Past the bustle of Belle Chasse and the industrialized Shell and Alliance refineries, the land in Plaquemines Parish opens up to green pastures dotted with live oaks and grazing cattle.
It’s here in West Pointe à la Hache, about an hour south of New Orleans, where red-roofed Woodland Plantation emerges against the backdrop of the Mississippi River levee.
The main house sits back from the road, beyond the brick ruins of a sugar mill and a historic Gothic church. The driveway approaches the home’s back porch, in the customary manner of plantation homes facing the Mississippi.
Reigning over fifty acres of land, Woodland rivals many of the grand plantations gracing the Great River Road north of New Orleans. Its quintessential Southern style even earned it a place of fame on the label of Southern Comfort liqueur; yet, owner Foster Creppel describes it more as a “country inn.”
While the description may imply a simple, rustic retreat, Woodland shines as an historic, ten-bedroom mansion beautifully restored and furnished with period antiques. Couple this with a gourmet breakfast and five-course dinner served in Spirits Hall—a deconsecrated Catholic church circa 1883—and Woodland tops the list of area attractions.
“There used to be sixty-five plantations south of New Orleans. Today, Woodland is the only one still standing on the westbank of the Mississippi,” Creppel explained while walking through an unseasonably cold misting rain.
A truck with boat in tow passed along the driveway, and Creppel shook his head, “I can’t believe they still went fishing today in this weather.” Although everyone, from families to wedding parties, is welcome at Woodland, the inn is a magnet for fishermen.
“We work with twenty-five guides who can take you traditional spin fishing, fly fishing or deep sea fishing. They go out to Myrtle Grove, Happy Jack, Buras, Empire, across the river to Pointe à la Hache, pretty much all around,” said Creppel. “We have a lot of business groups, big organizations and retreats; but most people come to fish for two or three days.”
Perhaps part of the draw comes from Creppel himself, who easily admits, “If I could fish all day, I would.” Although this may be his occupation of choice, Creppel has dedicated the last sixteen years of his life to restoring a sugar plantation that lay in disrepair when he first set eyes on it.
“In 1834, William Johnson, a river pilot in cahoots with Pirate Jean Lafitte, built Woodland Plantation. Jean Lafitte controlled the marsh and bayou, while Johnson and his business partner George Bradish controlled the river,” said Creppel. “Lafitte would bring slaves up Grand Bayou from the Gulf to Woodland Plantation, where Johnson and Bradish would house them in four, two-story brick slave cabins. The cabins are long gone, and Spirits Hall now stands where they were located.”
The plantation was later sold to Senator Theodore Wilkinson, and various members of the Wilkinson family owned it from 1897 to 1997.
“The home was in ruins when my parents and I bought it at auction in 1997. We bought the house sight unseen and began restoring it,” explained Creppel. “In the early 1990’s the National Park Service, thinking Woodland wouldn’t be saved, commissioned Tulane University to draw and survey the buildings and property at Woodland. I used this documentation as reference for the restoration effort we undertook.”
He began with the main house, meticulously bringing the old home back to life. Creppel then moved old St. Patrick’s Church to the property from Homeplace, Louisiana, fourteen miles south of Woodland. It was a massive undertaking, involving cutting the church in half in order to haul it up the road.
Over the years, the complex of buildings has grown with the addition of the Louisiana State University Ag House and the store from Magnolia Plantation, which was torn down in 1993 at the age of 200. Two other buildings, an overseer’s house and a slave cabin, are original to the plantation. Creppel was mid-way through restoring the overseer’s house when Hurricane Isaac roared through the parish.
“Spirits Hall received one to two inches of water from Katrina, but Isaac was the big one. We had twenty-six inches in the old church and a foot in the big house. I wanted it all back open though,” said Creppel. “I had a team working on the overseer’s house when Isaac came through. I pulled them off and had them shift focus to the main house. There were eighteen to twenty-five people working every day, and the whole place was restored in a month and a half.”
Once the bed and breakfast was back up and running, Creppel returned to the overseer’s house, an impressive structure elevated high enough that floodwaters flowed underneath the first floor.
“This was a fourteen-month restoration. The floors, although remilled, are original, as well as the door frames, baseboards and stairs. I’ve got period furniture throughout,” Creppel said while walking through the four-bedroom house. At the same time, his crew outside was hanging green shutters, placing the finishing touches on the newest addition to the inn, which brings the total room count to twenty-two.
Aside from the plush accommodations and “food as good as any restaurant in New Orleans,” Woodland’s grounds are awash with color and interesting discoveries. Small gardens of iris and lilies encircle the homes, a centuries-old cypress tree stands watch in front of the main house, and Creppel’s pet alligator Buddy waits quietly in the distance for his next meal.
Woodland’s acreage encompasses four distinct natural habitats, from hardwood forest to shrub swamp, offering ample space for exploring some of the state’s most delicate landscape.
“This area is a really rich place…a beautiful ecological site, but we are harvesting in an unsustainable manner, and it’s all washing away,” Creppel said, referring to the battle to save Louisiana’s wetlands. He swept his hand out, gesturing down the road, “This is my passion—not restoring old homes, but our coast.”
Details. Details. Details.
Woodland Plantation and Spirits Hall 21997 Highway 23 West Pointe à la Hache, LA (504) 656-9990 • (800) 231-1514 woodlandplantation.com
Rooms at Woodland run between $139 and $228 per night for double occupancy and include a full Southern breakfast in Spirits Hall. Various fishing and birding tours are available, as well as a meal plan including a box lunch and a five
to six course dinner.
Plaquemines Parish Tourism (504) 394-0018 • (888) 745-0642 plaqueminestourism.com
