The "French Creole Houses of Saint Martin" Story

French Creole style house found in Marigot, St. Martin

It was an ordinary day.  Driving through the city of Marigot on the French side of St. Martin in the Caribbean.  The architecture is amazing with old mansions turned into shops and museums as well as a few typical colorful Creole Houses from the 17th century.  In many parts of the southern Caribbean, the term Creole people is used to refer to the mixed-race descendants of Europeans and African slaves born in the islands of St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Haiti, Guadeloupe, St. Barts, French Guiana, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago and St. Martin.  

Another Creole style house along one of the main streets.

A typical creole person from the Caribbean had French and/or Spanish ancestry, mixed with African and Native American.  Their homes were typical of the French colonial style known as poleax-sur-sol which were constructed by erecting a palisade of logs on top of a stone foundation.  There were no interior hallways and the living quarters were raised about ground level.  They were usually one story homes with a low slope to the roof.  Inside the home the living room was found first, then one or two bedrooms and finally the kitchen in the rear of the home.  The houses were usually built close to the street with a very small front yard.  The steps leading to the house were usually wood, but may have been replaced with concrete steps.  

French artist Pierre Straub has used the Creole style house
while creating his marquetry type artwork.

I have found they are similar to what is known as the Shotgun house or Railroad apartment.  Both these styles of houses declined and eventually began to disappear in the early 20th century.  In the past few years Carol and I have made visits to the gallery of Peirre Straub, a French island artist who specializes in marquetry and who has used the Creole homes as part of his work. The homes are fairly east to find when driving through the town and around the fringes of the town.  Some are in very poor condition while others have been cared for over their lifetime.  They are a vital and interesting part of the French architecture of the town and make it so interesting to view on our visits to Marigot.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.