Housing Massieux

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house Massieux is a former colonial plantation built in 1838 by Marie Bodenan and Abraham Victorin Lesueur, couple owner of the land in Bouillante, Guadeloupe. At the time, this coffee farm was based on servile labour: in 1848, during the second abolition of slavery, Victorin Lesueur, then mayor of Bouillante, owned 68 slaves. The site became known as Massieux in 1857, marking its anchor in the island's agricultural and social history.

The master's house, built in wood on a single level with a high level, illustrates the modest architecture of the 19th century Antillean houses. It consists of two adjoining buildings, covered with sheet metal, and retains a stone terrace dating from 1840, used to dry the coffee. Among the outbuildings remain a kitchen, a cassava box and a canoe box, testimonies of the daily activities of the plantation. The interiors were restructured in 1972, partially adapting space to contemporary uses.

Classified as historical monuments in 2008 for its facades, roofs and courtyards, the Massieux house was converted into tourist accommodation (houses and guest rooms). The site, now privately owned, combines heritage preservation and economic value, providing visitors with access to this colonial heritage. Agricultural remains, such as the coffee terrace, recall its productive past, while wooden and concrete buildings reflect subsequent architectural developments.

The historical context of the dwelling is marked by its role in the Guadeloupe plantation economy, based on coffee culture and slavery until 1848. After the abolition, the property continued its agricultural activities in other forms, before becoming a place of memory and tourism. Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) point to its importance as an example of Caribbean agricultural housing, typical of the former French colonies in the Caribbean.

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