Balenbouche Estate
Between Choiseul and Laborie is a 75 acre estate featuring a 200-year-old wooden plantation house in its original state with verandah and wooden shutters. Created as a cotton plantation in the early 1700s, the Balenbouche Estate switched to sugar in 1780 when machinery was imported from England to create a water-powered sugar factory now in ruins.
Balenbouche is French for 'bullet in the mouth' and alludes to a legend of a duel fought here between two sailors over the hand of a woman.
Balenbouche is French for 'bullet in the mouth' and alludes to a legend of a duel fought here between two sailors over the hand of a woman.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Of course, the other story is that the name derives from 'whale' plus 'mouth' and may refer to the days when these mammals gathered at the mouth of a local river.
The estate now functions as a guest house.
The estate now functions as a guest house.