~ The Great River Road - Destrehan Plantation ~

This is Part 2 of my "Great River Road" adventures.

The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads which follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

The Great River Road is not a single road as its name might suggest. It is more accurately described as a designated route, the whole of which consists of connected segments of other named and numbered highways and streets, each maintained by state, county, or local jurisdictions.

The Great River Road has some really fascinating history which you can find lots of information about.

But now, I am going to share with you a little piece of my travels along The River Road. My travels started due to my love of great houses and an interesting book I read about Louisiana. At one time, the great houses were all built along the Mississippi river because it was their way of transporting their crops but also their means of travel and their connection with the other people who lived on the river.

In 2001, I drove the River Road down into Louisiana and stopped at numerous plantations along the way.
          

This segment is about Destrehan Plantation. Destrehan was built in 1787 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley. Destrehan is also one of the few remaining examples of a colonial Louisiana house that has changed substantially and yet remained a functioning house for the past empires of indigo, sugar and petrochemical production after the property was sold in the early years of the twentieth century.
            

After neglect and vandalism, the historic property has been beautifully restored.

Destrehan is an antebellum mansion, in the Creole colonial style, modified with Greek Revival architectural elements.
             

This place will immerse you into the rich history of Louisiana when everyone spoke French and sugar (white gold) drove the economy. It didn't have the beauty of some of the other plantations, but it sure had the history.

It is located in Destrehan, Louisiana, minutes from New Orleans.

     

Front of house

Back of House

 Rainwater Retainer

 

Front with Oak Tree

Close up of Columns

The Grounds

HUGE Oak Tree

 Creepy Night Picture

 

 Some Inside Pictures

  

Slave quarters - How so very sad

You can read about Destrehan Plantation on the Destrehan Plantation Website for more information.

More to come on my River Road journeys...