James H. Dillard House

James H. Dillard Home
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location	571 Audubon St., New Orleans, Louisiana
Coordinates	29°56′6.54″N 90°7′34.16″W / 29.9351500°N 90.1261556°WCoordinates: 29°56′6.54″N 90°7′34.16″W / 29.9351500°N 90.1261556°W
Built	1894
Architect	Unknown
Architectural style	No Style Listed
NRHP Reference #	74000929
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 2, 1974[1]
Designated NHL	December 2, 1974[2]

The James H. Dillard House is a historic house at 571 Audubon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Built in the 19th century, it was from 1894 to 1913 the residence of James H. Dillard (1856-1940), a leading white educator of African-Americans across the American South during a period of difficult race relations. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974.^[2][3]

Description and history

The Dillard House is located in the Black Pearl neighborhood of New Orleans, on the east side of Audubon Street between St. Charles Avenue and Dominican Street. It is a roughly cruciform single-story wood frame structure, with a main hip-roofed central section, from which other elements project to the front and rear. The front projection is gable-roofed, with a four-column neoclassical portico. The house's construction date is not known, but it has not had substantial alterations since the turn of the 20th century, the period of Dillard's ownership.^[3]

James H. Dillard was a Virginia native who was educated as a lawyer, but chose to work as a teacher and school administrator. In 1891 he was appointed professor of Latin at Tulane University, and moved to New Orleans. He quickly rose in prominence in both academic and civic circles, and was invited run for mayor. He forged relations with both white and African-American academic communities during this period, when race relations were particularly difficult. By 1905 he was serving as a trustee of a number of African-American colleges, and in 1908 took over leadership of the Negro Rural School Fund. Dillard University is named in his honor.^[3]

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana

References

1. National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "James H. Dillard Home". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
3. James Sheire (August 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: James H. Dillard House" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying 1 photo, exterior, from 1974. (369 KB)