A Simple Life - In The South: ~ The Great River Road

Saturday, February 21, 2015

~ The Great River Road - San Francisco Plantation ~

This is Part 3 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.

I would now like to introduce you to San Francisco Plantation. It definitely was not what I expected but it is truly a beautiful house and should not be missed or bypassed. Be sure to read the history on this house.

San Francisco Plantation - The Most Opulent Plantation On The Mississippi River

With its mix of architectural designs, this ornate mansion offers a remarkable variation on the plantation styles commonly found along the Great River Road. From certain angles, San Francisco Plantation has been thought to resemble a variety of different structures, ranging from a Mississippi riverboat to a giant layer cake.

The house was built in 1854 by a wealthy sugar planter. This vividly-colored house is a spectacular creation of great ambition and unique inspiration. Nestled under centuries-old live oaks, San Francisco Plantation is furnished and decorated like no other plantation in the South. It has world-renowned hand-painted ceilings, faux marble and faux wood throughout, and one of the finest antique collections in the country.

San Francisco Plantation was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. This opulent, colorful plantation is so distinctive that it inspired novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes to write “Steamboat Gothic,” a story about a family she imagined living there.

These are not my pictures but ones that I found on the web. They are much nicer than my own since I did not have a decent camera at the time.

Front of House