North House

In early 1994, Dr. Briggs and Mr. Bourgeois went to visit a friend in Picayune, MS. As they drove up a small dirt driveway and rounded a clump of pine trees there sat a very charming country house on top of a little knoll.  Within a month they had met with the architect and he had drawn up the new house.

 

With a lot of tweaking and fluffing, the plans for Hilltop were soon completed.  Construction of the house began about 1 month later.  The contractor completed the shell of the house (framing and exterior work) within the first 60 days and turned it over to them.  At this point, the house was void of all plumbing, electrical, and interior finishes. 

 

Within the next 6 months, with the help of some subcontractors, friends, and mostly sweat equity, the house was wired, plumbed, sheetrock, and completed. The original Louisiana cottage style house was home to Dr. Briggs and Mr. Bourgeois until May of 2002 when they decided to build a larger home that would envelope the original cottage.