Judge Felix Poché Plantation House, Convent Louisiana
The Judge Poché Plantation House is a fine example of a raised plantation house built under the influence of the Victorian Renaissance Revival. This can principally be seen in its large front dormer with its oeil-de-boeuf motifs and in its arcaded front gallery. This decorative treatment is unusual because most plantation houses were characterized by Greek Revival styling.
The Judge Poché Plantation House is associated with Felix Pierre Poché, Civil War diarist, Democratic party leader, and prominent jurist. Poché built the house and maintained it as his residence until 1880 when he moved to New Orleans. It served as his summer house from then until 1892, at which time he sold the property.
Poché's Civil War diary is regarded as an important source for scholars, especially those studying the war east of the Mississippi in the waning months of the conflict. Poché, who was bilingual, kept his journal in French. It has since been translated and published and is one of the few Confederate diaries describing the war in Louisiana that is in print.
After the war, Poché returned to St. James Parish, resumed his law practice, and assumed an active role in the Democratic party. In January 1866, he was elected to the Louisiana Senate to fill a vacancy occasioned by a resignation and served in this capacity until the adoption of the new state constitution in 1868. He attended the Democratic party conventions of 1868, 1870, 1872, 1874, and 1876, and was a member and president of the 1879 party convention which nominated Governor Wiltz. Poché was also a member of the 1879 constitutional convention. On the national level, he was an alternate delegate to the 1872 and 1876 Democratic conventions and was a Tilden elector in 1876.
In addition to these accomplishments, Poché was a well-known jurist. In 1880 he was appointed associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court and served in this position until 1890 when his term expired. Poché was also one of the founders and charter members of the American Bar Association. At a social reunion in 1876 at Saratoga, he originated the idea of a national association for his profession and proposed it to several others there. The idea was adopted and in 1877 the association met for the first time.
Building Description
The Judge Poché Plantation House was moved 300 feet to its present location in 1929 to provide for an enlarged levee for the Mississippi River at Convent. The story and a half, raised cypress house has 9-foot galleries on three sides and a rear kitchen wing which may be older than the house itself. The central hall has a rear stair set in a side alcove and flanking parlors, one of which has a semihexagonal bay. The upper half story is set under a broad gablet roof and has a central hall that extends into huge front and rear dormers. Gallery access is provided by numerous floor-length sliphead windows and French doors. The three main facades are treated with shiplap siding. The front gallery is handsomely treated with a system consisting of paired and single-chamfered posts and round and elliptical arches. The two front rooms have marble mantels with large round arches and scroll keystones. The two rear mantels are simpler. One has an aedicule motif, and the other is similar in style to the front mantels, but is made of cast iron. Floorboards, louvered shutters, and cast iron vents are original. The front central dormer is treated with double round arches and oeil-de-boeuf motifs. Its roof and the two flanking dormers date from the 1920s. These are the only replacements in the house.
Adjacent to the house is a small frame law office that was used by Judge Poché, and a cistern.
From Southwest (1980)
From Southeast (1980)
From Southeast (1980)
