Louis Metoyer owned one of the largest plantations owned by free people of color in the United States. Born in 1770, to a formerly enslaved woman of color and a wealthy white businessman, Metoyer studied architecture in Paris and designed the Melrose House in Isle Breville, LA on his plantation.
Along with his brother, Augustine, Metoyer ran the plantation as a thriving enterprise that grew cotton, tobacco, and indigo and was attended to by enslaved people of color.
It was Louis Metoyer's son who oversaw the completion of Melrose House.
Metoyer died in 1832.
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Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by writer Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks involved in the Mixed experience. Please look for more profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May at Lightskinned-ed Girl, the blog! Thanks for reading. And check out some of the previous year's profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
