San Francisco Plantation

The house earned a name for an architectural style—Steamboat Gothic—and another name from debt. Edmond Marmillion built it 1853–1856 on the Mississippi's north bank. When his son Valsin inherited the estate, he declared himself *sans fruscins*: without a penny in my pocket. The phrase became St. Frusquin, then San Francisco in 1879 when Achille D. Bougère bought it. The styling is the flamboyance: fluted columns with iron Corinthian capitals hold an ornate porch on three sides of the main floor. The cornice overhangs deep enough to give the profile that coined the term. Inside, ceiling and door panels carry paintings attributed to New Orleans artist Dominique Canova. The structure sits on a full-height basement with brick floor and brick piers supporting the main level. Side-facing divided staircases lead to the main floor. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Marathon Petroleum acquired it with the Garyville Refinery in the mid-1970s and opened it as a museum. The company's funding saved the house from demolition. It operated 47 years before Marathon closed public access in 2022. The house now stands on about 8 acres inside the refinery fence, surrounded by oil tanks. It is still maintained. You can see it from the road.