Greenwood Plantation Felicianas
Greenwood, the largest plantation house in the Felicianas, is a restructure. William Ruffin Barrow built the original in 1830 on the 12,000-acre sugar and cotton plantation he purchased from Oliver Pollack, who had acquired the land by grant from the Spanish government. The Barrow family, originally from England, had emigrated first to the Carolinas before […]
Read MoreDestrehan Manor
Destrehan Manor overlooks the east bank of the Mississippi River several miles above New Orleans. In a contract, translated from French and still on file at the local courthouse, it is written that in 1787 “Robert Antoine Robin de Longy and Charles [Pacquet], free mulatto, have agreed … that the said Charles, carpenter, woodworker and […]
Read MoreMagnificent Chretien Point
In 1776 a Spanish land grant awarded Pierre Declouet a rise of ground about eight miles from what is now the city of Opelousas. Hippolyte Chretien, one of three brothers from France, purchased the property in about 1800 to raise cotton, the popular crop of the area. Stories mention the friendship that Hippolyte had a […]
Read MoreCatalpa Plantation St. Francisville
This charming Victorian cottage was built by William J. Fort in 1885 to replace the I original house, which was destroyed by fire. William Fort came to the Feliciana country from the Carolinas with skilled servants to erect the first Catalpa. The Forts raised both cotton and sugar. They were successful planters and shared their […]
Read MoreThe Shady Retreat, Bocage Plantation
Bocage translates to Shady Retreat. The plantation home was built in 1801 by I Marius Pons Bringier as a wedding gift to his daughter Francoise and her husband Cristophe Colomb, an alleged descendant of the famous explorer. Bringier, head of the wealthy and powerful Bringier family, owned several plantations along the Mississippi River in South […]
Read MoreThe American Castle
Nottoway also referred to as the “American Castle” is the largest of the existing plantation homes, was built in 1857 near Bayou Goula on the west bank of the Mississippi. Nottoway has sixty-fIve rooms and almost 65,000 square feet! In 1841, John Hampton Randolph, a descenqant of a famous Virginia family, left Woodville, Mississippi, to […]
Read MoreNew Orleans Pelicans
Charles Abner Powell (1860-1952), the “father” of the New Orleans Pelicans, came to New Orleans in 1887 and became a member of the city’s first professional team. As manager of the Pelicans, he invented the rain check, conceived the idea of covering the diamond with tarpaulin to prevent flooding of the field during rainstorms, and […]
Read MoreLouisiana State Bank
New Orleans’s banks have had a checkered history. Excessive capitalization, Poor banking laws, the panic of 1837, the capture of the city and its long occupation during Reconstruction, the panics of 1873 and 1879, and the bank holidav of 1933 form vivid chapters in the century and a half of New Orleans banking. One of […]
Read MoreNew Orleans Convention Center
When you hear the words New Orleans Convention Center today you can’t help but see those horrific images of thousands of stranded New Orleans Locals who where pushed out of their homes by the ranging flood waters post Katrina. It was such a hopeless time in our country and the media wasn’t able to cover […]
Read MoreGulf Coast Oil Spill and New Orleans
I am not an expert on oil or wildlife but this oil spill in the Gulf doesn’t look or sound good for us New Orleanians but I could be wrong! I am not worried about the vegetation that is soaking up the oil because I remember when I was a kid and my neighbors would […]
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