Houmas House Plantation

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.

Oak Alley Plantation

If this place looks very familiar to you, you are not mistaken, as this has been a place for numerous motion pictures. One of which that you might be familiar with is the “Interview with the Vampire” starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. The tour guide briefly mentioned that the house was painted dark to go with mood of the film. She also added that Brad Pitt was just here a couple of days ago. He visits the plantation once in a while, since he owned a house in New Orleans. It’s only an hour drive from here.  Also a much older movie “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte” starred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford was filmed there (exterior only). The interior shots were done at the Houmas House Plantation, which is about 45-minute drive (see my other blog). Hubby and I have seen the movie many moons ago. One of Beyonce’s music video “Déjà vu” was also shot here.    

This place’ history of course surpasses any of the movies or current music videos that have been made at this place. As you enter the plantation, quarter-mile long massive and magnificent 300-year old oak trees will greet you. History has it that sometime, way back in the early 1700, an unknown settler planted about 28 oak trees in two equal rows leading to the Mississippi River. It amazes me that these oaks are that old, but to think that they actually can live up to 600 years is even more amazing! As this area is not immune to hurricanes.    

You probably are curious who are the original inhabitants of the big house, as well as how they acquired it. Apparently, it was a gift from the husband, his name Jacques Telesphore Roman, a Creole sugar planter to his bride, Celina. The Greek revival inspired house took three years to build, in which some materials were made in the area with the finishing imported from Europe.  The family had 6 six children. Unfortunately, most of their children did not live long. One died of yellow fever, another died of tuberculosis (TB). Later on, the son inherited the plantation when his father died. But his mother who ran the plantation before him was no-good at business that she ran it to the ground. She knew how to spend well and she was really good at that. Her son tried to save the place, but could not do it. The place was later sold to pay off the family’s debt.

There is a long history of this plantation that I’ve after hearing all of them, I realized I should have taken notes, since my memory is slowly eluding me. I’ll try to remember the rest of story. There have been quite a few owners who lived at Oak Alley. Each family altered and or added their own style. At one time, the first floor was all made of imported marble, but has been changed to wooden floor. The story goes, the children of one of the owners used to horse back and go through the house (doors flung open), which ruined the marble floors.

My family has never been to Louisiana before. Since we lived in Texas, it has always at the back of my mind to visit the state. It is after all a neighbor of the state we live in. However, the seven-hour drive was one of the deterrents. My husband doesn’t like to fly as well. Somehow, on Friday afternoon last week, my husband asked what plans I have for the weekend. I told him, Alayna has a three-day off school due to the Columbus Day holiday. I told him, we should maybe drive to Louisiana for the weekend to see the historical plantations in the South or drive to New Mexico. To my surprise, he agreed! I could hardly believe it. After almost fifteen years of marriage, he never liked impromptu getaways. It had to be planned ahead of time. I’m suspicious that part to his agreeing was that I had made a speech before; talking about we should once in awhile, just go for it. Not have to plan all the time. His reasoning is more     practical though; he didn’t want to drive there just for overnight and then come back the following day. It is after all a seven-hour drive.

Well, we took some photos (see below). Hope you enjoy them. I really wish that the camera could capture the beauty and grandeur of this place. Nothing can take the place of seeing it in person.    

  

  

Portraits of the past owners and their family.

 This room is now an office, however in the past,

this was the location of the spiral staircase, which was later removed due to its rotten condition.

The place was abandoned and in disarray for some time.

One of the many centuries old majestic oak trees.

Guest Room

The wife of the last occupant stayed in this room after her husband died.

Everything in this room stayed the same since she passed away.

another guest room

The Dinning Room.

If you noticed, the table and chairs are not that big.

The people at that time were neither tall nor big.

The regular height for a man was 5'4" and 5' for a woman.

The utensils on the other hand were large, apparently, the bigger they are

 the more opulent the owners are.

 The parlor room.

Every time, I think of the South, I always associate it with cotton.Not here.

Evidently, this part of the Mississippi River is more humid, which makes the cotton rot before fully blooming.

As we entered the state line, this is what you see. Sugarcane farms as the eyes could see.

Well, looks like hay, but just take my word for it :)

 There is a break between Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

The area looked all swampy. In fact, we were on segments of bridges that went on for maybe 30 miles or more. That was the 10 Freeway. The northern part of the state might be drier?

The surrounding area nowadays reminds me a lot like the movie "Giant" with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. You'll see refineries, chemical plants and sugarcane plantations.

The grounds of the plantation is definitely well groomed,

but I have to say it's very simple in comparison to the Houmas Plantation.

(Check out photos of Houmas Plantation in my other blog. See for yourself.) 
A friendly advice for anybody who wants to travel to see all the plantations, I would recommend staying in a further hotel. We learned that staying to the closest accommodation was not a smart plan after all. There were no restaurants nearby, but drive-thrus. We found a seafood place off LA 44, but were dismayed by the abundance of mosquitoes! Within 15 seconds, those horrible creatures surrounded us and we had to run back to the car and slap the doors shut! Sadly, the mosquitoes got inside the car and we were attack more to kill as many s we could. That totally ruined our appetites. If you do go out by night, your only choice is fast food. The Oak Alley and Houmas House Plantations have restaurants, but they closed around 3 p.m. unless, you know more about this place, I suggest staying at least 45-minutes away. We passed a city called Gonzales. It has innumerable restaurants and outlet shops. Not to mention, you actually pay less in hotel rate. 

These plantation houses that are located along the Mississipi River really are a great remnants of the bygone era. 

From a history lover like me, hope you get to visit this area and experience for yourself.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprise.