Rosedown: A Link to the Past | 2010

nestled in the rolling hills of West Feliciana Parish in southeastern Louisiana rose down plantation is a nearly 200 year old estate created by Daniel and Martha Turnbull this family was very very rich they were the Bill Gates family of that period of time internationally rich you've got a plantation house that's about 8,000 square feet extensive gardens that they'd probably never seen that equal anywhere we have the main house we have twelve historic outbuildings 28 acres of formal gardens and 90% plus of original furnishings the Turnbull's immense wealth could not protect them from the perils of disease everyday tragedies and the Civil War [Music] [Music] Martha Hilliard Barrow and Daniel Turnbull both had wealthy parents Martha's parents William Barrow the second and Farabee Hilliard Barrow owned Highland plantation a 4,300 acre estate planted mostly in cotton at that time cotton was referred to as white gold Daniel's parents John Turnbull and Katherine Rucker Turnbull got rich trading slaves fur livestock food and indigo John travelled continuously shifting Goods and slaves among buyers and sellers between Natchez Mississippi and Mobile Alabama the turn bulls garnered huge profits Daniel inherited part of his father's wealth 29 year-old Daniel married 19 year-old Martha in 1828 befitting the children of wealthy parents they spent their honeymoon trip in Europe the great Gardens of France England Italy they were all there Martha got many of her ideas from these historic gardens we know she went to Versailles and she probably talked with several of their landscape gardeners there she found the symmetrical gardens the very formal gardens that she saw the part tears the Turnbull's delighted over the 250 acres of formal gardens surrounding the palace at Versailles Martha and Daniel were inspired by the magnificent estate that had served as home to king louis xiv and other french royalty Martha and Daniel were very wealthy all the grandeur in Europe they could have easily decided to come back and have some of that here in Louisiana they did return home after after their honeymoon trip that was when Daniel made a series of seven land purchases over the next few years eventually totaling almost 3,500 acres Martha quickly began landscaping planting dozens of live oak trees 35 feet apart as Martha's trees took root designs were drawn up for this two-story mansion complete with 12 huge columns and two small ones the cypress columns were reportedly harvested from the grounds that rose down and then hand turned by slaves the house would have six bedrooms and three porches two out front one upstairs and one downstairs a third porch would be built out back observers believe the couple designed the house themselves because of similarities between rows down and Martha's childhood home Hyland plantation Rose down has a very unusual plan in that it doesn't have a central hallway that extends front to back through the entire width of the home that was a very standard plan for this time because of the cross ventilation that the hallway would provide that was their air conditioning rose down has the formal entry hall backed by a very formal dining room which in effect cuts that central space in half but if you've been to Highland you see that they have that same plan Daniel did make arrangements for the air circulation there's a half window that you can raise and a half door underneath the window that you can open in most of the rooms they have fire side cupboards on either side of the chimney there is also a pair of built-in bookcases in one of the rooms and these are features you don't normally see in houses from that time period the Turnbull's hired a builder to turn their blueprints into reality the vast majority of the construction was done by slaves they built a sawmill when they first began construction on the house so they could mill their own lumber most of the lumber that went into the construction of the house was taken from the rows down acreage well they had their own brick foundry most of the the bricks that were used to build the foundations of the houses in the outbuildings were all made here the Turnbull's added built in china cabinets they added a kitchen behind their home just as most homeowners of their generation did family records show that Daniel and Martha spent thirteen thousand one hundred and nine dollars on building supplies alone but those supplies may have been less than half the materials used in the house at its height rose down had a total slave population of 440 for many of these slaves had been inherited by Daniel from his father Martha got some from her family but many of them were purchased by Daniel here it took only about six months to build the house with construction beginning in November of 1834 and finishing in early May 1835 it was an enormous feat given some of the details in the house including nine fireplaces three of which are encased in imported black marble if karela marble that was imported from Italy and it was very expensive at the time it took months for the Turnbull's to get there shipments of wallpaper from France the couple also purchased fancy drapes and rugs and floor cloths Daniel and Martha bought 925 dollars worth of new furniture including four beds from Philadelphia that same furniture would have cost them about eighteen thousand dollars today a french-born cabinet maker by the name of Anthony Kerrville designed the very first shipment of furniture four rows down Kerrville carved almost exclusively in mahogany anything that's upholstered is upholstered in black horsehair the Turnbull's had already purchased some furniture to accommodate their growing family the shipment included bed steps for their two children six-year-old William and four-year-old Sarah we have the Turnbull family cradle and that was the cradle that all the children in this house slept in as babies that's probably the oldest piece that we have in the house there is also a toddler spool bed which is in the nursery Martha ordered china and silverware that was fitting for her magnificent home the old Paris porcelain it's a really pretty floral set with a pink border they had at least two different kinds of silver flatware they had a dessert set which was by O do silver of France and they had a set that was for daily usage which was fiddle thread pattern some of my favorite pieces are the Baccarat crystal champagne glasses that she got in France and you're a beautiful cranberry color and there bowl-shaped at the top and fluted at the bottom and there's a lovely Capodimonte punch bowl with Cupid's all around the side and it has beautiful colors and there's a fruit set with the plates having hand-painted flowers and the plates and the tiered stands for the fruit are trimmed in Napoleon green the turn bulls were not only proud of their home that we're also beginning to take pride in the grounds their live oaks were growing beautifully but they had also no doubt set out some valued treasures they had been holding on to since their honeymoon seven years earlier now we know that they bought statuary and brought it back with them that's what really gives this garden a European feel of the beautiful marble statues with furniture in place the walls are adorned with beautiful paper and drapes and beautiful chandeliers hanging the turn bowls were ready to celebrate the completion of their new home they invited 30 guests Martha prepared the menu she had six chickens two turkeys two ducks one ham one tongue roast mutton one pig twelve dozen eggs 28 bananas six pineapples two hogshead of ice that was a lake ice that had been shipped down from up north for decanters of wine for decanters of brandy and eight bottles of champagne slaves then went to work preparing the huge feast over a fireplace to cook on this hearth you cook down hearth as well as cooking with pots hanging on the crane over the fire you have shovel coals out of the fire and place them down hearth and create burners pots and pans were placed over the blazing fire or on hot coals to bake boil or fry the meats vegetables breads and desserts the meal was then delivered to the main house and served on this table a slave child operated the new Ponca or shoo fly above the dining-room table during the early 19th century they did not have screens for their windows so when the hotter months of the year came along windows were all open insects would have free brain you would actually have a slave child at the wall pulling the cords which would operate the punka the breeze would shoo the flies away the party celebrating the completion of rows down was just the first of many parties to be held at rows down Martha loved company she also loved to show off her gardens that had been evolving for five years before construction began on the house Martha most likely saw camellias in azaleas in England they would have been grown as hothouse camellias by the very wealthy who could afford beautiful glass conservatories that were warmed with smoke pots and things like that the camellias and azaleas are native to China and could not be grown outside in England because of its cold climate Martha soon discovered the shrubs thrived outdoors in south Louisiana she also learned how to root her own plants she propagated them on large scale basis and we still have her original propagation shed that she used to propagate with camellias for sweet olives her azaleas her box woods that she formed beautiful formal parterre gardens with Martha also grew gardenias and roses as the lady of the house she was very deliberate in how and where she planted all of her foliage involved in every detail herself the garden she saw in Europe were always top of mind the English is more of a cottagey informal garden it's kind of a patchwork II just bowled use of color and then the French style comes in through the axis that you see the same things done on one side is down the other if you look from a balcony you can really see the very formal symmetrical style of the gardens she also built rockery which is very unique and what this rockery kind of symbolizes is the ruins that she saw in Europe Martha created brick and gravel paths leading from one location to the next as she watched her garden and trees grow she added to her family a third child James Daniel was born in 1836 giving the couple two boys and a girl Martha's growing family did not however interfere with her love of entertaining there is a beautiful glass conservatory very Victorian looking that was behind me that is now in ruins we just have one remaining wall and this conservatory was filled with orange trees lemon trees different types of citrus beautiful Jasmine vines that were very fragrant pineapples and all sorts of exotic orchids and she would have held musical productions their little small intimate dinner parties tea parties as frequent guests stroll through Martha's growing garden they often found new structures including a sunken glass greenhouse this is where Martha kept her seedlings until they became strong enough to survive south Louisiana's hot summers and cold winters other buildings were added as well including a milk house we have the wood shed which would have been used to store the supplies of cut wood we also have the ladies privy which was the outhouse three summer houses also known as gazebos a garden barn which would have been where Martha stored the larger of her equipment that she used for the gardens she had a vision of what she wanted and she was very aggressive in gaining what she wanted I pictured Martha and Daniel sitting at the supper table and Martha saying I need another four acres for another garden and Daniel cathain keen oh I've got to give up into the four acres of cotton the Turnbull's made another extravagant addition to their home in 1841 the Chickering square grand was ordered by daniel it's called a square grand because it was a style that was invented by the Chickering company that had a smaller size but it also had almost grand piano sound it was either designed by Jonas or one of his direct sons the Turnbull's not only enjoyed their own home they had other outlets as well they sometimes took advantage of Martha's brothers boat for trips to New Orleans and for hunting excursions the vessel was equipped with stables for 12 horses and six packs of dogs the turn bulls and their children also took trips almost annually to Saratoga New York a place that offered a respite against Louisiana's hot summers Saratoga was known even then for horse-racing a sport daniel enjoyed the family skipped their regular trip to Saratoga in the summer of 1843 it proved deadly for the couple's young son 7 year old James Daniel he died that summer of yellow fever his death was such a source of trauma to the family that Daniel hired a full-time doctor here building his office very close to the main house so the doctor would always be nearby in case there was another medical emergency with one of his two remaining children but the doctor also took care of all the slaves on site too despite grappling with the loss of his youngest child Daniel Turnbull had to stay focused on his business ventures rose down was considered the home plantation but he did own three others and he managed a total of eight plantations so his business affairs were becoming quite extensive and we think he wanted a formal office library so he added the office library on the south side of the house not only did the new library give Daniel more work space it also provided a place to house his hundreds of books researchers say he may have had the largest private collection of books in Louisiana during his time numbering around 400 Daniel added a north wing to his house to balance the south wing this new addition proved useful when Daniel's acquaintance Henry Clay lost the 1844 election for President of the United States to james k pulk crawford Redell had built an exquisite set of furniture for clay to take with him to the White House clays defeat caused the bedroom set to be put up for sale Daniel decided it would be a wonderful addition to his new bedroom though it would be a tight fit the set was immense the bed itself was thirteen feet eight inches tall it just about brushed the ceilings in those fourteen foot three inch tall wings the entire set consisted of the bed an armoire a dressing bureau to wash stands a cheval mirror and six chairs money was not a factor for such extravagance Daniel's plantations were only a few miles from the Mississippi River which over the course of hundreds of years changed courses and flooded causing soil in the vicinity to be very fertile the long growing season in south Louisiana also benefited the Turnbull's there were among the 38 wealthiest plantation owners in the south you can have three to four growing seasons in a year as opposed to the just the two growing seasons that you would get up in the northern states basically a couple of good cotton crops and he was a millionaire not only did the Turnbull's have a grand lifestyle they also loaned large amounts of money to others in the community the couple brought in tutors for their surviving children Sarah and William Barrow they took their children with them when vacationing at various American resorts and when traveling abroad both Sarah and William were popular in social circles in May of 1853 23 year-old William married Caroline Swanwick Butler the great-great granddaughter of Martha Washington I've always heard stories that Kara was a little bit spoiled she was very pretty and I'm sure she was from a very prestigious family as was Sarah Sarah probably had a lot more responsibility of helping to upkeep rose down Caroline brought with her two rows down one of her grandmother's treasures this needlepoint fireplace screen stitched by Martha Washington or her granddaughter Nelly Custis the bliss of William and Caroline's marriage was short-lived because of a tragic accident in 1856 involving William he was an old river in a pleasure boat with two friends and a servant and a wind came up and flipped the boat over and he and a servant drowned and the two friends escaped he was to be the heir to rose down which left their daughter Sarah as the primary air within months of the funeral William's wife Caroline left Rose down with their two children never to return Sarah's days of being an eligible southern belle would soon be over less than six months after Williams death she married James Bowman from the nearby oakley plantation the marriage was reasoned for additional construction that rose down I think that Daniel and Martha decided to build that wing out back so that they would have a place to retire turning the main house over to Sarah and James so that Sarah and James could begin their family the young couple may have exceeded expectations filling the house with children Sarah did have ten children but Sarah's ten were actually born over the span of about seventeen years so as they grew up they would go away to boarding school they would get married they were probably never all ten ever living in the house at any one time Daniel did not live to see but four of his grandchildren he died in October of 1861 just six months after the first cannons were fired marking the beginning of the Civil War all we know from family papers is that he had suffered from a long illness James Bowman went off to fight for the Confederacy while he was away Union soldiers showed up at Rosedale they found only women and children here they found a house gardens garden related outbuildings that couldn't be of considered of any cognitive strategic value to the Confederacy and I think that's why they left the house in the gardens alone we do believe that they burned the slave cabins at that time as a way of symbolically freeing the slaves while the house and gardens were spared by the Civil War they still went into decades of decline most of the family's money had been put into their home and into slaves to work the fields the Turnbull's also loaned heavily to other plantation owners and farmers in the community some didn't make it back from the war other farmers who didn't go off to war were now penniless on top of that the freed slaves started expecting pay for their work Martha would actually barter with them she would give him like a pound of coffee or a pound of sugar that sort of thing to do a certain amount of work later on Martha got into a sharecropping sort of situation where she would actually exchange rent for land with her former slaves to do work around the house and gardens sharecropping often proved contentious as revealed in this letter from an overseer the hands are not willing for you and mr. Bowman to ship their cotton they won't give any reason Taurus has furnished them with bags ties and trying to put their cotton despite the frustrations of helping to manage her plantation Martha was able to enjoy the beauty of rose down with her grandchildren she continued to pass down her values and wisdom as they went away to boarding school and college my dear Nina and Corrie I must write a letter and beg that you both at once convinced to do all the other girls too to contribute to your health and spirits don't sit in your room so much go out into the fresh air dance sing prompt enter into all these pleasures you're both too young to be such old women be gay girls talk with everybody Martha died in 1896 at the age of 87 by then Sarah had been very well trained to become the matriarch of the family she and her children lived up to Martha's expectations they listened to the radio a lot and so they kept up with worldwide events and then they had a lot of visitors people love to come and talk to them and they had a cousin who lived at Oakley and he would ride his horse into town every day and get the mail and pick up all the news and then come back and relay all the local happenings to them but the best of times appeared to have been with family around the dining-room table my mother said as a child they always went there for holidays he said they were probably four generations sitting around the table and that the meals were just wonderful there was always seven courses and she said they lasted for three hours my mother didn't like to sit still but she said she always was glad to sit still and behave at the table it rose down because the food was so good and she didn't want to miss a bite of it but if if she did not show perfect manners Sara would always very discreetly correct her Sara lived to be 83 years old her husband James died 13 years later at the age of 95 Sara willed her family home to her for unmarried daughters who also devoted their lives to rose down they continued to raise as much of a cotton crop as they could until the boll weevil came through and wiped out the ability to produce large-scale cotton that was in the early 1900s the Bowman's sisters were forced to find other ways to generate money the 1930s for the time when tourism started to come into its own and a lot of people were traveling from the north to the southern regions and seeing all these wonderful plantation homes so the Bowman's sisters decided to take advantage of that and they actually opened rows down for public tours they would charge I believe a quarter per person to let people into the house to see the entry hall the parlor the dining room maybe the library and then they sold cuttings from the gardens some of Martha's original plantings that they sold postcards they had postcards made and they saw that even though my great aunts could have lived much here had they sold some land or so some of the furnishings I think they just felt like it was a tribute to their families to hold on to this the money the sisters earned didn't come close to being enough to maintain the house or the gardens they however did their best to preserve and pass on their parents way of life and Nina was the one that I think seemed to like the outside the most and she would take care of the ducks and the chickens and the plants and aunt Bella sort of took care of the inside of the house the Gordon then looked nothing like they look now they were very overgrown as was the house badly in need of repair but you know it was just a family home it was kind of fascinating it was sort of like being in the secret garden the last of the Bauman's sisters Nina died in 1955 the Turnbull descendants decided it was time to put rose down in the hands of someone who could restore the place to its original grandeur there was significant damage to the house just in terms of deterioration water damage insect damage in terms of boring bees carpenter bees in 1956 Katherine Fondren Underwood from Houston Texas came in and purchased the plantation she had a full staff of world-renowned professionals to restore the site it was said to be one of the most expensive private restorations in history mrs. Underwood opened the home to the public after eight years of painstaking work she and her husband Milton oversaw the house and grounds until their deaths their son David took over rose down for more than a decade before selling it to Jean Slifkin the slavka era proved to be the most challenging for Rose down he forced the descendants of rows down slaves to pay for land their church had been built on almost a hundred years earlier [Music] anonymous donors came up with most of the money sliska took away the beautiful marble statues Martha Turnbull brought home with her from Europe on her honeymoon he also sold some small decorative pieces from the house some of which have been recovered sliff cos most controversial move however was to sell off the Henry Clay bedroom set we still have about 90% of the original furniture still in the house today but that was the most significant loss of the original furniture because of the history behind it some fear we may never know how many valuable plantation records slivko removed from rose down Louisiana leaders quickly stepped in to the rescue when they saw the house and property being dismantled the state purchased the house and 371 acres of land for 5.7 million dollars the state didn't purchase the original statues but silifke agreed to pay for eight replicas despite the losses it's considered to be probably the most intact southern plantation complex in the country you'll find big houses in many places you'll find a few historic gardens you'll find some associated outbuildings but rarely will you find it all in one place 23,000 people from all over the world visit Rose down each year to see how the Turnbull's and their descendants lived and how their home and gardens live on we stand here today after 170 years of history at Rosedale what is it gonna be like in 270 years or 300 centimeters what a value is that going to be to the children learning the history of the cotton plantations the flora perishes West Feliciana Parish [Music] [Music] to order a copy of this program call one eight hundred nine seven three seven two four six or right to LPB business office at 7733 Perkins Road Baton Rouge Louisiana seven oh eight one oh you may also visit our website at wwlp.com [Music]

Channel: Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Views: 28,470

Rating: 4.8099174 out of 5

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Id: 6LYo6jToZbk

Length: 29min 0sec (1740 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 17 2020