Goal- drive back to Houston, avoid New Orleans city limits due to large crowds and street closures due to the Rock N Roll Marathon
LAURA- A CREOLE PLANTATION
LAURA LOCOUL
Creole is the non-Anglo-Saxon culture and lifestyle that flourished in Louisiana before it became a part of the United States in 1803. Louisiana Creole is a blending of three different ethnic influences: the west European, west African, and includes a significant input from the Native American.
Guillaume Duparc's sugar farming complex was originally called l'habitation Duparc, then, years later, renamed the Laura Plantation. At its largest size, it was approximately 12,000 acres, which included properties amassed over time. In 1804, Duparc, a French naval veteran of the American Revolution, petitioned Thomas Jefferson for property. Construction of Duparc's manor house began in 1804 and completed 11 months later. The work was executed by highly-skilled slaves, probably of Senegalese descent, in pre-fabricated methods, typical of early Louisiana vernacular structures. This U-shaped structure totaled approx. 24,000 sq. ft. and had a 2,500 sq. ft. detached kitchen to its rear. At Duparc's death in 1808, the l'habitation consisted of 10 sizable buildings, including quarters for 17 slaves, a barn, warehouses and a small, rudimentary sugar mill. By the 1850s, the Duparc Plantation was the workplace for 100 mules and 195 humans, 175 of them slaves.
Laura Plantation was rescued from demolition, not because of its Big House but, because of its remaining slave quarters and what happened in them many years ago. In the 1870s, Alcée Fortier, a young neighbor of Laura's, visited the workers' cabins at this site and at nearby plantations. As a teenager, Fortier began to collect these stories from former slaves, all lively accounts of Compair Lapin and Compair Bouki, the clever rabbit and the stupid fool. Ever since, English-speakers would know Compair Lapin as that rascal: Br'er Rabbit.
FRONT GATES
BIRTH/ CHILDREN'S ROOM
DINING ROOM
Jacques Telesphore Roman began his courtship of Celina Pilie, whose very prominent family lived around the corner on Royal Street. They were married in June 1834. In May of 1836, "Valcour" Aime, neighbor, brother-in-law and friend, sold Jacques Telesphore the plantation riverboat captains later dubbed "Oak Alley."
Jacques Telesphore and Celina plunged with enthusiasm into the project of their plantation home. There would be no corners cut ... only the best would do. The architect is believed to have been none other than Celina's father, Gilbert Joseph Pilie, and master builder George Swainy was contracted to direct the construction, a task which took over two years to complete.
The design of the mansion combined several styles, the most notable being the 28 classic columns surrounding the house. The columns measure 8 feet in circumference and are solid brick. The veranda extends approximately 13 feet from the walls, keeping the home in shade most of the day. The tall windows and doors face each other for cross ventilation and the ceilings are 12 feet high. Most important are the 16 inch thick walls throughout the house.
The mansion as you see it today has been restored to its 19th century glory, a noble tribute to those who left their indelible mark on this rich River Region.
FRONT DOORS
FORMAL LIVING ROOM
UPSTAIRS PORCH
NOTTOWAY PLANTATION
website
LADIES TEA ROOM
website
GOLD & WHITE ROOM
At the edge of the sugarcane field stands the majestic Nottoway. This historic and architectural jewel was completed in 1859 by a wealthy Virginia planter named John Hampden Randolph for his wife, Emily Jane, and their eleven children.
Nottoway is the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the Southern United States and splendidly rests along Louisiana's Great River Road in White Castle, at the heart of Plantation Country.
Construction of Nottoway was completed in 1859 at an estimated $80,000. Nottoway has 64 rooms in its three floors, six interior staircases, three modern bathrooms, 22 massive square columns, 165 doors and 200 windows. During Randolph's day, the home had fancy chamber pots (flushing toilets) and hot and cold running water in all bathrooms, all unheard of at that time. Nottoway had a "gas plant" on site with gas lighting throughout the home, unique at the time. A bowling alley was installed for the children inside the home.
VIEW FROM FRONT GATES
DINING ROOM
BATON ROGUE
The Capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge- which is French for red stick. The population is 228,000 and is the second largest city in Louisiana. The capitol builiding is 34 stories and is the tallest capitol building in the United States.
OLD CAPITOL BLDG
Baton Rouge dates from 1699, when French explorer Sieur d'Iberville leading an exploration party up the Mississippi River saw a reddish cypress pole festooned with bloody animals and fish that marked the boundary between Houma and Bayou Goula tribal hunting grounds.
CURRENT CAPITOL BLDG
Baton Rouge is home Louisiana State University and it is estimated that 20% of the city's population are college students!
No comments:
Post a Comment