Walking Through Louisiana History: The Antebellum Plantations
Louisiana is known for her lavish Southern Plantations. Many visitors come to learn the stories that create the vision—the mysterious and interesting past that this southern state boasts. You don’t have to be a local to find out the stories of some of Louisiana’s most famed and popular plantations: Oak Alley Plantation and Laura Plantation.
Over the years, many fascinating individuals and histories have come together to create what we now know of as the Louisiana Antebellum Plantation. Get to know these two beautiful Louisiana treasures up close and personal.
A Historical Louisiana Plantation Tour Guide
Louisiana itself is a state of pure culture; we uphold traditions and let them coexist with newer ones. It’s only natural for our visitors to seek adventures into our past, and find the best stories to take home with them. People come from miles around to tour our streets, our above-ground cemeteries and hear stories about ghosts and voodoo and the very magic that haunts the Big Easy.
One of the top things that visitors want to experience when they come to New Orleans is time. There is a shift in time that occurs when you walk through the French Quarter, a mixing of the past and the present, a stirring excitement in the soul, which yields an instantaneous connection to the city itself. We have many things to remember our past in Louisiana, but none are as grandiose as the Louisiana Antebellum Plantation.
What should you keep in mind when you tour a Louisiana Plantation?
- The grounds hold a many stories as the buildings themselves.
- Each Louisiana Plantation was a world in and of itself.
- Stories always find a way of standing the test of time.
Highlights of Oak Alley Plantation: From the Words of Her Visitors
5 out of 5 Stars on March 24, 2014
“Being at Oak Alley was an amazing experience in itself. The tour of the big house was wonderful, with the girls dressed in their big hoop skirts, and the interesting stories that accompany the property. Staying at Oak Alley, however, is an amazing luxury.”
5 out of 5 Stars on January 23, 2014
“The tour of the mansion was grand and then the tour of the grounds wonderful too. They have a very detailed slave education exhibit that is outstanding. Very much a “must do” when you are in New Orleans!”
4 out of 5 Stars on December 6, 2013
“This iconic plantation is a must do visit as the 300 year old trees, the mansion, and the tours of the grounds are all worth the effort. We decided to rent a room here too and were given what was supposedly a place used to house a doctor back in the day. Sadly the furniture was quite sacked, but still it made for great memories.”
Highlights of Laura Plantation: From the Words of Her Visitors
5 out of 5 Stars on May 4, 2014
“We have taken a number of plantation tours along River Road in Louisiana and in Natchez, Mississippi. All are hard to take since they are all about a plantation economy that relied heavily on slavery. In this context, one of the best tours is the one at the Laura Plantation. The fact that the early owners were Creole makes a bit of a difference since the approach to slavery, while still harsh, was somewhat benign. The tour was excellent. Highly recommended if you want a better understanding of what life was like for both plantation owners and their slaves during the antebellum period leading to the US civil war.”
5 out of 5 Stars on April 30, 2014
“We had time for one plantation in the Vacherie area and were glad we chose this one. It showed us the Creole style of architecture adapted from Caribbean island culture, colorful buildings well designed for shade and breeze, so totally unlike the stereotype white mansion with columns. We had a fabulous guide who really brought home to us the history and the implications of slavery.”
5 out of 5 Stars on April 11, 2014
“The Laura Plantation may not be as pristine or as grandeur as other popular plantations like Oak Alley and Nottoway but it by far has the most fascinating history. And that’s not to say that the house and the grounds weren’t lovely, they absolutely were. I felt like the Laura plantation actually felt the most authentic and we’ll-preserved, far away from any modern structures which made me feel like I was there in the 1800’s.”
