The African American Experience in Louisiana

3. Late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century urban residences
a) Houses (see also Educational and Political)
Several early twentieth-century urban residences have been recognized by the National Register
for their association with significant African-American individuals (see Educational,
Professional and Artistic, and Political categories for examples), but none for associations with
the broader patterns of events of the African American experience in Louisiana. African
American urban residences of late nineteenth-century Louisiana are not represented on the
National Register at all. The greater numbers of extant late-nineteenth and twentieth century
residences can make it more difficult to argue significance than for their rarer antebellum
counterparts, however arguments for significance within the context of the African American
Experience in Louisiana can and must be made. The dynamic history of Africans Americans in
Louisiana from Reconstruction, through the Jim Crow era, to the Civil Rights movement,
provides a framework to delineate many associations of significance.
Very modest urban houses built for freed people shortly after the Civil War may be significant
for their illustration of the transition to a free life. During Reconstruction, numerous leaders
emerged in the African American community and often
their houses may be the surviving resources with the
greatest connection to their lives. The home of C. C.
Antoine in Shreveport is listed on the National Register
for this association (see section J. Political). An
example of a potentially National Register eligible
house of a less renowned late nineteenth to early
twentieth century community leader is John Gideon
Lewis’ home in Natchitoches (Figure 13). Lewis was
Grand Master of the M. W. Eureka Grand Lodge and
an important community leader for whom a school was
later named. The quality of his house hints at his
position in the community.
Figure 13: John G. Lewis House, Natchitoches,
Natchitoches Parish.
As segregation permeated life in Louisiana and African Americans were more and more
restricted in the places they could go, houses served many functions. While churches often
provided the venue for many community activities, houses too might shelter meetings and
important social gatherings, and also acted as boarding houses and restaurants for travelers in the
Jim Crow era. The use of residential properties for commercial purposes in the context of Jim
Crow is deeply telling of the extent to which segregation affected everyday African American
life. When African Americans traveled away from home it could be very difficult to find a place
to stay or eat a meal among other things. Because of these circumstances, a national travel guide
called The Negro Motorist Green Book was developed in 1937 with the specific goal of keeping
the African-American traveler “from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his
trips more enjoyable.” “Tourist Homes” were one type of facility listed in this guide. These were
private homes offering rooms for travelers. Among those offering accommodations to travelers
in Louisiana were S. A. Wilson in Mansfield, Mrs. F. Livaudais in New Orleans, and B. Giron in
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