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95 Welham Plantation was located in St. James Parish between the towns of Hester and Convent. It was built for William Peter Welham (1801–1860) and his wife, Reine Seraphine (née Terrio; b. 1805), between 1836 and 1839. Establishing the plantation complex, including the main house, was costly; Welham & Godberry Company borrowed $71,500 via several mortgages in 1839 to complete the project. The house was constructed of brick covered with white plaster on the first floor and plastered wood on the second. In addition to typical Greek Revival features, the main house had a substantial belvedere atop the roof. Members of the Welham family owned the plantation until the early 1900s. After that, members of the Keller and Poche families managed Welham until the early 1970s. Marathon Oil purchased the property in 1975. Amid protests from the community, the company demolished the main house and outbuildings in 1979. The commissary, overseer’s house, and several other buildings and artifacts from Welham were donated to the Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge in advance of the wrecking ball. Entergy Economic Development, the current owner, offered the property as a suitable location for a chemical or petrochemical plant in 2008 for $3.5 million. Tebbs’s photographs , showing the house within its environment, are more of a portrait treatment than architectural documentation. WELHAM PLANTATION ca. 1836–1839 Welham Plantation (front elevation), gelatin silver print, Louisiana State Museum, 1956.087.301 96 Seven Oaks Plantation (three-quarter view from a distance), gelatin silver print, Louisiana State Museum, 1956.087.327 ...

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