The plantation first raised indigo, corn, and rice. But Soon they converted to growing sugarcane, a much more lucrative crop after Etienne deBore discovered an inexpensive method of granulating sugar in 1795. During Destrehan’s lifetime the plantation grew extensively.

Like many planters along the Mississippi, Destrehan was as interested in having a large family as he was in producing sugar. The solid brick garconnieres, somewhat attached on both sides of the main house, were additions to accommodate the increasing family. These two new units, though slightly asymmetrical in size, conformed so well with the original West Indies-style architecture, they seemed part of the structure.

In 1823 Stephen Henderson, a wealthy Scotsman, took Destrehan Plantation over. He married Lelia Destrehan; her death preceded her husband’s though she was only half his age. Henderson died in 1838, leaving a most complicated will. Because the will was contested by his surviving relatives, most of its provisions were set aside by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Henderson had directed that upon his death his slaves be emancipated, given an acre of land, a mule and a cow, or, if they chose, given passage to Liberia. The litigation over this and other then controversial philanthropic provisions in the will continued for years, and most of the estate went for legal fees.

In 1839 Judge Pierre A. Rost, another son-in-law of Jean Destrehan, acquired Destrehan Manor. Rost began an extensive renovation, altering the house’s West Indies appearance to conform with the then-popular Greek Revival style. Great white pillars were formed by covering the earlier wooden colonettes with brick and plaster. The original bousillage entre poteaux (Spanish moss and sand between posts) walls were lathed over, plastered, and scored to resemble granite stones.

One of Destrehan’s outstanding architectural features is its high-peaked West Indies-style roof. Three smallish dormer windows and two asymmetrical chimneys jut out from the roof. The original heart-of-cypress, handhewn beams are visible throughout the house. Also in the house is a large marble bathtub said to have been a gift from Emperor Napoleon I to Jean Noel Destrehan.

Many noted guests were entertained at the manor house during the years the Destrehans and their descendants occupied the property. Two of the most famous were the Duc d’Orleans, who became king of France, and the renowned pirate-hero Jean Lafitte, whose ghost appears during stormy nights pointing to where he hid some of his treasure.

Union forces seized the house during the Civil War and turned the property into a Freedman’s Bureau colony, housing hundreds of newly freed slaves. The property was returned to the Rost family through presidential intercession in 1866, and remained in the family until 1910.

Since 1914, Destrehan has been the property of various oil refining companies that still utilize some of the acreage. In 1972 the manor house, devastated by neglect, vandalism, and the elements, was donated to the River Road Historical Society. This dedicated, nonprofit group began an immediate restoration of the manor house and several acres of picturesque grounds. Today, Destrehan Manor House is open daily to the public. All proceeds from admissions, annual festivals, and profits from the charming antique and gift shop are dedicated to Destrehan’s continuing restoration.

For more information on the Destrehan Plantation read more at the Hotel Monteleone.

Stories mention the friendship that Hippolyte had a with the brothers Jean and Pierre Lafitte, who used Chretien Point to conceal and move some of their smuggled cargo – and slaves. These tales are credible because Chretien accumulated hundreds of slaves to work his ever increasing cotton-producing acreage in a seemingly short time.

In 1812 during the Battle of New Orleans, Hippolyte Chretien and some of his neighboring planters joined the pirates Lafitte and General Andrew Jackson in this fight, which defeated the British. One of the gentlemen that fought with Chretien was a man known only as Senor Neda. Neda’s daughter Felicite married Hippolyte Chretien II and became one of Louisiana’s first “liberated” , women. Behaving very unconventionally for her time, Felicite was active in the management of plantation business, smoked cigarettes, and even was adept at card gambling. Felicite increased the plantation holdings by whatever methods she could. She acquired much property because of her proficiency at cards as well as her dealings with New Orleans bankers and businessmen, almost unheard-of activities for a woman at that time. Her courage and self-sufficiency were more than helpful because her husband and one of her two sons died from yellow fever shortly after the house was completed. She unearthed his money, which was buried on the grounds, after convincing Hippolyte’s faithful servant, Pajo, to reveal its hidden location.

This remarkable lady also possessed physical courage: It seems she herself thwarted a robbery attempt by shooting a thief in the head and frightening off his accomplices by confronting them with the possibility of a similar fate.

During the Civil War, a battle fought on the plantation grounds was led by Federal general Nathaniel Banks and Confederate general Alfred Mouton. Hippolyte Chretien III, though sick and feeble, saved the house by giving a secret Masonic sign that was honored by General Banks, a fellow Mason. Though the house was spared, the rest of the plantation buildings were destroyed by Yankee forces.

Hippolyte III inherited the plantation and lived at Chretien Point with his wife, Celestine Cantrell, and their son Jules. Jules was a multitalented young man, and unfortunately the family was more interested in the creation and appreciation of the arts and not in the practical science of management. After several crop failures the family attempted rice production, which also failed. The property was eventually lost to the mortgage holders. Jules became a traveling salesman of kitchen utensils.

The house was restored to its original magnificence in the late 1970s. The six-brick Tuscan pillars at front are based on square foundations that anchor the wide, wooden, balustrades gallery; the pillars rise two stories to the eaves of the hipped roof. Round-headed French doors and windows are features in each room. Chretien
Point’s great room is graced with unique mantles of verde-antique Italian marble with Ionic capitals and shelves of black onyx. Ceiling medallions are elaborately a carved. Exterior walls are eighteen inches thick and the house measures sixty-three feet wide by forty-seven feet deep.

Sadly, the original furnishings were destroyed by fire after they were moved to a small hotel, which was operated by one of the Chretien heirs. The present owners, the Cornay family, have again beautifully furnished the house and graciously opened it to plantation tours.

For more information on tours visit the Hotel Monteleone’s attraction listing of the Chretien Point Plantation.