Logan Mansion: Steeped in History and Intrigue

I finally snagged my favorite writer, blogger, coworker, and friend to guest post today. She really needs no introduction on this blog because most of my activites shown here involve our little adventures! If you haven't seen this grammar queen's blog, please do so now. We recently went to Logan Mansion. I'm the photo snatcher - she's the story catcher!

hi, everyone! i'm lauren from siddathornton. today i am so excited to do a little guest post over here on focusedlinz!  thank you so much, lindsey, for giving me the opportunity to write a little something on your pretty blog. 

As Lindsey and I pulled up to the historic Logan Mansion, located at 725 Austen Place in Shreveport, we were not totally sure what to expect. The imminence of this 114-year-old Victorian home loomed in the distance, and we were equal parts excited and anxious.

Of course we had heard this sprawling mansion was haunted – most people in Shreveport have heard a passing story or two surrounding the estate.

We all but tip-toed up the front steps to the grandly gilded front door, noticing the name Logan etched into the mail slot flap. After we knocked, anticipation mounted, and the door was then thrown open by Billy LeBrun, closely followed by his wife, Vicki.

The LeBruns have owned, operated, and renovated Logan Mansion since 2005, a fact that Vicki herself says she would never have imagined before receiving the phone call that the previous owners were ready to sell.

“I have always wanted a Victorian Home,” she said. “It filled a void that I didn’t know was there – it was a God thing.”

After many trips visiting the Logan Mansion, sometimes simply to peer into the windows of the then-dilapidated house, Vicki can now claim the house as her own.

And as we listened to her speak of the house’s history, it is clear that her passion for the estate runs deep: no detail was left to the imagination as she described the history and past ownership of the house.

Logan Mansion was built in 1897, by Lafayette Robert Logan, a property owner, brewer, and ice manufacturer of great success. And his great success is not lost in the details of the home: different wood in each room, ranging from mahogany to cherry, speaks to his love of detail and extravagance, as does the tile imported from Holland, some of which surrounds the mantle of the sitting room fire place. Further detail can be found in the molding of the rooms, into which barley beer hops are incorporated, a nod toward the family’s involvement in brewing.

Amazingly enough, we learned that much of the original details of the house have been preserved. For example, none of the woodwork in the house has ever been painted – in 114 years. Furthermore, the footprint of the 17-room house, or original layout, has remained untouched.

As we learned of the house’s history and architecture, Lindsey and I couldn’t help but wonder about the root of the house’s infamous haunted status, but Vicki certainly didn’t disappoint.

“Six weeks after moving into the house, people were asking us if we had met the ghost yet,” Vicki relates.

And yes, they have met the ghost, whom they refer to as Theodora, the daughter of the Logans’ neighbor, who leapt from the third floor attic window of the house in May of 1904.

“I keep a journal about the happenings,” Vicki said.

Happenings they have encountered include items, such as an address book normally kept in one of the kitchen drawers, disappearing for weeks on end, only to return to its normal location. Cell phones have also gone missing, only to turn up in parts of the house the owners of said phones had not visited. It seems Theodora has a sense of humor, stealing lids of chafing dishes and placing them in windowsills to be found at the end of the day, as well as hiding a lone crutch of a visitor behind the couch.

Vicki says Theodora has even locked her out of the house a couple of times.

“I told Theodora to stop doing that,” Vicki said, “and it hasn’t happened since.”

In addition, folks have claimed to see people in the windows of the upstairs, even when no one was actually in the house. And paranormal-sensitive people have become overwhelmed with emotion in certain rooms of the house.

It was enough to have chill bumps rising on our arms, as we listened to the various tales.

Our visit was wrapped up by taking a tour of the grand home, and we were given tangible visions of the scenery to all of the history we had just learned.

If you are looking for a trip into the Victorian past, sprinkled in with a bit of haunted mystique, the Logan Mansion is just the ticket you’ve been searching for.

Vicki offers tours year-round, at any time, but requests that appointments be made. There will be a Halloween tour the Saturday before Halloween. The cost is $10 per person, and tours will be given between 6 and 9 p.m. They are child-appropriate.

Contact the Logan Mansion by calling 318-459-2285 or emailing lebrunbilly@att.net.

thanks again to lindsey for letting me post over here today.

hope everyone has a lovely thursday & enjoys the weekend to come.

{Article featured in ZeltaMae.}