AN INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS
The French Legation Museum welcomes small school groups, up to 50 individuals, Tuesday-Friday mornings. Formal reservations must be made with the Museum, preferably 30 days or more in advance. Please
CLICK HERE for a reservation request form.
The French Legation stands on Robertson Hill, just east of downtown Austin. Perched high on a hill near the Colorado River, the site has served as home to many over the centuries. Archaeological excavations have uncovered Native American artifacts 9000 years old.
The story of the museum begins in 1839. France officially recognized the young Republic of Texas after Alphonse Dubois de Saligny came to Austin as chargé d’affaires, or diplomatic representative. Dubois purchased 22 acres of land in September 1840 to build a legation, or diplomatic outpost. Dubois may have lived in his new home but for only a short time. After several run-ins with locals (including a feud with a local innkeeper, known as the Pig War) Dubois left Austin in April 1841. The property changed hands several times. In 1848, Dr. Joseph Robertson, a former mayor of Austin, purchased the house. He planned to open it as a girls' school. When that venture failed, the Robertson family moved in the following year. They stayed for about ninety years. The last family member died at the Legation in 1940. The State of Texas purchased the property in 1949. The Daughters of The Republic of Texas became its custodian. They have operated the French Legation as a museum since 1956.
THE HOUSE
The main house, the oldest standing frame structure in Austin, is the original 1840 French Legation built by Dubois. It was the centerpiece of a domestic complex surrounded by multiple outbuildings - including the kitchen, carriage house, privy, and slave quarters. The house was built in the common Louisiana Bayou style popular in the southern states. The central hallway with rooms on either side and connected to each other as well as the hall, allowed for maximum air circulation. The unfinished second floor remained an attic, allowing hot air to be vented out of the home. Household furnishings come from the time of Dubois and the Robertson family.
Early Legation residents followed a lifestyle unfamiliar to us. Cooking and plumbing functions took place in outbuildings. Fireplaces provided heat. The walls were covered in cotton canvas, which was stretched and tacked to the framework, then painted in color combinations unusual in today’s homes.
Privacy was not a factor in daily life. Dubois shared the premises with three French servants and two slaves. The Robertsons raised eleven [six girls and five boys] children in the house, in two bedrooms - one for each gender. They used the hall as both a living and dining room, and the children received their early education there. Maria, a slave woman, cooked for the family and cared for the children. In total there were nine slaves (five adults and four children) in the Robertson household as of the 1850 census.
THE KITCHEN
The kitchen at the French Legation is an outbuilding separate from the main house. This arrangement was typical in Texas and the South until after the Civil War. Detached kitchens fulfilled the same functions as those in contemporary homes: food preparation, preservation, and storage. They also kept heat, cooking odors, and dangers presented by large fires out of the main house.
The present kitchen at the French Legation is a reconstruction, based on evidence unearthed during a 1960s archaeological excavation. The original kitchen had a dirt floor and windows without glass. One-piece rough wood shutters covered the windows during bad weather.
The kitchen building was not painted. It was the workplace of servants and slaves under both Dubois and the Robertsons. The kitchen furnishings reflect the early to mid-nineteenth century and many of the artifacts will not be familiar to your students. Look for them to add lavabo [a wash sink] and panetiere [bread safe] to their vocabularies.
THE OUT BUILDINGS
There are two other reconstructed buildings at the French Legation, the Carriage House, and a Privy. The Carriage House is a reproduction of one that possibly existed on the grounds. It houses an exhibit and reception area, the gift shop, staff offices, and a meeting room. The Privy served as a restroom and place to dispose of household trash. Many archaeological finds come from old privy sites.