According to the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, plantations in the South were often located away from commercial centers and had all the necessary elements to support their residents and workers. Hence, plantations were a sprawling series of support buildings in addition to the main house. Though no plantations exist in New Orleans proper today, several exist in the 60 miles surrounding the city. The Laura, San Francisco and St. Joseph plantations all host educational tours on their architecture, history and slave conditions.
The Laura Plantation was built in 1804 by Guillaume Duparc as a sugar farming complex. Before the Civil War, the complex had 69 cabins, communal kitchens, an infirmary and water wells in the slave quarters. During the 1850s, the plantation had 175 slaves.
The guided tour is a 70-minute walk with accounts of the plantation's inhabitants. It begins with a tour of the "Maison Principale", the main building. Here you learn about Creole traditions and mores. The tour moves to the plantation grounds including the kitchen garden. You then tour the slave cabins, where workers lived until 1977.
Other tours focus on a specific group of its inhabitants. For adults, the plantation offers the "Plantation Slaves, Artisans and Folklore", "Women of the Creole Plantation" and "Laura's Taste of Wine" tours. The "From Compair Lapin to Br'er Rabbit" tour recounts writer Alcee Fortier's experience learning about the children's folktales told by the slaves. You can also take the "Creole Family Saga" or "Memories of the Old Plantation Home" tours.
Laura Plantation
2247 Highway 18
Vacherie, LA 70090
888-799-7690
lauraplantation.com
The San Francisco plantation was built in the 1850s. The house is currently restored to its 1860 state, its most elegant period. It sits 40 miles up the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Daily tours are offered and they last one hour and begin every 20 minutes. The tour starts in the main house then moves to the slave cabins, school house and the gift shop. Tours cost $15 for adults and $7 for students. Children 6 and under are free.
San Francisco Plantation
2646 Hwy. 44 (River Road)
Garyville, Louisiana 70051
985-535-2341
sanfranciscoplantation.org
This plantation covers 100 acres and was the birthplace to American architect, H.H. Richardson. The plantation was a wedding gift (including full staff and slaves) from "Louis XIV of Louisiana" to his daughter Josephine. The plantation grew sugarcane crops.
Various themed tours are offered at this plantation. Daily tours are every hour between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to eat under the trees at the end of the tour. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for students and $5 for kids 6 to 12 years old. Kids under 6 are free.
St. Joseph Plantation
3535 Hwy 18
Livingston, LA 70754
225-265-4078
stjosephplantation.com
