History’s Landmarks

One thing that’s certainly true of Louisiana: plants do well here. Sunshine, good soil, and ample (or over-ample) rain ensure the proliferation of anything that hits its dirt. This fertility, combined with the convenience of the natural shipping highway of the Mississippi River and its associated waterways, led to South Louisiana becoming one of the antebellum South’s enclaves of large, wealthy plantations. As usual, though, Louisiana did things a little differently; the moneymaker here was not cotton, but sugar; and the old Creole families maintained traditions that would have left Scarlett O’Hara scratching her head and resolving to think about them tomorrow.

A lot has changed for good in the intervening generations, but the land is still dense with sugar cane in some places, and many of the old plantation homes still stand. Today, few of them are private residences; instead, most are now historical sites, open to the public to demonstrate how a plantation’s residents lived and worked so many years ago. Each offers something different: for example, Laura: A Creole Plantation focuses on how aspects of the Creole culture affected land building and house construction, leaving its mark on the geography of the area. Many homes offer a glimpse at the stupendous wealth flaunted in these houses, from luxurious furnishings to impressive architectural features. Other plantations focus on the era’s most difficult aspects; Whitney Plantation, for instance, now serves as a memorial to the many enslaved individuals who lived in servitude and are often anonymous in historical records.

Collectively, these properties serve as an amazing repository of American history and offer important lessons for how the past affects the present. To learn more about the plantations that are open to the public for tours, visit visitnopc.com.