[StBernard] St. Bernard's Meraux Foundation says it made its "best efforts" to protect LeBeau Plantation

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard's Meraux Foundation says it made its "best efforts" to protect
LeBeau Plantation

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By  Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune   
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on November 25, 2013 at 11:22 AM, updated November 25, 2013 at 12:31 PM 

 

Facing criticism about its stewardship of the LeBeau Plantation, property
owner Arlene and Joseph Meraux Foundation said Sunday that it made its "best
efforts" to protect the former plantation home. The assertion came just days
after a fire early Friday morning burned the building to the ground.

"In the wake of this disaster, many inaccurate speculations about the
foundation and the plantation have been made, and we feel it is important to
share the facts," the foundation said in a statement released Sunday on its
website. "We made our best efforts to secure the land from trespassers. We
installed an eight foot fence around the property and posted signs.

"But it is doubtful that anything short of 24 hour patrols would have kept
out these intruders intent on engaging in illegal activities."

The LeBeau Plantation ignited Friday about 2 a.m., according to Fire Chief
Thomas Stone. The landmark, at Bienvenue and Lebeau streets, was built in
the 1850s and was one of the largest plantations south of New Orleans.
Built in the 1850s, the LeBeau Plantation House in Old Arabi has been a
private residence, a hotel, a boarding house and an illegal casino. In its
heyday, the LeBeau house was one of the largest plantations south of New
Orleans. This is what the house looked like in March 2013.

Authorities arrested seven men in connection with the suspected arson in Old
Arabi. The men apparently were looking for ghosts, St. Bernard Parish
Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann said after their arrests. State District Judge Perry
Nicosia set the suspects' bonds on Monday, ranging from $75,000 to $450,000.

Joseph Meraux purchased the plantation in 1967, according to St. Bernard
Parish Historian Bill Hyland.

The last time anyone lived in the home was in the early 1950s, besides
perhaps an occasional caretaker that Meraux later hired to look after the
place, according to Michelle Mahl Buuck, who wrote "The Historic LeBeau
Mansion: A Forgotten Monument."

Pohlmann said on Friday that the men likely entered the property through a
gap in the fence cut out by other curious trespassers over the years.


Meraux Foundation website screenshot 11-25-13.jpg

The Meraux Foundation's statement said that, over the years, its members
"have wrestled with determining the best use for the plantation."

The statement also said: "We reviewed dozens of proposals, but none
presented a financially viable option that would serve the community." 

It stated that one of the foundation's duties "is to prioritize our actions
in response to community needs" and that "given the millions of dollars
required to restore the plantation, prudence dictated that we preserve the
plantation while we worked to identify the best path forward."

The foundation said that it had hired an architect, who specialized in
historic buildings, who spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars on
structural improvements and routine maintenance."