Nottoway Plantation, near White Castle Louisiana, is one of the great plantations on the Mississippi River. We spent two nights at Nottoway in one of their lovely cottages and made a brief visit to Houmas House and Oak Alley plantations.
Nottoway Plantation and Resort
Nottoway Plantation, an 1850’s sugarcane estate, is the South’s largest existing antebellum mansion. It’s about an hour and half drive west from New Orleans. Nottoway has survived the Civil War, a variety of owners, and years of decline and disrepair to become a favorite destination for visitors from all around the world.
From their web site: The construction of Nottoway was commissioned by John Hampden Randolph, a very prestigious sugar planter, to be the ultimate showplace of his wealth; he wanted no expense spared and ordered that it include every extravagance and innovative feature possible. Nottoway would be home to John, his wife, Emily Jane Randolph, and their 11 children.
The Mississippi River, pictured above, is in front of the house with a road separating the two. A levy was added some years ago (pictured right) that took away land from the property. This is a nice spot to walk around. The southern skies are magnificent. It is VERY humid, and the weather constantly vacillates between rain and hot sun.
They have tours of the home several times daily, and the resort is rented out for weddings and events. It is a fascinating tour and the guides wear period clothing.
You can rent a room in the main house or one of the cottages. We rented a cottage with a little patio. The room has high ceilings, a large double sink bathroom, and a very large room with a flat screen TV. It is beautifully decorated and very comfortable.
The rates are reasonable (around $200 US depending on time of year). It was nice to just sit on the porch and sip a Mint Julep (ok well we only had beer, but the thought was there). They also have a swimming pool with a good deep end and a luxury spa.
The main house has magnificent oak trees and all kinds of tropical plants. For someone who has never been to a tropical climate, it was fascinating to see all the wonderful permutations of nature. Big bugs too, but with beautiful colors!
It is a great place to relax along the Mississippi River. The grounds are beautiful and it is very quiet, except, of course, for the tweeting birds and chirping insects, which are welcoming sounds.
It’s very humid in the summer and fall. My camera lens was constantly fogging up. Tip: Bring light clothing, cottons and silk. Jeans are too heavy.
Where to eat? They have a cafe and a restaurant. We went to the restaurant for two breakfasts and two dinners as there is nothing else close by and nothing of quality until you get to the bigger cities.
The restaurant is elegant and formal. You can sit in the atrium or inside the main room. The food is Cajun/Creole fine dining and the staff are wonderful. Very friendly people.
An interesting fact is that the stairs on these old mansions are on either side of the main pillars because men and women walked up separate stairways. It was considered improper for a man to see a woman’s ankle (as they would while she walked up the stairs in front of the man).
This plantation is a source of income for many people in the region. It is well worth a visit to not only see a beautiful historic house and the nature in the area, but to help the local economy. Go see it, you’ll get a lot for your money. And it is a relaxing place to just hang out. It’s about an hour and half outside of New Orleans.
Houmas House
Houmas House is another sugar plantation on the Mississippi River. It is about an hour west of New Orleans and about half an hour east of Nottoway. The grounds are magnificent! There are 38 acres of lush greenery to explore right. The property has an Inn where you can stay, a large gift shop and a few restaurants. We did a brief tour of the grounds and had a snack in the casual restaurant, but didn’t have time to go inside the house. The tour guides are all dressed in period costume. In 1963, the Bette Davis film “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte” was shot on the property. The room in which Ms. Davis stayed while filming is preserved as part of today’s Houmas House tour.
The sugar plantation was established in the late 1700s, with the current main house completed in 1840. It was named after the native Houma people, who originally occupied this area of Louisiana. The grand home was described during its antebellum heyday as “The Sugar Palace.”
Houmas House began to build its sugar production and continued to increase its land holdings, which ultimately grew to 300,000 acres. I thought the most impressive feature was the land itself. The haunting trees with the hanging Spanish moss creates this surreal atmosphere. It is a fantastic spot for photography. Please visit the Houmas House website for more info.
Oak Alley
Oak Alley is another stunning plantation on the river. It, too, has cottages for rent, a nice restaurant, and offers tours of the house. It is about an hour west of New Orleans. For vampire buffs, the movie “Interview with the Vampire” was partly filmed here. (Anne Rice lived in New Orleans.)
The Bon Séjour plantation, as Oak Alley was originally named, was established to grow sugarcane by Valcour Aime when he purchased the land in 1830. Aime, known as the “King of Sugar,” was one of the wealthiest men in the South. The mansion was completed in 1839, the design is Greek Revival.
This plantation showcases the huts where the house slaves lived along with information about the people that lived there. The field slaves lived further away from the main house. One of the locals told us that some plantation owners would use incarcerated Irishmen to clear the swamps because the slaves were too valuable to risk being eaten by alligators.
The most noted slave who lived at Oak Alley Plantation was named Antoine. He was listed as “Antoine, 38, Creole Negro gardener/expert grafter of pecan trees,” with a value of $1,000 in the inventory of the estate. Antoine succeeded in producing a variety of pecan that could be cracked with one’s bare hands; the shell was so thin it was dubbed the “paper shell” pecan. It later won a prize at the 1876 Expo in Philadelphia. The pecan was once a considerable cash crop. Is that why Pecan pie is so famous in the south?
The map shows Oak Alley and the other plantations along the Mississippi River. As stated above, the plantations are a source of income for many people in the region, and are a fascinating glimpse into a bygone world. The nature in the area is magnificent for photography and relaxing walking tours. On another note, if you want to know more about the music of the south please visit the Southern Blues Road Trip blog.
For more photos please go to Wonderland Photography.
