Laura Plantation

Laura Plantation is a historic plantation in St. James Parish, Louisiana on the West Bank of the Mississippi River near Vacherie, Louisiana. It is significant for its early 19th c. Créole-style raised big house and several surviving outbuildings, including six slave quarters. It is one of only 15 plantation complexes in Louisiana with this degree of complete structures. [ [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/lau.htm "Laura Plantation"] , National Park Service, accessed 10 Jul 2008] Because of its importance, the plantation is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also included on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.

Alcée Fortier, who later became Professor of Romance Languages and folklore at Tulane University, was said to have collected Louisiana Creole versions of the West African Br'er Rabbit stories here in the 1870s.

History

Originally known as DuParc, the plantation was established in 1755. The current plantation house was built in 1805 by a French Créole family.

The complex continued functioning as a plantation into the 20th century. The plantation complex consists of the "big house"; several outbuildings, including six original slave quarters; and a "maison de reprise" (a second house or mother-in-law cottage). The existence of the slave quarters, which workers continued to live in up until 1930, contributes to the historic significance of the complex. Because of its importance, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is used to interpret history and for heritage tourism.

Shaded by the low branches of large oak trees, the main house is almost hidden from the road. Constructed in c. 1805, the "big house" at Laura Plantation has a raised brick basement story and a "briquette-entre-poteaux" (brick between posts) upper floor. It is one of only 30 substantial Créole raised houses in the state. Also noteworthy are the federal-style interior woodwork and Norman roof truss, unusual for Créole houses. [ [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/lau.htm "Laura Plantation"] , National Park Service, accessed 10 Jul 2008]

The interior of the "big house" is furnished with original antiques. Some pieces were donated to the plantation by families of the original owners. Owners have left some areas inside the home unrestored to give visitors a sense of history.

A large collection of family treasures and apparel are on display, giving a sense of daily life. Laura Locoul Gore's memoirs provided much of what is known about life on Laura Plantation.

In 2004 the plantation house was significantly damaged by an electrical fire. Restoration work was completed in 2006, despite the interruption of Hurricane Katrina.

Residents

Laura Locoul Gore was the fourth mistress of the plantation. She was born in the house in 1861. She inherited it and ran it as a sugar business until 1891, when she sold the plantation to the St. James Sugar Cooperative, with the condition the plantation always be called Laura.

Laura Plantation's association with the Br'er Rabbit tales drew preservationist Norman Marmillion's attention to the site. He created a for-profit company that attracted enough investors to embark on a ten-year plan of restoration. Some investors are descendants of former owners.

The "Br'er Rabbit" and "Br'er Fox" tales are variations on stories that originated in Senegal and were brought to America around the 1720s by enslaved Africans. According to the plantation's history, Alcée Fortier, a neighbor of the family and student of folklore, came there in the 1870s to listen to the freedmen. He collected the stories which freedmen told their children in Louisiana Créole. These stories were about Compair Lapin and Compair Bouki (the clever rabbit and stupid fool), in which the rabbit plays a trickster role. Twenty-five years later in 1894, Fortier published stories which he had collected and translated in the edition "Louisiana Folk Tales: In French Dialect and English Translation". Fortier did publish such a book and may have collected the tales at Laura and his own family's plantation. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=cXQOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA461&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0 Grace Elizabeth King, "Alcée Fortier"] , "Créole Families of New Orleans" - Google Book Search, New York: Macmillan & Co., 1921, p.465]

Citations

References

* Taylor, Delia. (Aug.10, 1993). "The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report". Feb.1, 2008
* Speakman, Stephanie. (1998, September 20) "World of the Bayou and the Plantation".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

""

* [http://www.lauraplantation.com/ LauraPlantation.com]
* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/lau.htm Laura Plantation, National Park Service]
* [http://www.atneworleans.com Laura Plantation atNewOrleans.com]