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This mansion was built in 1920 by Fort Worth, Texas oil millionaire William Harding
McFadden on 4 acres of land.
The mansion contains 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a ballroom, trophy room, drawing
rooms and a large marble lined indoor swimming pool.
It was surrounded by beautiful gardens, a sunken garden on one side
of the house and an Oriental garden on the other. Then McFadden arranged for a lovers' lane to the garden, complete with an
iron arbor, bamboo canes, roses and wisteria vines.
McFadden, a self-made millionaire of humble beginnings, had estates in Ft.
Worth, Oklahoma, and Colorado as well, but he and his wife liked to come to New Orleans for the racing season, the Carnival
Season (Mardi Gras) and Sugar Bowl games.
After McFadden sold the house and land to City Park, proposed
uses included a mayoral residence, a hospital, a convalescent home and a chicken farm.
The building became a school for boys in grades one through six operated by Samuel Barthe in
1949 through 1959.
The Arts and Crafts style cabin was constructed by William McFadden for the Girl Scouts in the early 1920’s.
The cabin is simple, but has great artistic integrity, including scissors roof trusses, stone work,
window shutters, clay tile floors.
It is used to train girls in basic outdoor skills, as a base to visit the many nearby program
areas in the park or to explore special Girl Scout trails.
The McFadden Girl Scout Cabin is located in City Park behind the New Orleans Museum of Art.
(Courtesy Girl Scouts of Southeast Loisiana.)
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