Darby Plantation (New Iberia, Louisiana)

For the historic mansion in Baldwin, Louisiana, also known as Darby Plantation House, see Darby House (Baldwin, Louisiana).

The Darby Plantation was a Southern plantation located in what is now part of New Iberia, Louisiana 2.1 miles (3.4 km) northwest of downtown, but what was once a rural landscape. After the historic plantation housed burned down, a replica was built in its place.

Darby Plantation
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Darby Plantation in 1968
Show map of Louisiana Show map of the United States
Location	Along Darby Lane, about 2.1 miles (3.4 km) northwest of downtown New Iberia
Coordinates	30°01′51″N 91°50′05″W
Area	5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built	c.1815
Architectural style	French Colonial, Louisiana Colonial, Central hall plan
NRHP reference No.	73000868[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 26, 1973
Removed from NRHP	January 31, 2019

History

The Darby Plantation was founded by Jonathan Darby, an Englishman who immigrated from France in 1719. Francois inherited the Darby plantation from his father, Jean-Baptiste St. Marc Darby. It remained in family ownership for more than 150 years.^[2][3]

The house c. 1813 had two stories, with a central hall plan. The first story was solid brick; the second story was briquette-entre-poteaux, with full or broken brick filling spaces between heavy cypress posts.^[2][3] It was built between 1813 and 1820 for Francois St. Marc Darby and his wife, Felicite de St. Amant.

During mid 1970s, the already abandoned house, at that time it was property of Attakapas Historical Society, was completely destroyed by fire.^{[citation needed]}

Around 2002, architect Perry Segura started building a replica of the mansion at its original place, while modifying its original appearance. The water cistern near the house was replaced by a three-car garage, the exterior stairs were moved inside the house, the porch which wrapped the house on three sides is present only on the front and the back, and dormers were added to the roof in order to let light enter attic space. The inside is also quite differently organized as living quarters are now located downstair.^{[4][5][lower-alpha 1]}

The mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1973.^[1] The house was removed from the National Register of Historic Places list in January 2019.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of plantations in Louisiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Iberia Parish, Louisiana

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. "Darby Plantation" (PDF). State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation. 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017. with four photos and a map Archived July 30, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
3. Hazel S. Duchamp (March 1, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form: Darby Plantation". National Park Service. Retrieved May 25, 2018. With nine photos from 1968 and 1973.
4. Justin St. Clair (July 15, 2002). "Historic antebellum mansion gets new life". The Daily Iberian. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
5. Justin St. Clair (June 16, 2003). "Historian delves into Darby house lore". The Daily Iberian. Retrieved May 25, 2018.

Notes

1. A reference to the "recent loss" of the mansion is present also in registration form for Dulcito Plantation House