Laura Plantation
Sand W. Marmillion
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Laura Plantation
Opened to the public for the first time in 1994, Laura Plantation offers a rare view of the Creole culture of south Louisiana. By Creole, we refer to the non-Anglo-Saxon culture that flourished in this region before Louisiana became part of the United States. Europeans, West Africans and Native Americans contributed to this unusual mix. Creole plantation life was tied directly to the soil with an agrarian-based economy, a taste for fine food and a constant battle to find comfort in a hot, damp environment.
Today the historic homestead spreads over nearly 14 acres and remains surrounded by cultivated fields of sugarcane. Situated 54 miles above New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi River in the parish of St. James, Louisiana, this site rests on a geological fault line. The fault created an elevated landmass of rich alluvial silt that has been inhabited since the early 1700's. The following is a brief chronology of the peoples that made this their home and garden.
1720 Colapissa Indians established a large ceremonial center known as Tabiscania or "long river view". These Amerindians hunted, fished and trapped in the nearby swamps, bayous and the Mississippi River. Native plants were collected or cultivated for both food and medicinal purposes. Homes were built from cane reeds and saplings plastered with mud, then thatched with palmettos.
1785 Acadian (Cajun) families were ceded land by the government of Spain along this stretch of the river. Spain held dominion over the Mississippi River region and the port of New Orleans. As the city grew, it became apparent that its population needed to be fed. The lands adjacent to the city were too swampy or marshy to support crops of any substantial size. So, Spain looked to colonize the areas upriver from the city where the rich land could provide abundant crops.
Exiled Acadians families along with families of German, French and Alsatian descent were give small plots of land. The success of this plan led to an early form of "truck farming". Instead of trucks, however, the river served as the principle-shipping corridor of commerce. Farmers introduced European varieties of fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants.
1805 Thomas Jefferson gave a land grant to Guillaume Duparc, a French veteran of the American Revolution. Duparc had served with distinction in the navy and later as military commandant in Point Coupée, Louisiana. Upon receiving his land grant, Duparc quickly retired from the military and moved to his newly deeded property. He bought adjacent farms from the Acadians and established a plantation of approximately 12,000 acres.
With only seven slaves he began the arduous task of clearing the land, building a home for his family and starting his new life as a plantation owner. Early records show that indigo was an important crop for export. Rice, cotton and pecans were also shipped out. A diversified garden supplied the owners and workers with fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. But, it was sugarcane that would make this a lucrative business.
1808-1890 This new venture proved too much for Duparc and he died in 1808. Nanette Pru'homme, Duparc's widow, picked up the reins and managed the plantation for twenty-five years, until her retirement. Nanette was the first of four generations of women that would operate the plantation, the last being her great, great granddaughter, Laura Locoul Gore. Each generation cleared more land and expanded the acreage of cultivated crops. The slave population grew to nearly two hundred. The plantation became a self-contained village with a sugar mill, dairy, blacksmith shop, large kitchen, smokehouses, barns, overseer cottages and 64 slave cabins.
The Duparc-Locoul family brought a refined taste for French garden design to this rustic area. Adjacent to the main house, a pleasure garden was built to provide respite from the cruel summer heat. Manicured walkways circled beds of exotic, imported plants from Europe and Asia. This was a rare exception to an otherwise utilitarian use of the land.
Creole cottages peppered the property housing paid workers. Within the fenced perimeters, rows of vegetables and fruit trees flourished. Two miles back from the river, a village within a village existed, the slave quarters. West African descendants lived in cypress cabins along a central lane with small plots of vegetables grown to supplement the meals provided by the plantation.
1891-1981 The plantation was sold to the family of Florian Waguespack. The Waguespack descendants continued sugarcane production, along with general farming operations. Over time, however, many buildings fell into disrepair and were lost. By 1981, the main house was inhabited by four, unmarried elderly ladies who were unable to maintain the house and gardens. The family members decided to sell the property.
1981- 1992 A consortium of investors purchased the plantation with plans to demolish the site and build a Mississippi River Bridge. The underlying geological fault ruined their prospects and the land went into receivership. The main house was unoccupied and the buildings and grounds were neglected.
1992 The St. James Sugar Cooperative bought the property at auction. Sugarcane production continued, but no work was done to the historic homestead.
1993 The Laura Plantation Company, LLC acquired the historic homestead with the purpose of restoring the site and opening it to the public.
1994-Present Initially, the site opened to the public with restoration to the main house and only basic landscape development. Over the years additional buildings have been restored and major landscaping projects have been achieved. Walkways, roads, fences and gates were built, a potager was planted adjacent to the original kitchen, cottage landscaping was introduced, a pecan orchard was established, and vegetable plots were planted by the slave cabins.
Of special note, in 1999, the French parterre was rebuilt. Landscape architect, Mark Thomas, along with Grounds Manager, Sand Marmillion, researched and recreated this fine example of a Creole pleasure garden.
Why is the Garden Important?
Laura Plantation
Laura Plantation gives its visitors the opportunity to learn about the Creole culture of south Louisiana as reflected in its landscape and gardens. Research into the families that lived here, personal manuscripts, oral histories, surviving plant materials and landscape features have allowed us to interpret a way of life that has slowly vanished from the region. From the small, but exquisite French parterre created exclusively for the pleasure of the owners to the humble vegetable plots of the slaves, understanding the relationship between the people and the land is crucial to understanding the culture.
Sugar cane was the driving economic force of the plantation. It was the cycle of this crop that dictated the cycle of daily life and family life. Fortunes were made and lost when crops thrived or perished. Overseers were hired and fired; slaves were bought and sold. For the plantation owners, marriages were often arranged to keep business partnerships strong and land ownership intact. Struggles over inheritance led to sibling rivalry and lifelong feuds.
Within the plantation landscape, there was a thriving farm that fed the population. A passion for food infused Creole traditions. Family recipes and annual celebrations kept gardeners busy all year long. The rich soil and mild climate allowed full-time cultivation of seasonal favorites. An abundance of riches came from the gardens. The potager produced ingredients for some of the best dishes in the world; Creole tomatoes, okra, pole beans, eggplants, onions and merlitons. From the orchards came persimmons, pecans, and wild cherries, cooking pears, kumquats, oranges and Japanese plums. Sassafras, bay leaves, peppers, garlic and shallots filled the kitchen and dining room with spicy aromas. Holidays were toasted with homemade wines and brandies.
Gardens also provided a backdrop for memorable occasions. Marriage
proposals, duels and final farewells took place with the scent of gingers, gardenias and old-world roses lingering on the breeze. Laura wrote that her mother grew parmelee violets, her father smoked perique tobacco. These small details of life - the colors, flavors and scents of a distant world help us to relive the past.
