Welcome!
I have to say this first, if you only have time for one tour
to see any of the plantations along river road in the Mississippi River, I
would recommend coming to Houmas House Plantation. The Oak Alley Plantation
have the notoriety because of all the motion pictures filmed there, but it has
no match when it comes to the well-thought out, groomed and manicured gardens,
ponds, fountains and statuaries on the grounds. As you stroll along the scenic
pathways, under the centuries old oak trees, you get that serene and comforting
feel. With the plantation house in the backdrop, the ambiance brings you back
to the bygone era.
If you don’t care for history, go right ahead and scroll
down for photos, however if you do, I’ll do my best to reiterate what I learned
about this place and its long history from the Indians who once roamed the area
to its current owner. Yeah, this place is actually privately owned. The
individual even use this place as his main home!
The Houmas Indians once roamed this part of the Mississippi
River. By 1720’s the French Settlers obtained a land grant from the Spaniards.
The French lived with the Houmas Indians, but somewhere along the way, the
Houmas Indian chief sold off the rest of the grounds to the French settlers and
partners Alexander Latil and Marquis D’Auconis for merely $100 worth of knives,
pistols and trade goods. I’d say he sold it too cheap, don’t you? The Indians
then moved on to another parts of Louisiana.
The Plantation was already well established, producing sugar
by the time of the Louisiana Purchase. In the decades preceding the Civil War,
“sugar cane” was the revered crop, dubbed as the “new white gold”. One third of
the new millionaires made their fortune from sugarcane. As I have mentioned in
my other blog, right as you drive into the state line between Texas and
Louisiana, sugarcane farms greet you as far as your eyes could see.
Alexander Latil erected the original house in the mid 1700’s;
the location was directly behind the mansion, now the Houmas House.
The plantation changed hands a few times, until in 1858, John
Burnside purchased it. He eventually accumulated 300,000 sugar cane
plantations, which the gained the title “The Sugar Prince of Louisiana”.
General Clark purchased the plantation and was the richest
man in America at the time. Hi son, Colonel Wade Hampton Clark II, made the
most impact in their Louisiana holdings. He made the numerous additions, improvements
and embellishments to the Houmas House, which transformed the West Indies house
into a classic revival mansion of today. One of the daughters who ran the
mansion and the plantation wasn’t quite at home in Creole Louisiana, so she and
her family went back to South Carolina, where they have another home. The
plantation was later sold to a self-made millionaire, John Burnside, an Irish
immigrant who came to America with only $1.25 in his pocket. He found
employment with Andrew Beirne who made Mr. Burnside a partner with his son,
Col. Oliver Beirne. During his stay at the mansion, he adorned and embellished
the mansion some more. During the Civil War, he saved the mansion from burning
by bluffing that he is a British citizen to keep the Union soldiers from
burning it to the ground. When he died, his plantation was considered the top
10 most valued in Louisiana. He left the plantation to his partner, Mr. Bierne,
because Burnside never married. One of Bierne’s sons inherited the plantation,
but sadly, the effects of World War I and the Great Depression bankrupt the
plantation. Despite losing the wealth, the family stayed at the mansion.
The Houmas House has been handed down from different
cultures, Spanish, French, English and Irish, but its name goes back centuries
ago, when the Houmas Indians once roamed the grounds of this part of Mississippi
River.
32-acre of splendid walkways, gardens, statues, fountains and ponds.
The restaurant, only open for lunch.
We truly enjoyed discovering this plantation house; hope you will get a chance to see it in person.
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