Coming to No in a couple of months. I am very interested in plantations and have done a bit of research over the years. We will be traveling along the river road and want to hit up as many plantations as possible. We are more into the less visited or abandoned homes. Does anyone know of any on the river road worth seeing that are not as advertised as the others. They don%26#39;t even have to be homes that come with a tour. We just want to get some cool pictures of old plantations. Also, does anyone know about the current status of Whitney Plantation? I know that John Cummings bought it a ways back with the intention of opening it as a museum. Can%26#39;t find much new info on the web. We would really like to see her...
Plantations that are not as visited as others?In comparison to most of the other plantations, Evergreen is seldom-visited. Tours are available by appointment only.
http://www.evergreenplantation.org/
Plantations that are not as visited as others?There are lot of plantations that are privately owned and seen by appt. only. Also, as a very general rule, the further you get from N.O., the fewer visitors. Some that might be of interest closer to Baton Rouge are Asphodel, Catalpa, Parlange, Poplar Grove and Live Oaks. The latter three are owned by friends of my family. I even worked on the restoration of Live Oaks (a little)! The National Register of Historic Places site can give you some other suggestions. Of course, if you have a few extra mil you don%26#39;t need right now, you could become a prospective buyer - I am sure you could get some additional doors to open for you then!
Home Place Plantation is one:
asergeev.com/pictures/…06.htm
Home Place is a very old Creole plantation, built in a style predating the Greek Revival style commonly associated with plantation architecture.
The house is off River Road near Hahnville, and abandoned. However, it%26#39;s still owned by an elderly descendant of the family that bought the plantation in 1889. (The gentleman happened to be on the premises when I was working nearby a few years ago. He chatting with us for bit, then took us inside to see the old wine cellar. Fascinating!)
';Vestiges of Grandeur'; is coffee-table book filled with stunning photos of plantations in various states of preservation and decay:
http://tinyurl.com/dallds
Not sure about Whitney. Would love to see it myself!
Richard Sexton has a number of wonderful books about the area. He lived literally around the corner from us for several years. Slate, I don%26#39;t know how old you are, and you may not be familiar with it, but ';Vestiges..'; is the spiritual legacy of that fabulous book, ';Ghosts Along the Mississippi'; by Laughlin. Long out of print, it was published around 1960 and has tons of haunting, evocative B%26amp;W photographs of many old plantations, including many that have succumbed to time, fire and other perils. Anyone with an interest in lost plantations should own it.
Another very gifted photographer, who shares some elements of the style seen in that book, is our friend Bobby Wozniak, whose partner introduced me to my wife. He just had a show here last weekend.
www.lemieuxgalleries.com/artist_wozniak.html
Note to TA: I have no financial interest here, he%26#39;s just a talented friend whose work may be of interest to travelers.
I do indeed know ';Ghosts Along The Mississippi,'; highway61nola. The book is older than I am by several decades, but I%26#39;ve had my copy for 40 years!
Did you know there was a Belle Grove Yahoo! group?
http://tinyurl.com/dn35o6
There are some great photos of Belle Grove and other plantations in the ';Photos'; section.
Wish I could have seen Mr. Wozniak%26#39;s exhibit.
highway61, I grew up in Port Allen and I knew most of the Wilkinson clan. Bobby and Julia and Bill were close to my age. My neighbor and I used to walk up the River Road during grinding season and get free bags of brown sugar, as they were blowing it into the rail cars.
Correction: The first edition of ';Ghosts Along The Mississippi'; predates me by only three years. How depressing.
Any day now, I%26#39;LL be a ghost along the Mississippi!
Thank you so much for the info. I wish I did have a few mil to throw around, because if I did I would own my own platntation by now. I am just a huge history buff that wants to see some homes up close. You did mention 3 plantations that are private that you have some connections to. How would I go about seeing them up close without trespassing or offending anyone. I am only interested in taking a few pictures for my own personal interest. If you could provide anymore info I would be so very thankful.
Thank you so much for the info. I have read about Homeplace Plantation before. She is the exact kind of plantation that I am interested in seeing. Do you know how I could get up close to her to take a few photos and maybe roam the property just a bit? I am just interested for my own personal experience. I am a huge history buff gal from the north that is very passionate about the old south. And I have a chance to come down to NO with husband. We just want to see the things that most tourist do not come to see.
I don%26#39;t know this for certain, but I doubt anyone guards the grounds around Home Place. Nor do I recall seeing fences anywhere. You could probably turn off the main road, park your car at the foot of the driveway, and walk up to the house.
Wood rots fast in the heat and humidity. If you%26#39;re tempted to climb the steps to the porch, be very careful.
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