Edwin Epps House
Edwin Epps House is a
Solomon Northup
The house figures in the life of
Relocation
The house was relocated twice. In 1976, it was moved to nearby Bunkie.[1] It was on the National Register of Historic Places from April 12, 1984, because it was important to the "history in the areas of literature and social/humanitarian because of its close association with the famous slave narrative Twelve Years a Slave.[6]
In 1999, the house was dismantled, during which some original building materials were replaced, and reconstructed on the Louisiana State University of Alexandria.[6] It was purchased for their Center for Studies of Life on Plantations.[7]
The relocation, among modern buildings, "destroys the integrity of location and setting, and can create a false sense of historic development." It was delisted from the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.[1][6]
The house was moved to the university to be used as a museum to help tell the story of plantation life, including the inhumanity and lack of freedom of the enslaved people.[5] There is a room in the house that is dedicated to telling Northup's story. Other rooms tell of life on a plantation.[1]
A historical marker erected near the site reads:
Built in 1852 by Edwin Epps. Originally located near Holmesville on Bayou Boeuf about three miles away. From 1843 to 1853, Epps, a small planter, owned Solomon Northup, author of famous slave narrative Twelve Years A Slave.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Scott, Mike (September 10, 2013). "Following in the real footsteps of '12 Years a Slave' figure Solomon Northup: Mike's Movie Mailbag". The Times-Picayune, NOLA. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Edwin Epps House". Read the Plaque. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- S2CID 96500495.
- ^ "Northup Trail" (PDF). byways.louisianatravel.com.
- ^ a b McNamara, Dave (February 26, 2014). "Heart of Louisiana: Epps House". WVUE. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Louisiana National Register Review Committee Meeting" (PDF). Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. April 6, 2017. pp. 8–9. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ "Life in Avoyelles - LSU-A restoring Epps House". The Marksville Weekly News. September 2, 1999. p. 5. Retrieved June 25, 2021.