Riverlake, Antebellum plantation mansion in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.
Riverlake is a raised plantation mansion built in Creole style on the west bank of False River in Pointe Coupee Parish. The estate was expanded over several decades and features two preserved pigeonniers from 1820 along with two original slave cabins.
The land was granted to Isaac Gaillard before 1793. Around 1823 Antoine DeCuir built the raised Creole-style house and established Riverlake Plantation; the house was modified c.1840-45 and again c.1890. DeCuir's daughter Antoinette inherited it around 1845, and in 1892 the plantation was sold to P. C. Major. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The property preserves two original slave cabins from a larger group of thirty, now separately registered as the Cherie Quarters Cabins. These structures tell the story of daily life for enslaved people who lived and worked on this land.
Riverlake stands on the west bank of the False River, about 8 miles (13 km) south of New Roads in Pointe Coupee Parish. The property is privately owned by the Calliet family, so the house and grounds are not open to the public; the two surviving Cherie Quarters Cabins and the main house can be viewed from the public road. The National Register listing file, prepared when the property was listed in 1983, is the main source of maps and photographs for research.
Ernest Gaines was born on the plantation, and as a child he played in its slave quarters area. Of the thirty or more cabins that once stood there, two survive and are listed separately on the National Register as the Cherie Quarters Cabins. The property is now owned by the Calliet family.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,475 contributors worldwide.