TOURING RIVER ROAD
by Mary Fonseca
(This story first appeared in Louisiana Cookin' Magazine and is reprinted with their permission.)
On a springtime visit to Houmas House Plantation, I crossed the segment of Louisiana's River Road bordering the mansion's oak-shaded grounds and climbed the Mississippi River levee. Gazing upriver toward Baton Rouge, and downriver toward New Orleans, I tried to imagine the vista enjoyed by antebellum travelers when 28 elegant mansions lined the east bank of this section of the Mississippi River, and 39 homes of equal stature faced them on the western shore.
Houmas House Plantation
In the prosperous years before the Civil War, families often visited relatives and friends along this opulent corridor, and were received with bountiful hospitality by their generous hosts. They "stayed a week or a month, and to entertain and feed fifty guests was not unusual," say Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant in Gumbo Ya-Ya, their classic collection of Louisiana customs, traditions, and folk tales. "A midnight snack before going to bed might consist of a dozen items, such as gumbo, hot meats, cold meats, salads, galantines (boned meat or fish, stuffed, poached and covered with aspic), fruit, cakes, charlotte russes, whipped cream garnished with red cherries, caramel, sorbet and ice cream. A real dinner might terminate with a dozen desserts."
More than twenty of these impressive dwellings still adorn several state highways skirting the levees of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. They are commonly known as the River Road. Several homes are open to the public, and the picturesque facades of others may be admired from the River Road.
Evergreen Plantation
It's enjoyable to tour these architectural gems, even those mounted in the incompatible setting of factory complexes that replaced neighboring plantations ruined by war or natural disasters, or forsaken by owners stripped of the wealth needed for their costly upkeep.
Commentary about the slave artisans who built and maintained the planters' palaces before the Civil War, and about slaves who toiled as house servants or field hands, is included in several plantation tours, especially where the humble cabins they retired to at the end of the day have been preserved. Remnants of their melancholy history are exhibited in the young River Road African-American Museum & Gallery on the grounds of Tezcuco Plantation. The museum is often staffed by volunteers and a move to the nearby city of Donaldsonville is anticipated in the spring of 2003, so it is best to call ahead (225-562-7703 or 225- 644-7955) when planning a visit.
Slave Cabins at Evergreen Plantation
Several companies in Baton Rouge and New Orleans offer day-long bus tours of the River Road plantations, but on an overnight car trip you can leisurely savor the beauty of the homes you choose to visit, and experience some of the pleasant dining and bed and breakfast amenities that complement River Road's venerable mansions.
Destrehan Plantation, close to New Orleans, is an appropriate place to start a first-time tour. The white-columned manor, built in 1787, is the oldest plantation home in the lower Mississippi River Valley. The Destrehan family entertained guests ranging from the Duc d'Orleans, a future king of France, to Jean Lafitte, a privateer who merited pardon for himself and his crew in 1815 by helping Andrew Jackson's forces defeat the British in the Battle of New Orleans. According to Destrehan's costumed docents, Lafitte's ghost, and a few other phantoms, occasionally return to Destrehan's spacious rooms. Guides at San Francisco, Nottaway, and other plantations also present charming potpourris of recorded history, blended with legendary stories passed down through generations of owners.
Laura Plantation
Visiting these fascinating homes, and other historic River Road structures, is especially pleasurable when lively festivals, Christmas finery, or brilliant flowers enhance their splendor. Floral displays of particular note may be seen every spring at Manresa House of Retreats (formerly Jefferson College), and at Houmas House, Tezcuco and Laura Plantations. Laura's Br'er Rabbit Festival (third Saturday in October), Destrehan Plantation's Fall Festival (second weekend in November), Oak Alley Plantation's Christmas Bonfire Parties (first and second Saturdays in December), and the River Road Spring Pilgrimage ( first weekend in April), are among the most popular annual events.
Evergreen is the only plantation where groups can arrange to sample an antebellum dinner reminiscent of the one described by the authors of Gumbo Ya-Ya, but restaurants on the grounds of several plantations, and along the River Road, offer cuisines ranging from fine Creole, Acadian, and French-inspired dishes at Chef John Folse's Lafitte's Landing at Bittersweet Plantation in Donaldsonville, to traditional fried seafood at Hymel's in Convent, and down home Cajun cooking at B&C Restaurant in Vacherie.
Capping a sightseeing day with a delightful stay at one of the River Road's inviting bed-and-breakfasts is a truly memorable experience. Nottoway, and Oak Alley plantations pamper their overnight guests in well-appointed accommodations, while wayfarers who prefer the intimacy of smaller inns are ushered into elegant chambers at Lafitte's Landing at Bittersweet Plantation, and at Judge Poche and Bay Tree Plantations.
"Up a Lazy River," a free map and brochure compiled by the Mississippi River Road Commission will be helpful in planning your trip to the River Road. It is available at all Louisiana Welcome Centers and most hotels in the River Road area, or by calling 1-800- 944-2792.
www.lariverroad.com
Information is also available from the following Louisiana Tourism offices:
Ascension Parish Tourist Commission, Sorrento, LA (225) 675-6550 or 1 (888)775-7990
www.ascensiontourism.com
Baton Rouge Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Baton Rouge, LA (225) 383-1825 or 1-(800) LA ROUGE.
www.batonrougetour.com
New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1520 Sugar Bowl Drive, New Orleans, LA 70112. (504) 566-5011 or 1-800- 672-6124.
www.neworleanscvb.com
Feature Story Archive
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Touring River Road
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Jeanerette
Photos by Mary Fonseca
© 1999 Mary Fonseca. All rights reserved.
