COMMUNITY BUILDINGS ON THE PLANTATION
Fig. 36. Commissary store on Garrett Plantation (Bldg. 131).
Fig. 37. 1920’s church on the plantation (Bldg. 98).
A commercial establishment which was necessary in the delta was the commissary. It served the same function as the general store previously described for the hill lands west of the river. The commissary depicted in [figure 36] has double doors flanked by large display windows. High windows on the side walls provide light and cross ventilation. This, too, would be a place for exchange of conversation as well as purchase of goods.
The community church would serve the plantation workers and their families. The buildings were generally composed of one large assembly room and classrooms as appendages to the main building. A porch protected the double entry doors. A mark of individuality might have been created in the treatment of the belfry. The church illustrated in [figure 37] has a single small belfry, but often twin towers were constructed. In addition to this function as a summons to worship, the bell was often used as a community signal of momentous events such as a birth or death on the plantation.
MONROE AND WEST MONROE,
THE TWIN CITIES ON THE OUACHITA...
