During the early 1700s, French colonists settled in the Mississippi Valley, especially in Louisiana. An eclectic "Creole" architecture evolved, combining building traditions from France, the Caribbean, the West Indies, and other parts of the world.
Designed for hot, wet climates, French homes during the Colonial period had many of these features:
- Located in Louisiana or Mississippi
- Timber frame with brick or "bousillage" (mud combined with moss and animal hair)
- Thin wooden columns
- Wide porches, called "galleries"
- Living quarters raised above ground level
- Wide hipped roof that extends over the porches
- Porches used as passageway between rooms
- No interior hallways
- French doors (doors with many small panes of glass)