Although plantation quarters architecture and folk architecture exist as two distinctively different areas of study, basic similarities make them generally inseparable. Since the basic established terminology used in the description of folk architectural forms is generally applicable to plantation quarters architecture, no ad hoc terminology will be imposed.

The present architectural vocabulary provides general terms adequate to describe only the basic vernacular architectural forms of a region. Those terms, such as the "double pen" type; the "shotgun" type; the "I" type; and the "Creole" type, need and will be provided in this study with further predication and description as necessitated by the inventory of a defined collection of plantation quarters buildings. The terminology used in the following types at Laurel Valley, was suggested by the previous and definitive work of two cultural geographers.

Each sugar plantation complex has its own unique characteristics; each may indeed be said to be as individual as its owner yet despite basic personalizations and unique features that distinguish each plantation, a broad but definitive uniformity exists among the types of quarters in each complex.

The basic tenant house types found at Laurel Valley Plantation are: the double house with built-in porch, the shotgun type and the basic Creole house type. Other forms are more specialized like the "Big House", the school, a church, the plantation store and various forms of utility buildings.

A description of the basic types of quarters at Laurel Valley follows. All houses are of wood frame construction with brick piers and chimneys, and except where noted have galvanized tin roofs.

This popular "quarters type" is found on plantations throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley. It has some characteristics of several of the common folk types, namely: the double pen, the saddlebag, and the smaller Creole house.

All double houses at Laurel Valley have a built-in front roof overhang. Gables are sideward facing on these structures and double doors are located in front. A centered chimney bisects the roof line and has a double hearth which opens into two front rooms. A smaller square chimney punctures the back slope of the roof and also has provisions for double usage as is seen in a pair of stove pipe holes. Brick piers about two feet in height serve as foundations for the structure. Either centered steps or a pair of steps are noticed at the front porch. Steps at the rear of the house mark each of the double entrances. Board and batten exterior sheathing is found on each of these structures..

The double houses at Laurel Valley are of a consistently large size and were originally planned for double occupancy. The basic four room unit was divided into halves by a central partition which afforded only back to back room communication. In this form, the front room with its separate entrance was used mainly for sleeping while the rear room was used for living, cooking, eating, and washing. At a later date, many of these duplex dwellings at Laurel Valley were modified by the cutting of doors in the central partitions and thus by creating a four room house for a single family.

The double houses at Laurel Valley are among the oldest tenant buildings on the plantation. Originally, a total of twenty-six of these buildings formed two rows which faced the main plantation road. At the turn of this century, seven of these buildings in one row of thirteen, were demolished or moved to provide space for a battery of shotgun type tenant houses.

The linear architectural form known as the "shotgun" is one of the most popular dwelling forms along Bayou Lafourche. The use of this form as a plantation quarters type generally occurred after 1900.

The shotgun buildings at Laurel Valley are long narrow structures which are one room wide and two rooms long. Gables are located at the front and rear of the house, and always face a road or lane. Front porches occur in each instance, and exterior steps occur only at the rear.

A popular explanation for the term "shotgun house" deducts that if a shot were fired through the front door of the house, the charge would pass through the interior openings, and would exit through the rear door. This direct line of openings is not found in any of the shotgun houses at Laurel Valley. Invariably, the plans consist of two rooms with a centered front and rear door, and a staggered interior door at the central partition, which is found to the side of a single hearth fireplace.

Functionally, the front room of these houses was used principally for sleeping, while the rear room was used for living, cooking, dining, and washing. The sizes of the shotgun dwellings found at Laurel Valley are uniform and are relatively small. Each is of wood frame construction and is raised about two feet on brick piers. Brick fireplaces that open only to the front room with a backside provision for a stove pipe are centered in each plan and bisect the ridge of the roof. Board and batten construction always exists on the long exterior walls, and horizontal clapboarding is usually used on the ends of the houses. Also evident, in each of these buildings, is a small "wash window" locate on a side wall in the rear room.

Several other building forms exist at Laurel Valley. They are more adequately described according to their functions rather than their physical descriptions.

The remaining domociles are the main plantation house and the overseer's house. Both are linear in plan with long central halls. The overseer's house is essentially a miniature of the "Big House". Understandably, the "Big House" is larger, older, and more ornate than the overseer's house.

Another form that is linear only in exterior appearance is a "camphouse" found in the area of the unskilled laborers' quarters. This structure faces the main plantation road and has the basic form of two double houses, without their back rooms, that are placed side by side. A front built-in gallery provides the only means of communication between the two duplexes. Current workers on the plantation recall this structure as providing accommodation for migrant sugar workers..

Other forms existing on the plantation specially suit their functions. These include a school, a plantation store, a church, and a two story boarding house. All can be considered as plantation community buildings.

Another class of buildings are those that served Laurel Valley's sugar mill. The remains of the sugar house are located near geographical center of the main plantation complex. Structures that related to this large building include: a loading crane, a barrel storage shed, a railroad engine shed, a water tower, a blacksmith's shop, weighing station, and various equipment storage sheds.

Buildings less pertinent to the agricultural function of the plantation were structures including the pump house/grist mill, an agricultural storage barn, and a mule barn. Most of these structures are of wood frame construction on brick footings with vertical board siding and galvanized tin roofs. Some of the larger buildings have heavy timber framing.

The sugar mill was constructed around 1850. The plan of this two-story buttressed brick building was linear with a symmetrical pattern of arched windows and doors.

Around the year 1900 the sugar mill was renovated and considerably enlarged to include large spaces for additional mill equipment, a cane unloading area, and storage. Like several other structures at Laurel Valley, the sugar mill was destroyed by Hurricane Betsy on September 9, 1965.