20.6.2012 – 20.6.2012  34 °C

We left NO early this morning with the plan to spend our day driving up the left bank of the Mississippi river up thru Baton Rouge and into Natchez in Mississippi. We took this round-about route so that we could spend most of the day ogling some of the Antebellum plantations that line the Mississippi river from New Orleans all the way up to Natchez.

The drive was really lovely as most of the way we were driving on the banks of the river. Unfortunately the river is surrounded by huge levy banks so we couldn’t actually see much of the river but being alongside a river means you can see lots of old trees and plenty of grasslands! Our first stop for the day was at Laura Plantation.

It is so named because the last owner of the plantation was named Laura and she wrote her memoirs so we actually have lots of information about her and her family. The plantation is a Creole plantation so it looks quite different to my vision of a plantation home. The Creoles all built their houses differently to the Americans. For starters their buildings were all built up, pretty much in the Queenslander type style. They were all painted bright colours (no elegant white stone mansions with fluted columns!) and had a different interior layout. Creole homes were all built to allow plenty of breeze to flow through the house so there are plenty of doorways and no internal hallways. Every room is joined by doors, in many cases double doors to allow the breeze to move through the house.

The history of Laura and her family is interesting. Her Grandmother was the real powerhouse of the family. She took over the family and the business, (a bit like a Mafia family type setup, everyone in the family plays a part in the business and in turn the president of the family will look after everyone in the family) at the age of 13! She then went ahead and married a wealthy French noble who added to the plantations wealth by adding a Bordeaux winery to the family business! The plantation was a sugar plantation (not cotton) and was run by a large contingent of slaves. Her Grandmother grew the family business to the point where it was one of the wealthiest in the neighbourhood. At the height of the plantation there was probably in excess of 200 slaves working the plantation. Creole families did not live exclusively on the plantations. In fact, from Xmas thru to May, Creole families would live in their city townhouses in the French Qtr for the ‘season’ (Mardi Gras) and would only return to their plantations during planting and harvesting seasons.

Eventually, Laura took over the plantation from her Grandmother and after a dozen years chose to sell the entire family business (plantation, wine business, houses in New Orleans etc) for a paltry 20,000 dollars (early 1900s). Laura wanted nothing to do with the responsibility of managing such a large and diverse empire and so sold the whole lot off and moved to St Louis. I think even back then her sale for her ‘empire’ was far too low (it was reputed to be worth millions) so I guess she just really wanted out! (I’m not sure what that meant for her family members who were also dependant on the family business….)

The plantation is today owned by the local sugar cooperative and the actual house is leased out to a private consortium to preserve and show off the house and its surrounds. The plantation is complete with some still standing slave quarters, as well as the remains of the kitchen area and other outhouses. There is also another large house on the property that was owned and lived in by Laura’s Grandmother when she decided to retire. This building is starting to show the ravages of time so here’s hoping they can keep it in some sort of shape to survive another hundred years! Another funky fact about this plantation, it is the birthplace of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby stories!! Apparently a French author came to the plantation in the early 1800s, heard these stories from the black slaves and had the stories published! (I’ve since discovered that many authors “claim” to have been the first ones to record and publish these stories.. whatever the case, these stories originated in Africa and were brought over by the negro slaves and were told and recorded on this plantation)

After a great time wandering thru Laura, we got back on the road to see some of the other amazing mansions that still line the banks of the Mississippi. It is one thing that surprises me! For some reason, I assumed that there wouldn’t be many “Tara’s” left here in the South and that the few that remain are all museums. That is not the case! Apparently up at Natchez (where we ended our day today) there are well over 600 Antebellum houses still in use! Most of which are private residences!! On the road to Baton Rouge we saw at least half a dozen huge mansions! The second one we saw was called Oak Alley and gosh it lives up to its name! The main entrance way is flanked by twenty huge old oak trees.. just gorgeous! There was also a big old paddle steamer docked at this mansion, what a way to top off the picture!!

Today’s drive finished late in the afternoon today at Natchez in Mississippi. We were fortunate that we stopped at the visitor’s centre which was just over the border in Mississippi. The guide behind the desk knew her stuff and was able to give us some great advice and a discount coupon for nice accommodation in the town (and she gave us all a free cup of coffee.. there’s nothing like Southern hospitality!) So $55 later we were checked in at a pretty nice hotel which included an ok brekky for the following morning! Not only did we get a bargain on our room we also got some food at the local grocery shop and had a pretty tasty (albeit hard work) dinner of steak and veges so a very good end to a very great day!

Song of the Day– Paul Robeson, Ol’ Man River