LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 21, 1999

CONVENT – Tales of courage, accomplishment and devotion link with River Parishes charm and hospitality at the newest bed-and-breakfast in the area, Poche Plantation.

General manager Bonnie Kellogg greets day visitors and overnight guests personally and conducts all the tours which illustrate the life and career of Judge Felix Pierre Poche, his family and later owners of the 1867 house. The house is filled with original antiques and family photos andmementos.

Opened July 1, Poche Plantation is located approximately two miles upriver from the St. James Parish Courthouse, on the site of a formersugar plantation. The restored cottage next door is a remnant of thatearlier plantation.

With six available rooms, reservations are encouraged months in advance.

Rooms have antique furnishings, along with modern amenities such as private telephones and cable television. Each room also has its ownfireplace, and adjoining suites are also available.

“If you want to enjoy the full plantation experience, here is where you want to be,” Kellogg said. The plantation may be contacted through itswebsite at www.plantation.poche.com. The telephone number is 1-225-562-7728.

Poche, born in St. James Parish in 1836 was a great-grandson of PierreChenet (originator of perique tobacco). He became a well-known attorneyand co-founder of the American Bar Association, yet it is his earlier Civil War history for which he may be better known.

He began his law career in 1860. During the Civil War, Capt. Poche wasactive in the Battle of Mansfield and provided the only Confederate eyewitness account of that battle in his journal. In that battle, he washonored for rescuing the 18th Louisiana Infantry through a little-known escape route.

His wife, Selima Deslatte Poche, is also honored at the plantation, with recognition of her singular courage. Once, after the birth of their secondchild, she and the infant stole past occupying Union forces to introduce the child to his father.

After the war, he built his home at 6554 River Road, Convent, and in 1877 was a founder and charter member of the American Bar Association. Hewas appointed to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1880 and served until his death in 1895. Newspapers at the time lauded his character andprofessionalism.

However, he might have remained a footnote in history until 1970, when his granddaughter found his detailed journals. She had them translatedfrom the original French, donated them to Northwestern Louisiana University in Natchitoches, who published them.

After Poche’s death, Henry and Marie “Adele” Himel bought the house and raised their family. Adele Himel retained possession until her 1960 death,rescuing it from destruction in 1926 when the levee was pushed back by the intruding river. Henry Himel died in 1958. Poche Plantation was listedin 1980 on the National Register of Historical Places.

The house is already popular (“We once has 17 for breakfast!”) and booked through the end of 1999, Kellogg said.

“We should start booking for Mardi Gras now,” she added.

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