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

Friday, May 8, 2015

~ The Great River Road - Nottoway Plantation ~

This is Part 4 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 Nottoway Plantation. This was by far the most magnificent plantation house that I visited. The size alone is breathtaking.

Considered the "Jewel" of the River Road Plantations and is the largest remaining antebellum plantation house in the south. It is composed of 64 rooms, seven staircases and five galleries. It has 165 doors and 200 windows, most of which can also double as doors. Total 53,000 square feet. It was built in the Italianate Style when the era was dominated by Greek Revival architecture. It sits 200 feet behind a Mississippi River Levee and is surrounded by old oak trees, magnolias, pecan trees and sweet olives.

Nottoway survived the Civil War, however damage did occur when a Union gunboat on the Mississippi River attempted to destroy the magnificent house until the gunboat officer realized he had once been a guest there and decided to spare Nottoway.

It is located in White Castle, Louisiana, and lies between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

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.

Clicking on the pictures will expand them to a larger size.