.

In 2005, the restored house was affected by hurricane Katrina, whose winds caused minor damage to some of the roof and flying debris broke a few window panes on the dormers.