In addition to her regular quarters, the plantations owner, Lake Charles, La., businesswoman Matilda Gray Stream, lives there on occasion. Shirley Plantation, which dates back to 1614, is one of Americas oldest plantations. Creole indicates that the individual was born in Louisiana. is the Mississippi River Commission map of 1876, which shows 22 cabins The Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana had over 350 slaves in the early 1800s. Despite being established in the 1930s to assist black farmers, the agency is now regarded as the last plantation due to its refusal to assist black agricultural initiatives. In the fall months during the harvesting and processing season, work on a sugarcane plantation was particularly labor intensive. Search over 40 years of magazine archives: Published nine times a year since 1975 in partnership with the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office, Preservation in Print is the exclusive publication covering architectural preservation and neighborhood revitalization in Louisiana. His son, Julius Richard, was born here on September 11, 1929; the family later added a second floor made of wood. According to Shannon Boddie, the executive director of Evergreen, the organization intends to do more community service. Today, many plantation homes are portrayed as elegant gardens with beautiful interiors, ignoring the darker side of their history. in the same configuration and location. These steps of boiling took place in series of large to small open kettles, often referred to as a Jamaica train. The most skilled slaves were chosen for the dangerous job of working close to the open kettles during the boiling process. The book is intended to shed light on the lives of all those who lived at Evergreenblack and white, enslaved, and free. We are open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., and tours are not permitted the following holiday week. Featuring the documented images collected by students Abbigail Sproul and Jacob Johnson. Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana), U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Louisiana African American Heritage Trail, National Register of Historic Places listings in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana, Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, "Matilda Geddings Gray and Evergreen Plantation", "Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' begins filming at the Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana on Monday On Location Vacations", Louisiana's African American Heritage Trail, Louisiana Digital Library Evergreen Plantation, History of the National Register of Historic Places, List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state, List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places, University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, National Register of Historic Places portal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evergreen_Plantation_(Wallace,_Louisiana)&oldid=1084343937, Museums in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, Houses in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, National Register of Historic Places in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, Slave cabins and quarters in the United States, Articles using NRISref without a reference number, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 April 2022, at 23:15. The site, which has 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, is the only one in the South with intact plantation buildings. The research remains ongoing, and the database will be updated as new discoveries are made. DONATE TODAY! Because of its quality and significance, the plantation was included among the first 26 featured sites on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. Hogsheads of sugar were transported down the Mississippi River to New Orleans and then on to other markets. Becnel paid $6800 for the six enslaved men, which would be approximately $232,000 today. Working alongside multiple research assistants, and students through Florida State Universitys UROP Program, all findings were documented, many of which are present on this website. 66 were here. The National Park Service and the Evergreen Plantation worked together to document historic sites on the property. In its prime, Evergreen had more than 350 slaves, making it one of the largest plantations in the South. Your email address will not be published. The language and classifications on the original documents have been maintained. They worked on the plantation in a variety of capacities, raising cotton and rice, among other crops. Evergreen Plantation is a plantation located on the west side of the Mississippi River in St. John the Baptist Parish, near Wallace, Louisiana, and along Louisiana Highway 18. Evergreen Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is located on State Hwy. The granulated, raw (unrefined) sugar produced from the crystallization process was packed into hogsheads, wooden barrels that held roughly 1000 pounds of granulated sugar. Visited Evergreen in late-February during our stay in Plantation Country. The grounds include 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), including 22. On some plantations, slaves worked in eight-hour shifts, called watches, and adult slaves worked two such shifts each day during grinding season. Evergreen is commemorating Black History Month by publishing profiles of enslaved people who worked and lived at the plantation over the course of 150 years. have caused alterations. The couple went on to have more children and continued to work in the cane fields on Evergreen Plantation. All content 2023Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. After years of in-depth research, Evergreens historians have amassed a vast collection of primary source documents that shed light on the individuals who were purchased and brought there to labor in the sugar cane fields as well as those who were born into slavery in the cabins that still stand today, a press release said. He died on November 18, 1908, and was buried the next day by Reverend Albert Washington in the Second African Baptist Church cemetery (now known as Young Cemetery). His physician attributed his death to arteriosclerosis. The plantation, which is now a historic site, is a testament to Louisianas long history of slavery for African Americans. In 1828, Samuel Girard Earle (1791-1848) purchased the property from Samuel Smith. Danny Hymel and his family have been farming the property for more than two centuries, as Alfred Songys great-grandson. The current exhibit at the center depicts the architectural evolution of the house and cypress cabins using acrylic paintings. The survey aimed to uncover more information about the lives of enslaved persons previously living on the plantation, promoting use of the slavery database by Evergreen Plantation, and ultimately uncovering new information about the site. Louisiana joined the Confederacy during the Civil War but soon came under Union control after the fall of New Orleans in 1862. The plantation was founded in 1752 and was one of the largest plantations in the South. Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans is classified as a tax-exempt public charity under sections 509(a)(1), 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), and 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, Federal Tax Identification Number 72-0760857. 19th-century barns. Evergreen Plantation still owns and operates as a privately owned sugar cane plantation today. Evergreen Plantation was established in 1790 as a privately owned sugar cane plantation, and it is still in operation today. The Catholic Church in Louisiana completely embraced family alliances when it came to marriage. _uacct = "UA-1070054-1"; Call 985-497-3837 to arrange a visit. [2][4] The house is open for tours every day except Sundays; tour times are at 9:30 am, 11:15 am, 1:00 pm, and 2:45 pm. The Rural Development Initiative for African American Farmers is one such program that assists black farmers. During the plantations nineteenth century heyday, the majority of the workers lived in the quarters houses, which were run by African Americans. On the eve of the Civil War, most sugarcane plantations in Louisiana used vacuum pans to produce unrefined crystallized sugar. The first black troops to join the United States army did so in Louisiana. It also contains binders full of archival document facsimiles related to Evergreen. [citation needed]. You can search for all domestics (house slaves), field hands, or more specialized jobs, such as engineer, cooper, carpenter, etc. It is in studying their lives that the nuances and complexities of the past can begin to be understood., The database has helpful tips for searching its contents, including that most enslaved individuals did not have surnames and that American origin signifies that the individual was enslaved in one of the Upper Southern states, such as Virginia, North and South Carolina and Maryland, and was sold south to Louisiana while Creole indicates that the individual was born in Louisiana.. Where is Evergreen Plantation located? 18, in Wallace. The formerly enslaved Black Americans, though legally freed, continued to live and work at the plantation until 1947. The plantation was passed down through the family, and they have worked to keep it in good condition. The survey aimed to uncover more information about the lives of enslaved persons previously living on the plantation, promoting use of the slavery database by Evergreen Plantation, and ultimately uncovering new information about the site. Heidels home on his plantation in 1835 was built with a mixture of French, Caribbean, and African influences in order to reflect the climate of southern Louisiana. Plantations were commonly located on fertile creeks and rivers in the south, and they frequently had extensive land holdings. Evergreen Plantation has been rated as a 90-minute tour in our review. The number of slaves fluctuated over the years, but there were always at least 300 slaves working on the plantation. The documents used to create this database include estate inventories, succession records, and bills of sale as well as sacramental records from the Archdiocese of New Orleans recording baptisms and funerals. One of his grandchildren, Olivia Simon, lived to be 100 years old. Aime died in 1882 when she just a little over forty years old. He also built a brick home located near a spring. The plantation continued to produce sugar cane under the direction of the bank that owned it, and it is still a working sugar cane plantation today. Over the decades, the most serious change to Evergreen as a plantation Ned was one of them. Evergreen Plantation is a former sugar cane plantation in Wallace, Louisiana, that was slave labor-dependent for its operation. quarters. Evergreen has its country's highest historic designation and joins Mount Vernon and Gettysburg in being granted landmark status for its agricultural acreage. Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana) Built1832Architect John CarverArchitectural styleGreek RevivalFederalNRHP reference No.19100386Significant dates 11 more rows. The work of researcher and historian Katy Morlas Shannon, the slavery database is available at evergreenplantation.org/slavery-database. This location was used in the film Django Unchained, which was released in 2011. His name was listed as Edward Edmond on the sale document and his age as 19. reservation only. How To Add Oil To Your Murray Lawn Mower For Optimal Performance, The Benefits Of Using Liquid Fertilizer After Mowing Your Lawn, Troubleshooting Your Riding Lawn Mower: Identifying And Resolving Common Issues, How To Determine The Correct Amount Of Oil To Fill Your Toro Lawn Mower After A Change, How To Troubleshoot And Repair Your Cub Cadet Riding Lawn Mower, How To Minimize The Risk Of Blowback When Using A Riding Lawn Mower. Call 985-497-3837 to arrange a visit. The main house was constructed mostly in 1790, and renovated to its current Greek Revival style in 1832. Becnel paid $6800 for the six enslaved men, which would be approximately $232,000 today. Although our doors are not open for tours, we do provide educational and research opportunities. Evergreen Plantation is committed to telling the stories of the men, women, and children who were enslaved here. Pierre Clidamont Becnel was born as a result of a union. He returned home to Aime and their sons. On February 13, 1852, Ned Edwards was sold in a group with five other men. The plantation house and outbuildings are well preserved and offer a glimpse into the life of the plantation owners. This data provides insight into the enslaved communitys scope of skills, kinship networks, family relationships, and places of origin. Aime was described as a griffe, indicating that she was of mixed race. Many were exceptionally skilled, working as long sawyers, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, engineers, seamstresses, and domestics. Aimes older sister was considered a mulatresse, but her younger siblings were all listed as negroes. After a royal land grant carved it out of the Virginia frontier, the plantation was established in 1613 as Virginias first. The Mulberry Grove Plantation in Georgia was built in 1736, making it the states oldest plantation. Merritt was examined by Lezin Becnel, the owner of Evergreen Plantation, in early January 1845. Evergreen Plantation is the most intact plantation complex in the South with 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including 22 slave cabins. The plantation operated until about 1930, when the Depression resulted in the owners abandoning the house. Despite this, the agency has made progress in improving its relationship with black farmers since 1997. . Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Louisiana's Must See-It-To-Believe-It Festivals, Dont Miss the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, Louisiana State Parks Offer Cabin Getaways. When Drausin Becnel and Emelie Brou first began their relationship, they caused a sensation in the community. African-American slaves provided the labor that was required to sustain and enrich the large agricultural enterprises, like Evergreen Plantation, which grew up along the banks of the Mississippi River. The terrifying Candyland plantation, run by the brutal Candie, is also featured in the movie. *origin (African tribe, American, or Creole). 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Not open for tours, we do provide educational and research opportunities Call 985-497-3837 to arrange visit! Passed down through the family, and tours are not permitted the following holiday week and research.! Purchased the property for more than 350 slaves, making it the oldest! Songys great-grandson enslaved here the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail all listed as negroes rivers in the movie glimpse., but her younger siblings were all listed as negroes early January 1845 made progress in improving relationship. Sites on the sale document and his family have been farming the property for more two! Of capacities, raising cotton and rice, among other crops name was listed as Edward Edmond the.

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