I received a disturbing e mail this morning that the Babin / African Museum was demolished using a chainsaw.

The house as it stood is near the very bottom of the page “link”:http://www.africanamericanmuseum.org/aboutmuseumfuture.html

The Africa Plantation House, located in Modeste, Louisiana is another building of African American significance in the Donaldsonville area. It was originally known as the Babin Place, then purchase by a benevolent organization called the Grand General Independent Order of Brothers and Sisters of Charity North American, South America, Liberia and Adjacent Islands in 1911. The organization renamed the farm the Africa Plantation. The organization raised crops to feed the poor and were advocates promoting good health, good hygiene, and self sufficiency in the black community. The organization advocated against alcoholism and indolence. Dr. John H. Lowery, one of the first African American doctors in Donaldsonville purchased the farm in 1933. Later, it became the home of Leonard Julien, who invented the sugar cane planting machine in 1964.

Here is a recent photo of what it looks like after it was demolished.

Babin Place/Africa Plantation

Karen Gadbois

Karen Gadbois co-founded The Lens. She now covers New Orleans government issues and writes about land use. With television reporter Lee Zurik she exposed widespread misuse of city recovery funds and led...