Lang House
Jean Baptiste Lang Creole House Museum
The Lang House is a Creole style home and museum and it's one of the most unique and interesting homes you’ll ever see in Mandeville, LA! It is located just off of Monroe Street a few blocks from Lake Pontchartrain at 605 Carroll St, Mandeville, LA 70448. The home features hand-crafted antique furniture, antiques, art, and architecture dating back to the early 1900s. If you’re interested in learning about local history, architecture, art, and culture then this place is a must-visit!
Built in 1852 by Belgian tobbaco merchant Jean Baptiste Lang, the Lang House is located a few blocks from the historic city center of Mandeville, LA known as "Old Mandeville" and can be easily reached on foot or by car. Lang’s passion for horses led him to choose Mandeville as the site for his home, which was built in the Creole style with cypress and shingles. Lang was a businessman who owned several thoroughbred racehorses in the early 1900’s. He was also an avid collector of fine art and antiques and the interior design of his home reflects this love of the finer things in life.
The city of Mandeville developed as a result of New Orleans residents crossing Lake Ponchartrain to escape and vacation in the piney woods, and the Lang House was built as a summer home. It is constructed of cypress and features a faux bois oak finish, mortise and tenon construction, tongue and groove floors, scarf joints, diagonal braces, and a Creole mantle with Creole Diamond. The home was additionally equipped with a bath house, wine cellar, slave quarters, stables, kitchen house, bead board, as well as a double chimney. It was also constructed with a unique “mooring system” that allowed the house to be moved should a flood threaten the area. These features and more make the Lang House a truly unique home to visit. The attraction is also a great place to experience the architecture of the early 1900s, which was a time when Louisiana was booming with growth. Another great read.
Originally built on Lake Street (now known as Lakeshore Drive), the Lang House survived 150 years in Old Mandeville including the Civil War, two World Wars and years of local development and progress. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina's storm surge devastated the landmark as well as many other historic homes in the neighborhood. As Old Mandeville is home to many historic homes and buildings, the community was concerned about possibly losing much of the town's history and worked together to save these homes. With the help of then mayor, Donald Villere, the community created the Old Mandeville Historic District which prevents the demolition of historic buildings. Also Worth Reading.
In 2011, the former owners of the Lang House, the Jourdan Family, donated the House to the City of Mandeville. With the generosity of another local family, the Kierr's, land was donated further inland and the house was carefully moved by the city at an estimated $150,000 cost to it's current address of 605 Carrol Street. The Old Mandeville Historic Association provided necessary funds to restore the home and currently manages the property. The Museum opened in 2014 to the general public.
To learn more about the Lang family and this highly visited historic museum in Mandeville, you can take a self-guided tour of the museum that focuses on local history, architecture, art, and culture, or you can also schedule a guided tour that takes you through the house and its many features. The guided tours are offered several times per day, so it’s worth checking the website for times and dates.