 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Greensburg Land Office
The Greensburg Land Office is located adjacent to the St. Helena Parish Courthouse entrance on the courthouse square. The common bond brick structure has one room and a single end wall chimney. The building is entered through a small portico which has two massive brick Doric columns. There is no frieze. The gable roof was replaced in the late nineteenth century. The only major interior feature is a large paneled Adams mantel which dwarfs the room.
The Greensburg Land Office is significant in the area of architecture as a good example of a small rural office building in the Greek Revival style. It is of a type commonly found in the Eastern states as well as in nearby Lawyer's Row in Clinton, but which is seldom in other parts of Louisiana. Although some towns had them, all but a few were sacrificed to downtown redevelopment in the later nineteenth century.
The Greensburg Land Office is also significant because it housed the St. Helena District Land Office, which served the entire Florida Parishes. Although Congress had in 1812 organized a land district out of the Florida Parishes, no provision had been made for the surveying of the private claims and public lands in this area. On March 3, 1819, however, Congress officially named this region the St. Helena District and provided for its survey. It was here that Florida Parish residents applied for American patents to their lands. In fact, this can be seen as one of the many steps involved in the Americanization of Louisiana. In 1843 the land office was moved from Greensburg to Baton Rouge.
The structure is currently being used as St. Helena Parish Tourist Commission Office. It is one of the two or three oldest public buildings still in use in the Florida Parishes.
Old St. Helena Parish Jail Museum
The Old St. Helena Parish Jail is located adjacent to the courthouse square in the center of Greensburg. It is a simple two story brick structure whose main space cuts through a square plan at a 45 degree angle. This leaves two small triangular spaces on each story. One of these contains a relatively new triangular staircase. On the cement floor is evidence of the location of cells. The bars on the windows are extant.
The Old St. Helena Parish Jail is significant in the area of architecture as a good example of a mid-nineteenth century jail building. It is probably one of the less than five extant examples in Louisiana, as well as one of the oldest structures in St. Helena Parish.
Home | Contacts | Community | Parish History | Historic Places