A Visit to the E.D. White Historic Site

Just off Louisiana Highway 1 in Thibodaux, the E.D. White Historic Site is a National Historic Landmark property brimming with Louisiana history to discover. On a spring day I stepped out of the car to be greeted by the scent of blooming magnolias. A small group had stopped to admire the property’s graceful historic oak, but stayed to learn the history of the almost two-hundred-year-old house. Edward Douglass White, a Louisiana governor from 1835 to 1839, and his son Edward Douglass White Jr., who served as Chief Justice to the United States Supreme Court from 1910 to 1921, both occupied the Creole-style raised cottage, which was built using hand-hewn cypress timbers around 1825.

The home and its occupants’ histories are brought to life during guided tours led by a knowledgeable and thoughtful staff, who enrich visitors’ experiences with special touches. On the day I visited guides were preparing to greet visitors from Thibodaux’s sister city of Loudun, France, with homemade corn bread and chicory coffee. The free tours provide an introduction to the complex history of the Lafourche Parish region, which has been home to American Indians, Acadians, Isleños, French Creoles, and enslaved Africans; and witnessed the growth of a powerful sugar economy during the plantation era, then during the Reconstruction era, experienced significant turmoil as the agricultural economy transitioned to wage labor.

Exhibitions at the E.D. White Historic House tell these stories against a backdrop of meticulously preserved Creole architecture. Visitors can also visit the site’s open-hearth kitchen to learn about period cooking techniques, or wander through the lush grounds, where the site’s iconic live oak shades a picnic-perfect lawn. Across Highway 1, a soon-to-be completed boat launch will provide access from Bayou Lafourche, too. 

https://louisianastatemuseum.org/museum/ed-white-historic-site to learn more.