Fairview-Riverside State Park

Fairview-Riverside State Park
Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks at Fairview-Riverside State Park
Map of Louisiana, United States of America
Location	St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States
Coordinates	30.408796°N 90.1404616°W / 30.408796; -90.1404616[1]
Area	98 acres (0.40 km^2; 0.153 sq mi)[2]
Visitors	51,929 (in 2022)[3]
Governing body	Louisiana Office of State Parks
Official website

Fairview-Riverside State Park is a tourist attraction 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Madisonville, Louisiana, United States. Its 99 acres (400,000 m²) is set along the banks of the Tchefuncte River. Within the park is the Otis House Museum, built in 1885, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Visitors go to Fairview-Riverside to camp, and for water sports and fishing. The park has 100 campsites, a short nature trail, and a boardwalk which reveals forested wetlands along the Tchefuncte River.^[1]

The park was featured in the 8th season of The Amazing Race.^[4]

Otis House

The Frank Otis House.

Situated on Fairview-Riverside state park, the house was built in 1885 by William Theodore Jay, who owned a sawmill near the property. In 1906, Jay sold the property and the sawmill to the Houlton brothers, Charles and William. The area became known as Houltonville and included the Johnson & Houlton Store, a U.S. post office, and about 250 sawmill workers.

Frank Otis, whose family owned Otis Manufacturing in New Orleans, purchased the property from the Houltons in 1936 and used the residence as a summer home until his death in 1962. He bequeathed the house and 99 acres to the state of Louisiana, requesting it be used for public recreation. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

The house closed for renovations in late 2010 and reopened in October 2011. The renovations included a lead abatement treatment, structural repairs of storm damage and painting the exterior in the original color, which was determined by a professional paint analysis.^[5] The house was used for the 1981 horror film The Beyond and the 1997 film Eve's Bayou.

See also

• Fontainebleau State Park
• List of Louisiana state parks

References

1. "Fairview-Riverside State Park - Louisiana Office of State Parks". Archived from the original on January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
2. DeHaan, Vici (April 1996). State Parks of the South: America's Historic Paradise : A Guide to Camping, Fishing, Hiking, & Sightseeing. Johnson Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-55566-167-0.
3. "Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget Review Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism" (PDF). Louisiana House of Representatives. March 29, 2023.
4. Sellers, Andrea (October 19, 2005). "The Schroeder family becomes the fourth team eliminated from 'The Amazing Race: Family Edition'". Reality TV World. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
5. Mathews, Kenneth. "Otis House Museum in Madisonville reopens after renovations". nola.com. NOLA Media Group. Retrieved September 1, 2014.

External links

• Fairview-Riverside State Park Archived April 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine