Views from the Big Country: Plantations and Sugar Cane

Friday, October 17, 2014

We arrived today in the small (between 700 and 800 people) town of Convent, Louisiana. Convent is located about 50 miles west and south of New Orleans and is located along the historic Great Mississippi River Road.

The River Road consists of a corridor approximately 70 miles in length located on each side of the river between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The area includes levees, adjacent lands, as well as cultural resources

Convent is located along the River Road in the area known as Plantation Row; the state's most famous and recognizable group of monumental plantation houses. The majority of these homes were built by wealthy sugar planters in the Greek Revival Style. There are several of the homes that are open for tours.

We chose to stay in this area rather than in New Orleans for a couple of reasons. We felt we would see and experience more of the culture of this part of the state if we were not in a "tourist area". We also wanted to stay closer to the river and we wanted to experience the plantations.

Sugar cane is everywhere in this part of the state...

The plantation where we are staying was once a sugar cane plantation. Yes, we are staying on a plantation. Which was the main reason that we wanted to stay in Convent. While here we're staying at the Poche Plantation.

The Poche Plantation has a small RV park and Bed & Breakfast on the grounds. The B&B is located in the Big House.

view from River Road. This home was known as "shotgun" style. Taxes were
paid on the "width" of the house. Therefore, they built them long and narrow

side of the house

another view of the side of the house

The interior childhood scenes for "The Butler" were filmed here at the Poche Plantation home. The home is also open for tours...

love this porch swing

beautiful staircase

The plantation grounds were just as beautiful...

Cooper meets new friends everywhere we go, even if
they're not real!

The Mississippi River is located across the River Road from us...

the river is just over the levee...

The night sounds have changed from crickets and owls (De Queen AR) to Peterbuilts (Texarkana) to the sounds of barges and hatches clanging, captains on the loudspeaker and tug horns on the river. Very cool. So, naturally, we had to walk to the top of the levee and see for ourselves...

walking to the top of the levee

walking along the top of the levee

view of the Poche Plantation from the top of the levee

one of the many barges on the river

the river is quite deep here. cranes are used to off-load wares from the
larger boats to the barges that carry them up river

sunset over the Mississippi

We also decided to visit Oak Alley Plantation...

The plantation homes that were built along River Road were built by immensely wealthy sugar planters during the 30 year period prior to the Civil War. Although we tend to focus on the Big House we need to remember that plantations historically had a large number of buildings. Plantations were factories aimed at producing a cash crop on a large scale for world export. Each was, in effect, a self-contained community; plantations constitute a village onto themselves. Each planter always had a separate building for everything. From a practical standpoint, the sugar house and the slave quarters, not the Big House, were the most important buildings.

The term "milling" refers to the removal of juice from sugar cane stalks and its conversion to a crystallized product known as raw sugar. Before the Civil War, milling took place in numerous small mills (known as sugar houses) located on individual plantations. After the war, improvements in sugar technology as well as labor shortages, etc., forced the closure of many of these mills. Owners abandoned their plantations; the homes fell into decay. Today, only a few of these homes remain.

The regions revival began with the restoration of Oak Alley in the 1920's. Oak Alley is now a National Historic Landmark and is now known for the Alley of Oaks. The Alley of Oaks is a quarter mile alley of 300 year old Virginia Live Oaks. Sometime in the early 1700's an unknown settler planted an alley of 28 oaks in two equal rows, spaced 80' apart, leading to the river from his home.

view from the Mississippi River looking towards the Big House.
the Virginia Live Oaks are a sight to behold!

I love taking a photo of the photographer!

The Big House was a gift from Jacques Telesphore Roman (1800-1848), a wealthy Creole sugar planter to his bride, Celina (1816-1866). Believed to have designed by Celina's father, and constructed primarily by slave labor, the home and outbuildings took approximately three years to complete.

the Big House

The Virginia Live Oaks that comprise the Alley of Oaks are 300 years old. They are native to this area and were inducted into the Live Oak Society in 1995. Each tree was registered and given a name. Live oaks have a lifespan of 600 years, which makes these oaks middle aged!

limbs on this one are touching the ground

these oaks have a huge root system

this oak tree is located near the front porch of the house. they used steel pipes
to hold the arms (branches) of the tree up

Notice the brown growth on the limbs? This growth is an air plant and is called "resurrection fern". Resurrection fern can survive long periods of drought by shriveling up and appearing brown and dead. Once water is available, the fern will uncurl and reopen to a vibrant green.

We took a tour of the Big House...

gathering or living room

dining room. notice the glass covered with a napkin (left of the guide). it was
used to catch flies as they were dining. the white and red object located
above the dining room table? it was a fan...

a slave would stand in the corner and constantly pull the rope. the fan
would sway back and forth

sitting room attached to the bedroom

the balcony porch wrapped all around the Big House. this is a side view

view of the live oaks from the upstairs balcony of the Big House

the Stewart Gardens. created by Josephine Stewart (last resident owner
(1925-1972). view from the upstairs balcony

The building in the photo below was the kitchen. Kitchens were located away from the Big House in case of fire. To the left of the kitchen (not shown, the building no longer exists) was the Garconnieres residences. Young men, once they attained the age of 15, and until they married, lived in this house (garcon means "boy" in French). Only married men and their wives, women and children would be allowed to live in the Big House. While living at the Big House, the young men would learn the running of the plantation and the sugar business. The Garconnieres residence was close enough to the Big House for them to spend the evenings with their family; and close enough for their mama's to be with them if needed...

this building is the former kitchen ~ quite aways from the Big House.
to the left of the kitchen was the Garconnieres residences

The Plantation Bell, photo below, was the communication system for governing life on the plantation. Each ring of the bell had a different meaning. For example, the bell called the slaves and workers to the fields, signaled lunch and break times, tolled to end the day and would alert everyone to emergencies, such as fires...

Plantation Bell. photo taken from balcony of the Big House

view of the back of the Big House

Sugar Kettles, made of cast iron, were vital to the process of making molasses and crystallized sugar. Each cane plantation in Louisiana had its own sugar house and the cane was crushed using an animal-powered, three roller mill. The extracted cane juice was heated, clarified and evaporated in a series of four kettles from large to small in what was called the Jamaica Train...

medium kettle (view from the porch of the Big House)

large kettle

We then made our way to the Confederate Commanding Officer's Tent exhibit...

the Confederate Commanding Officer's Tent

the officer was happy to answer questions regarding the Civil War &
it's impact on Louisiana

Following our tour of the Big House and the Confederate Officer's exhibit, we walked down to the restaurant (great creole food) and gift shop. The restaurant and restaurant office were originally constructed as quarter-houses around the turn of the century. It was used to house tenant workers and their families. Attached to the restaurant is a well-stocked gift shop. Leslie Barrett, you would have loved the cupboard, dresser and door hardware that was for sale.

We then made our way down to the slave quarters. None of the original buildings remain, however, the replicas are standing were the original buildings once stood.

photo of original buildings ~ there were two rows of buildings

replicas

lawn chair..

a glimpse inside

Slaves were organized into an informal class system where duties determined status. House Slaves came first, then Craftsmen, then Field Slaves.

House slaves waited on the Roman family. They ran errands, served dinner and watched the children. While less physically demanding than field work, a house slave's duties lasted well into the night, only ending when the Romans went to bed.

They were issued better clothes and store-bought shoes. Since they reflected the Roman's social status, they were to be neat and presentable at all times.

Following their work day, whether they were house slaves, craftsmen or field slaves they returned to their home where they had to tend to their own chores. Many of them had vegetable gardens; they mostly grew corn. They, in turn, sold their corn to the Roman family (it was cheaper for the family to buy the corn from their slaves than to purchase it in New Orleans or elsewhere). Ironic, isn't it? This was one of the ways the slaves were able to make money in order to purchase their freedom.

cane hoes

While valuable, sugar was also the most demanding commodity to produce. From planting to harvesting to refining, each step required an exceptional amount of physical labor. As a result, area planters quickly became steady clients of the New Orleans slave traders.

Sugar plantations grew, both in size and reputation. By the Civil War, large estates owned an average of 110 slaves. Sugar's environmental and physical demands exceeded other plantation crops such as cotton or tobacco. Arduous labor and intense temperatures resulted in what some considered to be the most unforgiving of enslavement...

cutting sugarcane

adult shackles

children's transport shackles

the names of all the slaves owned by the Roman family

the names continue...

Post-emancipation life varied from plantation to plantation. For the first time, freedmen negotiated salaries, and could demand overtime pay. However, many planters refused to pay their workers in currency. Planters instead build plantation stores and paid in store tokens. These tokens had no value off the plantation, reducing many freedmen to varying degrees of bondage. Freedmen could not save, move or better their life elsewhere.

Oak Alley's own store once stood between the oaks and and what is now the plantation entrance. It was demolished in 1900.

Oak Alley is a beautiful plantation. We would love to be here in the spring when the crepe myrtle are in bloom...