Steamboat Gothic
by Cheri Randolph
Title
Steamboat Gothic
Artist
Cheri Randolph
Medium
Photograph
Description
The plantation home known today as "San Francisco" was completed in 1855. The owner, Edmond Marmillion, hired the most expert craftsmen available in Europe and the States to ornament his home, with painted ceilings and faux grain marbling and wood graining throughout.
The house became so distinctive that it inspired novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes to write "Steamboat Gothic", a story about the family she imagined lived there. Viewed from some angles, the house closely resembles the ornate and yet graceful superstructure of a Mississippi riverboat.
The unusual name "San Francisco" is believed to be derived from a subsequent owner's comment about the extraordinary debt he was confronted with when taking over the estate. He declared he was sans fruscins or "without a penny in my pocket." The name evolved into St. Frusquin and, in 1879, was changed into "San Francisco" by the next owner.
The colors are based on historical research and closely resemble the original ones of the home.
In 1996, the ISPR team first discovered that San Francisco Plantation is also actively haunted. As they did at Oak Alley, they returned in 2003 with a larger team of investigators and used thermal imaging cameras at the property. They not only experienced the home’s primary entity, but managed to capture phenomena on their thermal cam. In doing so, they confirmed what has long been believed … that the ghost of Charles Marmillion – one of the sons of the home’s original owner – does in fact haunt San Francisco Plantation.
Uploaded
August 25th, 2012
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