Tout Ensemble

In an interview writer Ruth Laney conducted in 2019, Pat Holden described her and her husband Jack’s work as antiquarians: “It’s not that we want to go back to the past, but that we need the physical things, the objects, to remind us that we’re part of a continuum. Everything [our predecessors] did affects us, just as what we do will affect the future.” 

The couple’s life’s work is concentrated in a remarkable seventy-five-acre estate in Jarreau, Louisiana called Maison Chenal—a carefully-curated world of colonial Creole Louisiana painstakingly preserved in gardens, historic buildings, and over 1,400 items of antique furniture and decorative arts. 

In 2019, after over thirty years of calling the remarkable property home, the Holdens, in their eighties, placed the entire estate on the market—hoping to usher their corner of the past into a new era, via the perfect buyer: someone who would keep the entire collection and properties together as one, “tout ensemble”. 

[Read our story about Maison Chenal going up for sale, here: Leaving Maison Chenal]

Almost three years later, they found Sam and Nori Lee.  

The Lees, who own an electrical contracting and agricultural business in San Francisco, came across the property in September 2021, as part of their search to expand their horizons eastward. In addition to their passion for American history, Nori said that they were particularly interested in Southern culture. When Sam came across the listing for Maison Chenal prepared by local historic properties agent Peter Patout, with its extensive booklets of information detailing the estate’s history and corresponding collections, the infatuation was immediate. 

“He wanted to buy this huge monitor to look through all of the booklets together,” laughed Nori. “Every day, I’d pass him and he’d be looking at it. That’s where it started, and things kind of snowballed from there.” 

On March 21, 2022, the $2.5 million sale was made official, and the future of Maison Chenal, tout ensemble, secured. “We really want to be stewards of this land, of this property,” said Nori. “And be purposeful in doing what the Holdens dream of doing, which is to keep everything together.”

She shared that plans are already underway to either form a new nonprofit or partner with an existing one, to preserve the property as it is and to create a research center of the space for students and preservationists interested in Louisiana colonial history and ways of life. For now, though, she and Sam are focusing on learning as much as they can from Jack and Pat Holden. “Just today,” she said, “we were walking around the beautiful gardens, and Jack was telling me about some of the plants and animals on the property. It’s wonderful to learn from him. They’re pretty much treasures. I mean, along with the purchase of this—this is a treasure—but to have a relationship with the Holdens and access to all that knowledge, I mean it is just wonderful.” 

Following the sale, Pat Holden shared that finally letting go of Maison Chenal has been bittersweet. “To have to part with it is painful, because it was the passion of our lives for the last fifty years,” she said. “But we’re absolutely delighted that it’s in the hands of the Lees now. They’re delightful people and have a great vision. It’s been a challenging and rewarding past, connected now to a promising and bright future. You can’t want any more than that.” 

Read more on the story of Maison Chenal at Realtor Peter Patout’s blog, where he has documented the property’s history and journey to its recent purchase, at peterpatout.com/maisonchenal.