The word "Creole" describes the mixed heritage of people who settled in North America's Gulf coast, especially Louisiana. Although we use the term "French" Creole, the mix includes Spanish, African, Native American, and other heritages.
French Creole architecture is an American Colonial style that developed in the early 1700s in the Mississippi Valley, especially in Louisiana. French Creole buildings borrow traditions from France, the Caribbean, and many other parts of the world.
French Creole homes from the Colonial period were especially designed for the hot, wet climate of that region. Traditional French Creole homes had some or all of these features:
- timber frame with brick or "bousillage" (mud combined with moss and animal hair)
- wide hipped roof extends over porches
- thin wooden columns
- living quarters raised above ground level
- wide porches, called "galleries"
- no interior hallways
- porches used as passageway between rooms
- french doors (doors with many small panes of glass)
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