While the majority of the Bayou State's historic plantations are located along the River Road corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, there are a series of plantations located in West Feliciana Parish. Each embodies a sense of timeless beauty that cannot be appreciated without also acknowledging the contributions of slave labor to the construction and upkeep of the plantation, and its resulting agricultural prosperity. Thanks to local historic preservation efforts over the years, many of these homes remain remarkably intact today, offering valuable insight into day-to-day Antebellum life. Six St. Francisville-area properties are open to the public for tours; hear from direct descendants, wander the grounds, and even stay overnight (if you can stomach the supernatural rumored to haunt some, that is).
While the exterior and alleyway aligned with two-hundred-year-old oak trees closely resemble that of Oak Alley Plantation, the true beauty of Rosedown Plantation is buried in eighteen acres' worth of pleasure gardens. These intricate ornamental gardens were the life’s work of Martha Turnbull, the matriarch of a wealthy planter family who lost her husband and two sons prior to the Civil War. Members of the Turnbull family resided in the home well into the 1950s before selling the estate to Catherine Fondren Underwood in 1956. Underwood referred to Martha’s detailed diaries during her eight-year historic restoration of the formal gardens and home, which are accessible today as a State Historic Site. The diary entries, spanning more than sixty years, have since been compiled into a book published by LSU Press and edited by LSU landscape architecture professor emeritus and preservationist Suzanne Turner, who spent fifteen years transcribing and annotating the original manuscript. Deemed the most extensive surviving firsthand account of nineteenth-century plantation life and gardening in the Deep South, the diary documents the relationship between the mistress and the enslaved people whose labor made her vast gardens possible.
Courtesy of the West Feliciana Tourist Commission
Built in the early 1800s, Grace Episcopal Church was one of the finest examples of church architecture during of the time. Its picturesque cemetery is sheltered beneath ancient, mossy oaks, their sprawling foliage forming shimmering emerald canopies. The church continues to draw visitors with its stunning Gothic Revival architecture, set against a verdure backdrop of Southern greenery. The West Feliciana Historical Society Museum, located in the heart of St. Francisville's historic district, hosts five interpretive local history exhibits in a Ferdinand Street building that formerly housed a hardware store until it was acquired by the Historical Society in 1970.
Oakley Plantation predates several plantation homes across the state and is the only one that can claim itself as a temporary respite to famed artist and naturalist John James Audubon. Built in 1803 and now part of the Audubon State Historic Site, Audubon lived at the home for four months in 1821. An arrangement with the mistress of the plantation allowed him to serve as a part-time tutor to her daughter. In exchange, Audubon used his free time to study and sketch the local wildlife. The deal turned out to be well worth it, as Audubon created thirty-two paintings—all of which are featured in his iconic Birds of America collection—during his stay there.
Greenwood Plantation burned to the ground in 1960, after which it was rebuilt and restored, and has served as the set location for several films. One September 2021 Trip Advisor review reads: "This place is magical, regardless of the stress life may bring, this is a healing place. Surrounded by love not only from the humbled owners, but also from the grounds, hundreds of oak trees and moss that transform your world from earth to heaven. So many touches for the rooms that shows all the thoughtfulness, hospitality at its finest!"
Perhaps the most infamous plantation in West Fel, The Myrtles, established by renegade “Whiskey Dave” in 1796, is shrouded in local legend and folklore. The most infamous story is of Chloe, a slave girl who mistakenly poisoned the owner’s children and wife in an act of revenge. Its haunted-house ethos is enhanced by candlelight mystery tours, accompanied by ghost stories and other bizarre encounters on the property. Now a popular bed-and-breakfast, guests eagerly claim to have seen and spoken to Chloe in addition to seeing objects move on their own. You can decide for yourself if you believe the tales by partaking in one of the daily tours—or staying the night.
Carriage Plantation, Myrtles Plantation, Butler Green Plantation, and Greenwood Plantation each offer overnight accommodations. Carriage Plantation in particular offers guests a free one-hour tour after its breakfast service as well. With one of these stunning historic homes as your base, you’ll be able to easily explore this sleepy town at your leisure. explorewestfeliciana.com.
Sponsored by the West Feliciana Tourist Commission
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