Houmas House in Burnside, Louisiana
Houma House is an old Louisiana antebellum plantation home along the Mississippi River close to Baton Rouge. Recently we spent an day exploring the plantation home and surrounding gardens. Although Houmas House is close to Baton Rouge, I had never before visited. What a pleasant surprise. The home has been restored with furnishings in period style. Extensive gardens and fountains have been added.
We took a guided tour of the home. Our hostess told many interesting facts and stories about the plantation. Here you can see two rows of live oak trees and in the distance is the Mississippi River levee. Beyond that is a river boat which makes this one if its regular stops.
The rows of live oak trees originally was much longer. Because of extensive flooding including the great flood of 1927, the Corps of Engineers built the levee and took out many of the live oak trees.
The plantation home is three stories high. This spiral staircase is the only way to get to the second and third floors.
The original plantation property was purchased in 1773 from the Houmas Indians for $100.00. The plantation purchase included thousands of acres. It was quite a bargain. Here is a statue of a Houmas Indian Chief as a homage to this tribe. Today, the approximately 17,000 enrolled tribal citizens who are Houmas Indians live in several parishes in South Louisiana.
By 1803 the plantation was a working sugar cane plantation. The plantation changed owners several times during the 1800’s, but the plantation was prosperous and its owners wealthy. Here is an iron sugar cane kettle which would have been used for boiling the sugar cane pulp. Now it makes a lovely water garden.
The current home new was built in front of the old one in 1840. It is a Greek Revival mansion which is two and a half stories high and surrounded by 14 monumental Doric columns on three sides.
John Burnside, a native of Belfast, Ireland, purchased the property in 1857 for $1,000,000. He increased the acreage and operated four sugar mills during this time. He employed around 750 slaves to operate his numerous properties. It was the largest sugar plantation in Louisiana. During the Civil War, the Union forces made plans to use the plantation for their headquarters. Burnside, however, would have nothing to do with that idea. He flew a large British flag from the front home’s columns and claimed immunity as he was still an Irishman. So, the plantation escaped the Civil War largely untouched. The plantation is sometimes known the Burnside Plantation and a nearby town is named after him.
Here is a mold for making sugar which would have been concentrated and distilled in one of the large iron kettles.
The property has many other buildings scattered around including extensive homes for their slaves. Here is one of two matching octagonal brick “garçonnières” at the Houmas House build in the mid-1800s. These are “bachelor’s” quarters with a sitting room downstairs and a bedroom upstairs.
Very few of the furniture, paintings and accessories in the home today are original ones. In fact, the plantation was left unoccupied in the early 1900’s and fell into disrepair. The plantation was purchased by Dr. George B. Crozat in 1940 who began to restore the plantation. It was sold in 2003 and the new owner, Kevin Kelly, added many period pieces. Now, the home is a fascinating journey into the past life of Louisiana plantation families.
Here is the original kitchen of the plantation with duplicates of many of the appliances which would have been used to prepare meals in the 1800s.
Ornate chandeliers adorn all the rooms.
This clock supposedly once belonged to Marie Antionette.
For interestingly trivia, the books on this bookshelf are painted and not actual books!
Several movies were filmed here including “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte” starring Bette Davis in 1964. Betty Davis lived in the plantation during part of the filming in this room.
The plantation continues to be privately owned and the owner still lives in the home. He has added extensive gardens and statues to the property. We enjoyed our leisurely time walking through the property. Some of the sculptures obviously are modern day creations, but it makes for an interesting tour. Enjoy some of these gardens and figures. This statue is next to a very productive tomato garden!
There even is a cage with a parrot who entertained us by hitting his beak against the cage.
I loved this wisteria trellis.
If you visit Louisiana, I highly recommend stopping and visiting Houmas House. It is an interesting glimpse into Louisiana history. I enjoyed our relaxing day of walking through the gardens and touring the home. There is an impressive gift shop and several restaurants on the property. Our last stop was lunch at an elegant restaurant where I ordered “Eggplant Stacks with Crabmeat and Sauce.” Delicious! A good way to end our day!
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Houmas
