|
CLOUTIERVILLE -- Fire this morning destroyed the landmark south Natchitoches Parish home of the late author Kate Chopin.
Authorities early this afternoon said they believe the fire started around an electrical box on the back of the house. The fire destroyed the second floor and attic and gutted the ground floor.
Employees of the National Park Service, members of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches and graduate students from an historic preservation program at Northwestern State University will try to retrieve and catalogue some of the collection of Chopin's work and property.
One of the few things that was salvaged was the original book Bayou Folk, a collection of Chopin's short stories. Preservationists said they would also salvage the bricks, which were made by slaves at area plantations.
The Chopin house, which was designated a National Historic Landmark, was also home to the Bayou Folk Museum. It contained a collection of artifacts from Cloutierville, including wedding dresses, embroidery and glassware.
The fire was reported just after 4 a.m. It caused heat damage to a neighboring house but did not destroy a barn and old doctor's office behind the Chopin house.
Chopin, who wrote short stories and novels based in and around Cloutierville, died in 1904. She was best known for her novel, The Awakening, which was published in 1899. Scholars say the novel spurred the feminist movement in the United States.
|
;)
