Sorapuru House - Edgard, LA
N 30° 02.817 W 090° 29.850
15R E 741285 N 3326627
Privately owned vacant home. Appeared to be in good condition. Home faces south away from the levee/river. Other homes in area face east or towards the river/levee.
Waymark Code: WM5ZCA
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 03/06/2009
Views: 1
A fine home, located just south of the small town of Edgard. Actually is considered in the community of Lucy. Home appeared to be in good condition. Home is turned 90 degrees and faces south. Could not find any information on home except from the Register application located hereThe Sorapuru House is locally significant in the area of architecture as a rare surviving example
of St. John the Baptist Parish’s earliest and most important architectural heritage (i.e., the French Creole
style). The dwelling’s Federal style mantels are also rare and, thus, contribute to the home’s importance.
The area which became St. John the Baptist Parish was fairly well settled by the end of the
eighteenth century. Created in 1807, the parish grew to become a prosperous sugar planting area.
Although St. John was part of the so-called German Coast, its dominant cultural influence was French
Creole. Presumably there were once a few hundred Creole residences of various sizes in the parish.
Today, out of a total of over 1,100 buildings identified in the parish survey as being fifty years of age or
older, the Sorapuru House is one of only about ten which remain to portray the area’s Creole environment
and lifestyle. The home’s floorplan, ten light French doors, exposed beaded ceiling beams, and mantels
which wrap around the flue in the French manner all mark the building as an early and important example
of the Creole style.
Creole houses such as the Sorapuru Home represent St. John’s earliest architectural
development and are the primary representatives of its well known Creole cultural heritage. It should be
noted that in any given French parish in Louisiana, the Creole buildings are generally considered the
most important. This is because the French Creole heritage is the major element distinguishing Louisiana
from other southern states and in many ways forms its cultural identity.
The home is also important as a rare example of Federal styling. Within St. John the Baptist
Parish, only the Sorapuru House and the much larger Whitney (National Register) have mantels in this
style.
Historical Note
The Sorapurus, a family of Creoles of Color, have lived in St. John the Baptist Parish at least
since the late 1700s. At that time the farming family was also part owner of a sugar mill. Later, Louis
Sorapuru was an early postmaster of Lucy, while Adolphe Sorapuru served as the parish’s Recorder of
Mortgages in the 1850s. The family built the home c. 1825, and Sorapuru descendants lived there
continuously until 1996. Although the building is currently vacant, the Sorapurus are interested in
preserving the home.
NOTE: As an old and prosperous Creole of Color family, the Sorapurus may be important enough in St.
John the Baptist Parish’s history to justify nominating their home on historical grounds. However, there is
currently not enough information available to evaluate and document such a case to the standards the
Register requires. Hopefully, this can be accomplished at a future date.
Street address: 971 LA 18 Edgard, LA USA 70049
County / Borough / Parish: St. John The Baptist
Year listed: 1999
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1825-1849
Historic function: Domestic. Sub - Single Dwelling
Current function: Vacant/Not in Use
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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