National Register Listing

Mulberry Grove

LA 405, 7 mi. ENE of jct. with LA 1, White Castle, LA

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 Ascension Parish.

Architecturally, Louisiana is best known for its fine collections of French Creole houses and 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 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 of 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.

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.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1993.