HABS - Henri Penne House

The Henri Penne House was documented for the the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 2017. The Henri Penne property contains multiple historically significant buildings. As a group, the structures represent early nineteenth century south Louisiana plantations.

The Henri Penne property contains the following structures which were documented: Henri Penne house (LA-188-A), Fontanette-David Maison Dimanche (LA-188-B), Olivier Pigeonniere (LA-188-C), Kitchen (LA-188-D), Outhouse (LA-188-E), and Tool Shed (LA-188-F). Each of the structures documented are historically significant but are not original to their current site. Each structure was in danger of demolition and/or deterioration at its original location. The buildings were each relocated from separate sites and placed to form a plantation arrangement like their original site positions. As a group, the structures represent early nineteenth century south Louisiana plantations.

The Henri Penne House was documented for the the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 2017. The HABS program itself began during the Great Depression in December 1933, when Charles E. Peterson of the National Park Service submitted a proposal for one thousand out-of-work architects to spend ten weeks documenting "America's antique buildings." Having operated under various administrative authorities for its first two years, HABS became a permanent program of the National Park Service in July 1934 and was formally authorized by Congress as part of the Historic Sites Act of 1935. Today's documentation is produced primarily by students pursuing degrees in architecture and in history, and the HABS, HAER and HALS programs have proven to be an important training ground for several generations of architects, engineers and historians. The collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.