Moonlight and Magnolia: A History of the Southern Plantation

in the 1850s frederick law olmsted the designer of New York City's Central Park journey through the southern United States where he recorded his observations of life in the cotton Kingdom in the summer of 2015 students from Southern Wesleyan University traveled through the states of Mississippi Louisiana and South Carolina as they recorded the history of some of the great plantations of the old south this documentary displays the plantations as they exist today fabled monuments to a way of life that unlike in mr. Olmsted's day no longer exists located in Natchez Mississippi Stanton Hall was completed in 1857 for wealthy cotton broker Frederick Stanton while mr. Stanton own plantations in Mississippi Louisiana and Arkansas he chose to reside in the town of Natchez a town that before the Civil War was the home of many plantation owners Stanton Hall was designed in the Classical Revival style and mr. Stanton took the design models for the house from pattern books such as the model architect Stanton Hall was designed to be a showplace for the Stanton's wealth the marble fireplaces ironworks fine furniture and other building materials were imported from cities like New Orleans and Cincinnati and even from Europe while Stanton Hall is not a plantation the house is linked to these estates because it displays how the planters lived while they were in town for the social season the Natchez pilgrimage Garden Club now operates Stanton Hall as a historic House Museum the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and was designated a Mississippi landmark in 1995 in popular culture Stanton Hall was featured in the ABC miniseries north and south the house also served as the inspiration for Walt Disney's the Haunted Mansion the mansion called Melrose was completed in 1848 and was designed by architect Jacob Byers jaunty McMurran a prominent Natchez lawyer and cotton planner wanted his Natchez home to show off the wealth that he'd acquired through his cotton plantations Melrose is said to reflect perfection in its Greek Revival design the house was once part of an 80 acre urban plantation though no cash crop has grown here the estate supplied all of the food that the McMahons and their slaves needed the estate also had Gardens stables arms a carriage house and quarters for 25 enslaved persons that worked the estate the interiors of the home were decorated in the finest furniture and materials available the rooms on the first floor of the house were used for lavish entertaining while the rooms on the second floor were the private chambers of the family Melrose was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and is operated as a house museum by the National Park Service Melrose is considered to be the most intact antebellum home in the south due to the fact that the McMurran families sold the furniture with the house and future owners did the same Melrose is a wonderful display of life on an urban plantation in the antebellum South Greenwood plantation is located in the small town of st. Francisville Louisiana the house was completed in 1830 and was given as a wedding present to William and Olivia Barrow from their parents at its height Greenwood plantation consisted of 12,000 acres of cotton and sugar and it was one of the largest plantations along the Mississippi River the main house at Greenwood was surrounded by 2,000 acres of gardens ponds and forest guest cabins as well as the cabins for the Barrows slaves were located on this parcel of land there were over 100 slave cabins constructed of brick each slave family had their own cabin the quarters also contained a hospital into Church the house was abandoned during the Civil War and was later occupied by federal troops and used as a hospital for wounded and sick soldiers when the Federals departed they burned every building on the property and ransacked the house they left the house standing as it continued to be used as a hospital until the war's end the Barrows returned to Greenwood when the war was over and gave the now freed slaves parcels of land and the Barrow last name to ensure that the land would not be taken from the freedmen by the Federals and carpetbaggers the plantation was purchased by the Percy family who lived in the house until it was struck by lightning in 1960 the Barnes family purchased the remaining 300 acres of the plantation and worked to restore the house after years of researching the design plans the house was officially restored in 1984 since its reconstruction the house has been featured in many films including Louisiana and No and south Greenwood is now operated as a bed-and-breakfast as well as a house museum visitors from all over the world marvel at the grandeur that Greenwood plantation represents and the house has become a symbol of the antebellum South rose down plantation is also located in st. Francisville and is one of the most intact plantation complexes in the South completed in 1835 Rosedale was constructed for cotton planters David and Martha Turnbull Martha was a relative of the barrows of Greenwood plantation and David was considered to be one of the wealthiest men in the United States Martha Turnbull designed the gardens which continued to be well known for their haunting beauty the interior of the house is furnished with all of the fine things that were available to a wealthy cotton planting family the drawing room features a tapestry that was weaved by Martha Washington a distant family relative Martha Turnbull was a woman ahead of her time she managed the affairs of the house designed many of the mechanisms of the house including the curtain holds helped to school the children and oversaw the workings of one of the most successful cotton plantations in the south the Turnbull women must have been remarkable as Martha's daughter Sarah is rumored to have been courted by over a hundred suitors her name even appears in a West Point cadets diary located near the main house is the office of the Turnbull's physician dr. Caine not only looked after the health care of the Turnbull family but also the health care of their four hundred slaves the plantation house it's furnishings and 3,000 acres remained in the Turnbull family until 1955 when it was purchased by the Underwood family who spent ten million dollars to restore the house to its pre-war grandeur the plantation was purchased by the state of Louisiana and is now operated by Louisiana State Parks as a State Historic Site that demonstrates plantation life in Louisiana rose down plantation became a National Historic Landmark in 2005 shadows on the Tesh located in New Iberia Louisiana was the town home of David and Mary Conrad weeks the weeks for wealthy sugar planters who owned four plantations in Acadiana and were among the richest families in the Bayou Teche region the shadows was built on the edge of one of the family's plantations and was the site of lavish entertaining at the time of its construction the shadows was only one of three brick houses built along Bayou Teche after the death of her husband Mary weds politician John borne but retained control of her late husband's plantations and a hundred and sixty-four slaves as allowed by Louisiana law Mary wheats also paid special attention to the health care and education of not only her children but also her slaves the week's more family were staunch supporters of slavery and supported the political changes deemed necessary to allow for its continuation John Moore was a delegate to the Louisiana secession convention the family's connection with Louisiana secession would mark their home and lands for raid by federal troops Mary refused to swear the oath of allegiance to the United States saying my husband and my children will never know that mortification Mary died in December 1863 while the house was under federal occupation the house survived the war and remained in the week's family until 1958 William weeks halt the last family member to own the house dedicated his life to the preservation of his historic family home and entertained many notable people on the estate including Cecil B DeMille and Walt Disney William weeks Hall donated the house and gardens to the National Trust for Historic Preservation shadows on the dash was designated a national historic landmark in 1974 not away plantation located in White Castle Louisiana is the largest remaining antebellum plantation house in the south the mansion features the Greek Revival and Italian styles the house was designed by Henry Howard who also designed Bell Grove Plantation the largest plantation house to have ever existed the house was completed in 1859 and upon its completion the plans were destroyed so that no duplicate of the house could be constructed Nottoway was built for Virginia native John Hampton Randolph who moved to Louisiana to grow sugar cane mr. Randolph was very successful at growing sugar and amassed over 7,000 acres of sugarcane and was one of the largest slaveholders in the antebellum south the house is 64 rooms feature some of the grandest interiors of any plantation home including marble fireplaces brass chandeliers and newly invented flushing toilets the white bar room has ceilings that reach 15 feet and the room was painted completely white so that the natural beauty of mr. Randolph's dollars could be admired the house was occupied by both Confederate and federal troops but the only damage to the house was a single grape shot in one of the front columns after the war many of mr. Randolph's former slaves remained it not away and worked for a respectable wage John's wife Emily sold the plantation in 1889 for $50,000 the plantation changed owners several times until it was purchased by Paul Ramsey in 1985 now a historic Inn and house museum Nottoway plantation was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and is one of the top tourist attractions in Louisiana Houmas House plantation located in Sderot Louisiana was originally part of homeless Indian territory the land was purchased from the homeless Indians in the mid 1700s by Maurice Conway and Alexander leti by the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 sugarcane was already being grown on the property the property had a number of owners including Revolutionary War hero general Wade Hampton under the ownership of Colonel John and Carolyn Preston the grand mansion was constructed and was completed in 1828 John Burnside a native of Ireland purchased the property for $1,000,000 Burnside greatly expanded sugar production and by the time of the Civil War homas house consisted of over 300,000 acres 98 thousand acres of sugarcane was tended by over two thousand slaves making Houmas House plantation the largest sugarcane producer in North America the house was visited by federal troops during the Civil War mr. Burnside seeing the Federals approaching on a British flag from the second-story balcony the Federals threatened to commandeer the property but mr. Burnside exclaimed if my property is assaulted you will have to deal with the American and British ambassador's President Lincoln and Her Majesty Queen Victoria the Federals left homas house intact mr. Burnside continued to grow sugar on the plantation and even installed a railroad station on the property to make an easy way to send the sugar to market even after the war homeless house produced an average of 20 million pounds of sugar per year the house survived the Great Depression but was left to the forces of nature until it was purchased in 1940 on new orleans be croissant in 1963 homas house was the backdrop for the film hush hush sweet Charlotte starring Betty Davis and Olivia de Havilland the property was purchased by kevin kelly in 2003 and is now an inn and historic House Museum through mr. Kelly's efforts Houmas House plantation has been restored to its original grandeur and still deserves the nickname the sugar palace alley plantation located in battery Louisiana and originally called once's your plantation was started in 1830 by wealthy sugar baron Valkyr imma imma sold the plantation to his brother-in-law Jacques Roman Jacques began construction of the mansion a year later and gave it to his wife Selena as a wedding present the house was constructed of mud from the Mississippi River and was built entirely by slave labor the Romans were members of Creole society and were very devout Catholics Jacques believed that city living led to sinful living and had the house constructed in a way that the Romans and their many guests would be comfortable Oh Callie was a sugar plantation consisting of 1,200 acres of brown sugar which was primarily used to make rum 200 slaves lived and worked at Oak Valley the slaves were housed in single-family dwellings and like on mini plantations tended their own vegetable gardens the slaves had the option of selling vegetables to the Romans who also gave their slaves discarded furniture and clothing unlike her husband who was calm and reserved Selena Roman was high-spirited and loved parties in an age when it was considered ill-bred for ladies to consume alcohol Selena would soak fruit in rum and serve it to ladies that came to the plantation Jacques died in 1848 and the plantation remained under the management of Selena whose spending habits nearly bankrupted the estate neither federal nor Confederate troops were stationed at ho Callie but the Confederacy's defeat caused many plantations to fall into decay including oak alley the house was boarded up in 1866 and cows roam freely throughout the property including the main floor of the mansion Andrew and Josephine Stewart purchased the property in 1925 and immediately set about restoring the house and grounds sugar game began to be grown again and the plantation achieved much of its former grandeur the Stewart's donated the plantation to the oak alley foundation that continued to work the sugarcane fields and operates the house as a museum oak alley still retains all 1200 acres making the plantation one of the most intact complexes in the south Ocala is one of the most visited plantations in the south as visitors flocked to see the massive alley of live oak trees that adorn the front and back of the house no one knows who planted the trees but they have been dated back to the early 1700s regardless of their origin the trees make oak alley a jewel in the crown of plantations that dot the Mississippi River Destrehan plantation located in Destrehan Louisiana it's one of the oldest plantations in Louisiana the house was built in the French colonial style for indigo planter robin de luck knee in 1790 in 1792 the property was purchased by Jean Noel Destrehan who turned the property into a thriving sugarcane plantation 200 slaves produced over 200 thousand pounds of sugar a year making Destrehan one of the largest sugar plantations in the country not much is known about the slaves who lived and worked at Destrehan however according to the accounts of Jean Nouvel Destrehan and his descendants the slaves worked five and a half days a week and were given a two-week holiday after harvest the house survived the Civil War but was seized by the Freedmen's Bureau and was used as a colony for freed slaves the family was able to regain their property after the war but could no longer manage the plantation the family sold it to American oil company who built a refinery on the grounds local lore stated that the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte had hidden treasure in the walls of the house treasure hunters damaged the house in an attempt to find the treasure American oil company donated the house and four acres to the River Road Historical Society in 1971 the society operates Destrehan plantation as a house museum and guides interpret how life was lived on an antebellum sugar plantation Boone Hall Plantation located in Mount Pleasant South Carolina was established in 1681 by a land grant given to major Thomas Boone the original plantation consisted of four hundred and seventy acres of rice and indigo by 1817 the plantation had grown to over four thousand acres of rice worked by over 200 slaves a Brickyard was established on the plantation in the early 1800s and bricks produced on the property were used to build some of Charleston's great buildings including Fort Sumter the plantation began producing Sea Island cotton in the mid-1800s and the plantation greatly prospered until the onslaught of the Civil War the property has had its a session of owners including an exiled Russian Prince the McRae family purchased the property in 1955 and worked to establish the plantation as a working farm the McRae's still own and operate the estate as a prosperous produce farm and give tours of the historic property the most notable sights on the plantation is the world-famous three-quarters of a mile avenue of oaks the avenue was planted in 1743 and is what makes boon haw america's most photographed plantation also located on the property are nine original bricks slave cabins that were occupied by descendents of Boone Hall slaves until well into the 20th century records show that the Boone's and succeeding owners taught slaves how to read and write despite South Carolina law the current house was built in 1935 in the Colonial Revival style the property was featured in the ABC miniseries north and south Queen and the movie The Notebook the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 situated in a grove of moss draped trees stands long wood approaching this grand relic the visitor has taken aback by the uniqueness of the houses design long wood also known as nuts folly is the largest octagonal house in the United States architect Samuel Sloane designed the home for cotton planter Haller Nutt and his inspiration came from villas of Byzantium construction began in 1859 but was abruptly halted in 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War of the houses thirty-two rooms only the nine rooms of the basement floor were finished in April 1861 workmen literally dropped their tools and left today the workman's tools remain where they were left and long wood remains incomplete lack of funds prevented the nut family from finishing the house and the family resided in the finished rooms of the basement floor long wood represents the last burst of southern plantation magnificence had the house been completed long wood would have been one of the largest and grandest homes in the United States the house is now owned and operated as a house museum by the Natchez pilgrimage Garden Club and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 long hoods incomplete structure stands as a symbol of what the plantation South might have looked like had the ravages of war not destroyed the way of life that supported such opulence yet while the house represents the could have been of the Old South long wood also represents the unity of the new south not long after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox this is Julian Nutt wife of the late Haller Nutt through a 4th of July party in which all of Natchez was invited blacks and whites former masters and former slaves came together to celebrate the birthday of America's independence the party was a foreshadow of the life to come the moonlight and magnolias scented ambiance that characterized the Old South was embodied in the great plantations of that era plantations were the foundation of the region's agrarian economy the pillar of the region's political thoughts and the cornerstone of the region's social graces the people who lived on these estates were the contributors to this way of life that is now a vital part of America's past and proof of the nation's progress the plantation system continues to be a hotly debated topic that entertains enrages the wielders and raptures the hearts and minds of those who fall under the spell of its most shaded mystery regardless of a person's views of the history of the southern plantation regardless of the crop harvest the splendor of the big houses the closeness of the family ties the hard work of the slaves regardless of how life was lived on the old plantation this civilization no longer exists the plantations that survived are now only monuments to a way of life that is now gone with the wind you you you you

Channel: Cameron Tarrant

Views: 282,840

Rating: 4.7185631 out of 5

Keywords: Documentary, Plantations, Stanton Hall, Melrose, Longwood, Greenwood, Rosedown, Nottoway, Shadows-on-the-Teche, Oak Alley, Destrehan, Boone Hall, Houmas House, Magnolia, Old, South, Mississippi, Louisiana, Charleston, Old South, slavery

Id: z55H37nTtpA

Length: 26min 8sec (1568 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 19 2016