Oak Alley Plantation

Steven and Betsy in front of the famous vista at Oak Alley Plantation, LA

Recognize the scene above?  This shot (without us in the foreground) has been used in nearly a dozen movies over the last fifty years. This is the famous Oak Alley Plantation, one of a string of plantations in the lower Mississippi area.  Oak Alley is not the oldest plantation in the area (Destrehan, built in 1778, takes that honor), but I think it is the quintessential idea of what a plantation should look like.

Oak Alley up close and decorated for the holidays

Oak Alley was built in 1839 by Jacques Ramon in an attempt to lure his bride from New Orleans to the country.  It worked.  The Ramons settled into plantation life, raising six children (only three of whom reached adulthood), overseeing sugar cane production, and living the high life.  In fact, after Jacques' death at the age of 48 in 1848, his wife Celina continued spending so extravagantly, that her adult children were eventually left penniless.  The mansion was built entirely by the slaves owned by Ramon.  Between 1839 and the end of the Civil War, close to 200 slaves labored to run the house and grow sugar cane.

Hannah, our tour guide, explains about rum soaked apples and courting candles

The courting candle 

Oak Alley was busy the day we visited; it is often overrun by tour groups.  We waited out the crowds with a mint julep and gumbo in the on-site cafe, then wandered over to the big house.  Hannah, our hospitable tour guide, shared all the secrets of the Ramon house.  I'll let you in on a few too.  Here we see Hannah in her period costume in the receiving and courting room.   Men were offered rum upon arrival.  Women were only offered an apple soaked in rum.  The room also contained a courting candle.  If the father approved of his daughter's suitor, he'd twist the candle up so it would burn longer.  Regardless, once the candle burned down to the top of its wire container, visiting hours were over. A chaperone was always present, though he sometimes turned his back on the couple.  The convex mirror on the wall allowed him to keep spying however.

The multipurpose room

The "multipurpose room" upstairs was for guests and for those taken ill.  The bed's mattress was filled with Spanish moss, and while it made a fine bed, you had to use a rolling pin to smooth out the indentations from a night of rest.  A slave would spend two hours on each bed rolling it back into shape.  A guest was never allowed to take a nap on these beds.  The ladies of the house had "fainting couches" to lie on during the day.  Their corsets were so tight, that if loosened, they would often faint.  Hence, the need for such couches.

Reconstructed slave quarters

The slaves made the plantation possible.  They lived in shacks with fireplaces, but no outhouses. They raised chickens to supplement the meager food they received.  On these rations, they planted and harvested sugar cane, extracted the cane syrup, planted gardens, and handled all household chores.  One slave, Antoine, even developed a thin skinned pecan, now known as the Centennial pecan.  His master took all the credit of course.

Recognize this plantation now? 

Note moss and fern covered oaks surrounding the mansion.