Whitney Plantation Museum offers tours Wednesday through Monday, from 10am-3pm. If you have to choose ONE plantation visit this is the one! The huge swath of territory purchased from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803 was sparsely populated. These ships, which originated in the West Coast of Africa, carried captive rice farmers who brought the agricultural expertise to grow Louisianas rice plantations into profitable businesses for their European owners. You want to eat any and all seafood dishes here! My name is Janiel, a leader in the travel industry with over 20+ years of experience with international travel. On the Mississippi River, most shipping was down river on log rafts or wooden boats that were dismantled and sold as lumber in the vicinity of New Orleans. The stark difference of the skilled slaves that built these homes were forced to live in shanty shacks that provided no protection from things like Malaria, Yellow Fever and many other diseases in this area. The Big House is one of the oldest plantation houses in the United States, dating back to the late nineteenth century. Just before the Civil War in 1860, there were 331,726 enslaved people and 18,647 free people of color in Louisiana. The house was completed in 1833 after Louis' death by his son Jean Baptiste Louis Metoyer. Some of Louisiana's most prosperous planters and farmers were free African Americans, the owners of more property than free blacks in any other state. Closed Tuesdays and the Following Holidays: We were short on time and could only visit one plantation, and Whitney seemed to provide the best experience. Levi Jordan (1793-1873), a Georgia-born planter, traveled in 1848 to Brazoria County, Texas, bringing with him twelve enslaved Black people. [citation needed]. Sugar production skyrocketed after the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and a large influx of enslaved people to the territory, including thousands brought from Saint Domingue (Haiti). U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Louisiana African American Heritage Trail, St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church, List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana, National Register of Historic Places listings in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, "Alexandria Realtor Robert Wolf dies at age of 85", History of the National Register of Historic Places, List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state, List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places, University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, National Register of Historic Places portal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melrose_Plantation&oldid=1138732672, Museums in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana, Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana, National Register of Historic Places in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Articles using NRISref without a reference number, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with dead external links from June 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 08:12. Make sure to bring bug spray in the summer, whatever you decide to use the Mosquitos are healthy and HUGE! The sugar districts of Louisiana stand out as the only area in the slaveholding south with a negative birth rate among the enslaved population. [12] The newly mechanized cotton industry in England during the Industrial Revolution absorbed the tremendous supply of cheap cotton that became a major crop in the Southern United States. It is managed by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches (APHN) as a tourist attraction. Whitney Plantation located at 5099 Highway 18 in Wallace, Louisiana on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Many of the state's amazing antebellum mansions remain intact, and are meticulously maintained and furnished with beautiful period pieces. Because of its strong association with the Metoyer family, Melrose Plantation is the major regional site for National Park Service interpretation of the history of Creoles of color in the region. Whitney Plantation is the only former plantation site in Louisiana that is entirely dedicated to the subject of slavery. Reservations are not required! He is a historian, local, and speaks fluent French so he knows the nuances of the history and significant interpretations not just to the house, but also to the area. They even have a German Coast Farmers Market, and Louisiana was owned by France for many many years (think way back to Junior High and High School about the purchase of Louisiana from France). Dianne it was an honor and a privilege to take your tour. The Nottoway Plantation is thought to be the largest antebellum plantation still standing in the United States. The largest family of free black planters and merchants outside of New Orleans was the Metoyer family of Natchitoches Parish, which intermarried with other black planters. The Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches owns the plantation and provides guided tours. Some early twentieth-century traditions associated with the plantation, such as its first owner and origins of architectural style, have been disproved by historic research since the 1970s. White inmates, seen as more intellectual, were given clerk and craftsmanship work . Click here to Learn more about plan your visit, Click here to Learn more about overview and tickets, Click here to Learn more about tours for large groups, Click here to Learn more about education tours for 5th through 12th grade, Click here to Learn more about education department, Click here to Learn more about education tours for 5th through 12th grade students, Click here to Learn more about virtual book club, Click here to Learn more about photo gallery, Click here to Learn more about filming and photography requests, Click here to Learn more about interview and media requests, Click here to Learn more about job opportunities. "Documenting a Slave's Birth, Parentage, and Origins (Marie Thrse Coincoin, 17421816): A Test of 'Oral History',", Mills, Elizabeth Shown. L'Union . Despite the fact that the grounds and mansion are not as grand as those of the other properties, guests continue to rave about them. One of these women, LauraLocoul Gore, is where much of the history of the plantation has come from. To begin, enslaved workers harvested the plants and packed the leaves into a large vat called a steeper, or trempoire. Fanny Bringier received a mansion from her father in 1801. The plantation is known for its numerous oak trees that line the alley leading up to the main house. Some individuals owned no land or slaves but worked as plantation overseers. Guided Tours are available on a first-come, first served-basis. They worked from sunup to sundown, to make life easy and enjoyable for their enslavers. There are seven different languages spoken in Louisiana including English, French, French Creole, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese, Hungarian and Croatian. The middle son had no children and therefore had no heirs or rights, so the plantation then went to Elisabeth, their youngest daughter, who had three children of her own. The Whitney Plantation educates the public about the history and legacies of slavery in the United States. In 1822, the larger plantation owners began converting their mills to steam power. A collection of work by world famous African American folk artist Clementine Hunter is available for viewing, including her popular African House Murals. However she was PASSIONATE and INFORMATIVE. The property is only five minutes away from Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site. It was Elisabeths only son who was thought to be gay that eventually married in his 40s to a woman who was Black, Native American, and white. Similar to the Metoyer siblings, many multiracial Creoles became educated property owners, particularly in New Orleans, Opelousas, and the Cane River and Campti areas of Natchitoches. If they didnt have some gross physical abnormality that the plantation owners remembered then they were turned away and became homeless. Enslaved workers dried this sediment and cut it into cubes or rolled it into balls to sell at market. Whitney Plantation is the only museum in the United States dedicated solely to the history of slavery. I disliked that my family, the other Black guests, and I were constantly met with uncomfortable stares by other guests or that the guide mispronounced a word. They also have graveyard tours in the fall where actors play out their lives near the graves of those they represent. Destrehan Plantation is one of our oldest major houses on the Plantation Alley tour. The best time to visit Louisiana River Parishes is from February to May. The languages you will encounter the most are French and English in the Louisiana River Parishes. St. Franois parish (Natchitoches), Book 11: entry 1821-#20; published in E. S. Mills. Dont try to drive through a flooded area unless you see locals with the same make/build of the car. By the time the story ends, we learned that these Creoles owned up to 400 slaves, even as the United States Census only counted 175 for taxpaying purposes, because Black people were considered 3/5 of a human being back in the 1800s. Monday - Wednesday is reserved for groups of 10 or more who have booked their group tour at least one week in advance. Given the history of New Orleans, it is possible that Maison Dupuy was at one time owned by a black family. The plantation was built in the early 18th century, but few people visit it nowadays. They lived in 17 cabins in "Lower Town" and worked in the tobacco and wheat fields and the numerous outbuildings of the 5000-acre plantation barn, granary, stable, laundry, loom house, carriage house, and more. Built in the late 18th century in what then was outside of the city, home to Mayor, Former sugar plantation from the 1820s, manor house built in 1884 for the 1884. I will go into more detail on each of the plantations in separate posts so be sure to subscribe to my email list so you dont miss those articles. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress. The German Coast, where Whitney Plantation is located, was home to 2,797 enslaved workers. There is a self-guided audio tour that is quite hard to listen to, but I believe is very important to experience. Thousands were smuggled from Africa and the Caribbean through the illegal slave trade. Reservations are not required! There is also a cemetery on the property. On 22 March 1847, the Louis Metoyer plantation was struck off at $8,340 to the highest bidder, the French Crole brothers Hypolite Hertzog and Henry Hertzogwith the latter acting as agent for his sister Jeanne Fanny (Widow Dassize) Bossier. The open kettle method of sugar production continued to be used throughout the 19th century. After the planting season, enslaved workers began work in other areas on the plantation, such as cultivating corn and other food crops, harvesting wood from the surrounding forests, and maintaining levees and canals. by Louisa | Nov 4, 2022 | Plantations In the aftermath of the Civil War, many African Americans in the South were left without land or homes of their own. Before boarding the ships the slaves were stripped of clothing, shaved their heads, and put into compartments 4.5 feet tall. As you move from room to room you follow how life changed for slaves in the area from being slaves to freed people of color. The site contains several buildings and structures that were originally constructed and restored to their original specifications. It was during the period of expanding steam transportation that plantation agriculture dominated the Southern economy, with two-thirds of the millionaires in the U.S. living in Louisiana, mostly between Natchez, Mississippi, and New Orleans. It really has changed my perspective on so many things. I am a huge supporter of long term travel, but if arent retired yet (like me) then I would say a week at minimum to truly explore, learn and connect to the incredible culture in the Parishes. Examples of slave housing can be found on many of the extant plantation complexes. Comparatively speaking though, the number of people of African descent in Louisiana at the end of the 18th century was ten times the total number of Acadians who arrived over a 21-year period. Upland or green seeded cotton was not a commercially important crop until the invention of an improved cotton gin in 1793. In order to create the dye, enslaved workers had to ferment and oxidize the indigo plants in a complicated multi-step process. It includes information about how the trade began, which European countries were involved, and where Africans were captured and forcibly migrated along routes of trade that extended both to the west and east of the African continent. German immigrants, white indentured servants and enslaved Africans produced the land that sustained the growing city. Nestled on River Road in Vacherie, Louisiana, the Laura Plantation is ranked by TripAdvisor as having the number one plantation tour on River Road and the best history tour in the United. His free, colored wife had wealth of her own and he had used it wisely, diversifying their investments. Exhibits in the visitor center are free to the public and are open from 9:30am to 4:15pm, every day except Tuesday. Until the development of the steamboat, transportation of goods on major rivers was generally accomplished either with barges or flatboats, floated downstream or pushed upstream with poles or by hand using overhanging tree limbs. Guided tours depart every 40 minutes from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and arrive every 70 and 90 minutes to complete the tour. There are two homes on the property, with the oldest house being in the back of the house where many of the Creole owners resided throughout its time as a sugar plantation. Laura was born to them, along with two boys. The Bankers Pavilion was erected at the Worlds Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884 as part of the Poplar Grove Plantation. Whitney Plantation Museum offers tours Wednesday through Monday, from 10am-3pm. Wonderful, deep, passionate and rigorous depiction of a plantation from a slaves perspective. Here, they introduced lime to hasten the process of sedimentation. [19] In 2008, the state included Melrose Plantation among the first twenty-six sites on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. There are also some guides who are direct descendents of the owners so please be sensitive and respectful in your questions. Those who were caught suffered severe punishment such as branding with a hot iron, mutilation, and eventually the death penalty. The land was granted to Louis Metoyer, who had the "Big House" built beginning about 1832. Pictures of the famous Oak Alley Plantation grace nearly every page when talking about Louisiana Plantations. However, what is known is that the company was founded in New Orleans in 1853, making it one of the oldest hotels in the city. Laura Plantation, one of the birthplaces of the Brer Rabbit stories, is said to have played an important role in the development of the story. This is one of the largest plantations in the United States built by and for free blacks. Whitney Plantation educates the public about the history and legacies of slavery in the United States. Enslaved people often escaped and became maroons in the swamps to avoid deadly work and whipping. It is a magnificent example of French Rococo architecture, with its exquisitely decorated mansion decorated with marble, crystal, and imported furniture. While Mint Juleps aren't really a Louisiana drink and were largely romanticized in movies and novels. The slaves were technically free, but because they chose to stay, instead of a paycheck they were given an invoice of their debts to the family that owned the plantation. Every bedroom in a home looks very similar to a movie set. Once inside the steeper, enslaved workers covered the plants with water. The de La Fayette family and the Talleyrand-Prigord family eventually purchased the plantation. They raised horses, oxen, mules, cows, sheep, swine, and poultry. During the tour, I learned that Lauras great grandparents, Guillaume Duparc and Nanette Prudhomme Duparc, ran for their lives, as they were Creole mixed with French and and settled in Louisiana. Many more details to come on this plantation in a future article. As such, Antoine came out of the war in good shape and soon entered the world of politics. During this tour, youll learn about the life and times of slaves in Mississippi in the nineteenth century. If You Have To Choose 1 Plantation Visit This Is It! Many slaves were skilled blacksmiths, masons, and carpenters who were often contracted out. He was a son of Marie Thrse Coincoin, a former slave who became a wealthy businesswoman in the area, and Claude Thomas Pierre Mtoyer. These two plantations, built in the early 1800s along the Louisiana River Road, are excellent examples of grand plantations. She spoke from a very informed place, and didn't gloss over the horrors of slavery and how it funded this country's start. Because the mansion is only a short walk from the main road, touring it in this manner is simple and quick. Hidden History Tours, New Orleans: "Do you know of any black owned plantations." | Check out answers, plus see 116 reviews, articles, and 45 photos of Hidden History Tours, ranked No.455 on Tripadvisor among 1,580 attractions in New Orleans. Generations of Africans and their descendants were enslaved here to establish and maintain indigo, rice, and sugar crops. This is one of the largest plantations in the United States built by and for free blacks. Despite the fact that it has been more than 150 years since the heyday of the southern plantations, visitors continue to flock to these sites below the Mason-Dixon line. Sugar plantations produced raw sugar as well as molasses, which were packed into wooden barrels on the plantation and shipped out to markets in New Orleans. The Nottoway plantation, located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, is Louisianas largest. Italianate and Greek Revival home, built about 1846. [2], Since the 1970s, additional documentary evidence has been found that disproves the asserted identity of the founder. Louisiana's plantations offer a fascinating look at lifestyles of the past and a crucial period in the history of the United States. They are architectural and landscape examples of the period, and are an inspiration for todays plantation restoration efforts. Our guide had just completed her master's thesis on the Haitian slave revolt. [citation needed]. Leah Fletcher, Account Executive, Smooth Traveler: Louisianas River Road (Part Two), Smooth Traveler: Louisianas River Road (Part One), Biden declares Kyiv stands in surprise visit to Ukraine, Supreme Court seems ready to reject student loan forgiveness, Former Philadelphia Eagle, CBS anchor Irv Cross had brain disease CTE, Queen Latifah will host the 2023 NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 25 in Pasadena CA. [11] His son Jean Baptiste Louis Metoyer completed the construction in 1833. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing that was built in 1787 by the Destrehan family. Indigo is a brilliant blue dye produced from a plant of the same name. Discover what it was like to be a house slave, a field slave, the 1811 Slave Revolt at Destrehan Plantation. You will see pictures from that tour, and it is one I will not soon forget, because never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that people of color would purchase and own other people of color. Agricultural commodity prices remained depressed for many years, but their eventual recovery resulted in a new wave of land clearing, which in turn triggered another depression in the late 1830s. In addition to enslaved Africans and European indentured servants, early Louisiana's plantation owners used the labor of Native Americans. 91001046. This was an amazing experience for my son and me. Generations of Africans and their descendants were enslaved here to establish and maintain indigo, rice, and sugar crops. [citation needed], Transportation at the time was extremely limited. It also gives us greater empathy to those descendents have been directly affected by the human trafficking and slavery that occured in our country. If you are looking for a unique swamp tour in Louisiana then the Cajun Pride Swamp tour is the one for you! Learn about its significance and unravel its complex history. There are numerous slave quarters, smokehouses, and outbuildings that are still standing on the Nottoway Plantation, which is extremely large and historically significant. While I typically try to use something likeCharistayorKind Travelerto book a more sustainably minded hotel. Its a lot of fun to tour the estate because the guides are dressed appropriately for their era. [15] The plantations in the vicinity of St. Francisville, Louisiana, are on a high bluff on the east side of the Mississippi River with loess soil, which was not as fertile as the river alluvium, but was relatively well-suited to plantation agriculture. A guest at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) "Black History Month Fireside Chat" joined the Monday call with a land acknowledgement for a Native American tribe that allied itself with the Confederacy and owned black slaves, according to a DOE recording of the call. Whitney Plantation is the only former plantation site in Louisiana with an exclusive focus on slavery. Mills as a starting point for their historic site documentation of the property, commissioned by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches; copy held today by E. S. Mills. However, Antoine had married well back in the 1830s. Today, there are no known black-owned plantations in Louisiana. If you dont like the crowds, then try for October to January. . [15] The Hertzogs and Bossier then operated a cotton plantation, in partnership, until 1880. See soil surveys of the various parishes. There are original records and replicas of musical instruments used during the time that slaves in the area used the music of the fields combined with Cigar box banjos, to make what little money they could provide for themselves and/or family. The Metoyers were free people of color for four generations before the American Civil War. Some of the most popular plantations include Oak Alley, Houmas House, and Laura Plantation. The Whitney Plantation, a notable example of the slave trade, is an excellent example. He was very involved and well known in both the slave trade and sugar production. Tour guides provide an overview of the history of the Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery. Sugarcane was planted in January and February and harvested from mid-October to December. Steam-powered river navigation began in 1811-12, between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New Orleans. The Pendarvis Family During the 1730s, the Pendarvis family was one of the most prominent in the South, owning the biggest rice plantations in the Palmetto region and over 123 slaves. Besides the necessity of river transportation, the ground near the rivers and old river channels contained the best agricultural land, where the sandy and silty soil settled, increasing the height of the natural levees. In 1722, nearly 170 indigenous people were enslaved on Louisianas plantations. 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