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History
of the House and "Faubourg"
Faubourg Marigny
(“faubourg” means “neighborhood”) is named for the plantation's
last owner, Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville
(1785-1868). The Marigny Plantation was owned by one of the
wealthiest families in the New World and its main house stood
near the Mississippi River at
the foot of the "Avenue Champs Elysee."
As a young man, Marigny
journeyed to London to study business. He returned to New
Orleans in 1803. However, he is less known for his business
skills than his reputation as a gambler, and is credited
with introducing a new “game of chance” to America known
as “craps.” In fact, the portion of Burgundy Street that
runs through the Faubourg Marigny originally was named “craps”
but was changed in the early 1900s because it was a source
of embarrassment to the churches located on the street.
Marigny lost "beaucoup
d'argent" through gambling; consequently, he began
to subdivide his plantation in 1805 to settle gambling debts.
As a result, the Faubourg Marigny became the first "suburb"
of the City of New Orleans. With the recently completed
Louisiana Purchase, the Americans passed up the opportunity
to live in the Quarter or the Marigny, opting to live upriver
in what became known as the Garden District. The Faubourg
Marigny, placed on the
Register
of Historic Places in
1974, was settled by immigrants, Creoles and free persons
of color.
Today the Faubourg Marigny
is a residential neighborhood that is dotted with guesthouses,
restaurants, jazz clubs and small businesses. The charm
of the Faubourg Marigny is that it has maintained the atmosphere
of a true neighborhood.
Le Papillon
Guesthouse
When
Bernard Marigny began to subdivide his plantation, he sold
the tract of land at 2011 N. Rampart to Felicite
Chailloux,
a free woman of color that some historians speculate was
the Baron’s mistress. She held the property for only two
years, selling it to Marie
Kitt
who owned the property for 12 years. The two suites in the
guesthouse are named in honor of these women.
In
1835, Marie Kitt sold the property to Adolphe Reggio, a
free man of color from Plaquemines Parish. A man known as
A. Gereke bought the property from Reggio in 1852, at which
time it is noted that a brick building existed on the lot.
Gereke was a barber and in 1858 was listed as living at
81 Love (Rampart). By 1860 the city directory gives his
address as 445 Rampart, dwelling 3. Apparently he rented
out rooms in this single-family dwelling.
The
two-story frame Classic style townhouse with second-level
cast-iron gallery that sits at street level was built for
Gereke. In 1869 John Newcomb paid $1,500 for the house,
selling it in 1872 to Pedro Pons, a mineral-water distributor,
who also owned 2005-2007 Rampart, the house next door.
 In
the years that followed, the main house at the front of
the property served as a boarding house and apartment building,
containing as many as five apartments. It is now a single-family
residence that serves as the home of your hosts: Kevin Cress;
Chris Smith, Rhubarb and Shasta, our rescued greyhounds;
and Elsie, our cat. Le
Papillon, the French word
for butterfly, has been in operation since the fall of 2000.
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