Oak Alley, part 2

(This is a continuation of the previous post, Oak Alley, part 1  . In it I forgot to mention that an owner prior to the Stewarts, Jefferson Davis Hardin, had purchased the plantation in 1917 and had made an unsuccessful effort at restoration.  He is credited with saving the Big House through his replacement of the heavily deteriorated roof.)

I spent about two and a half hours at Oak Alley and never felt overwhelmed like I sometimes do in places with many things to see.  I did not try to see everything there (save something for the next trip, right?), but still felt very relaxed as I walked around the grounds using the excellent Visitor Guide & Map they supplied. 



 

The building that the Stewart's used as a garage now has two vehicles on display that are representative of the Stewart era.  On the right is a 1928 Ford Model "A" Phaeton sedan and on the right is a 1929 Ford Model "A" truck.

 



One of the exhibits I did not explore was the slave quarters.  Just glancing in as I walked by I could see many exhibits.  I don't remember where I picked this up, but normally the slave quarters were not located as close to the house as these are.  So I'm not sure if this was an unusual occurrence or if these buildings were moved from somewhere else.  (Just to note, I'm sure that actual slave quarters were not this neatly built and well roofed!)

These sugar kettles were scattered over the grounds.  They were part of the tedious process of extracting sugar and molasses that was done on every sugar cane plantation.  The kettles were graduated in four sizes ranging from 7.5 feet (the grande) to 4 feet (the batterie) in diameter.

The object visible at the top right of this photo of the dining room is the bottom of the punka.  This fan would swing back and forth above the table while the family enjoyed a meal; it would be "powered" from a corner of the room by a small slave boy pulling a rope to move the fan back and forth.  These are actually of Indian origin and I'm not sure how they were brought to the southern states (future research project) but they served their purpose.  I had to think that the little boy pulling the rope would have to be fairly strong to keep pulling the fan back and forth throughout a meal.

The bedrooms were beautiful, filled with many period pieces like this cradle and day bed next to it.  However, I just could not get excited about the thought of sleeping on a mattress stuffed with moss!

Excellent!

 

(Restaurant is on the left)

The restaurant is located in a building constructed around the turn of the 20th century and the gift shop is located in what was originally one of the shed's constructed while Mr. Hardin owned the plantation. The restaurant offered a nice menu and I bought a cookbook that had their recipes in it, many of which are Mrs. Stewart's.  The gift shop featured a nice selection of books; however, there wasn't one on the history of Oak Alley.

The love that the Stewart's put into the restoration and maintenance of Oak Alley is very evident everywhere. To ensure that the plantation was preserved for future generations Mrs. Stewart established the non-profit Oak Alley Foundation for the purpose of maintaining and preserving the Big House and 25 surrounding acres.  The property was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

Oak Alley, part 1

 Oak Alley Plantation has been on my list of places to visit for a long time and was one of the definite stops on my recent road trip.  It is now on my list of places to go back to visit again; I want to spend a night in one of their cottages and enjoy several meals in their restaurant!

The Big House





The Big House and its dependencies were built over a three year period between 1836-1839 almost entirely by slave labor using local materials.  The finishing touches such are marble mantles and floors were imported from Europe and no expense was spared.  Wealthy planter Jacques Telesphore Roman received the property in a plantation swap with his brother-in-law.  The house was constructed as a gift for his bride, Celina, who was 16 years younger and accustomed to the city life of New Orleans. Built in the Greek Revival style on a square, central hall plan the design is thought to have been drawn by Celina's architect father. The contractor was George Swainey.

 

After Jacques' untimely death in 1848 due to tuberculosis Celina tried to manage the plantation; however, as with most women of that time she had no training in managing a large sugar cane plantation. By the time their son, Henri, assumed control of the plantation in 1859 the plantation was almost bankrupt.  Despite his efforts the plantation still was not profitable, and Henri slipped heavily into debt.  The plantation was sold at auction in 1866 to John Armstrong for $32, 800, solely for its value as a sugarcane plantation and not for the house or dependencies.

These oaks pre-date the house by over a hundred years.  They were planted in the early 1700's by an unknown settler.  I have to wonder if he had actually built a house here or just planned on building.  The 28 oaks are spaced 80 feet apart and reach almost a quarter of a mile to the Mississippi River.  When the house was built the river was visible from the front veranda as the levee was significantly lower then.  When the early Capuchin Fathers arrived in 1722 to establish St. James Parish, the trees were described as being of mature size. 

 

Today at 300 years of age they are considered to be middle aged and are members of the Live Oak Society where each tree is registered and has its own name.  Miraculously the trees and the plantation escaped the fury of Hurricane Katrina, sustaining only minor damage.

 

Madame Roman had named her house Bon Sejour which means "Good Stay" (A Good Place to Stay), but as the tour guide explained it was always knows as Oak Alley because the river boat captains would tell travelers that when they saw the alley of oaks then they were half-way between Baton Rouge and New Orleans!

After a succession of owners the house had fallen into disrepair.  Fortunately, Mr. Andrew Stewart purchased the property in 1925 as a gift for his wife, Josephine.  She hired Richard Koch to perform an extensive restoration on the house that included portioning the rear rooms of the first floor and removing one of the roof dormers on the front and back of the house.  Mrs. Stewart choose the pale pink color for the exterior of the house as well as the blue green for the shutters and railings.  As is the custom of Southern houses, the ceiling of the veranda is painted a pale blue to abide by the tradition that the blue color will keep birds from building nests.

Mrs. Smith loved the out of doors, preferring to be outside gardening or riding her horse.  She was fond of the English style of gardens, particularly favoring boxwoods.  These are over 100 years old.  The building at the back of the picture is thought to have been the site of the original kitchen.  The Stewart's used this building as a garage for their cars.

 

to be continued...