Who knew Oak Alley would have so many OAKS?
Setting Out
East of New Orleans, lays a sugarcane plantation that has been in that spot since 1837. That means if we went on Wednesday, January 11th, 2023 - the building had stood there for 186 years. As we got closer, we saw other buildings along the route that resembled what we would imagine plantation houses to look like. The road followed along a levee, which protected the area from potential flooding from the Mississippi River that was just on the other side of the hill.
See the gravel road going up the levee? Down the hill on the other side would be the river. Photo from https://pixels.com/featured/waiting-on-the-levee-dog-at-oak-alley-plantation-mitch-spence.html
Things to Do
We found parking easy enough and saw there were quite a few shuttle bus options that groups had arrived on. At the ticket booth, we got a discount for showing that we were AAA members, but we still thought tickets were pricey at $54 for 2 adults with the discount. The price included an inside tour of the Big House which was an add-on. The property had gardens, oaks, a cemetery, slave quarters, sugarcane theater, blacksmith shop, restaurant, bar, and the main house.
You Can't Miss the Plants
Flowers and trees are everywhere, and everything is labeled for the most part. We enjoyed the nonexistent crowds and pleasant weather in January, but only a few of the plants were in bloom. We could see where all the various flowers and rose gardens were but entire gardens were just stems with no buds or blooms. Only signs with photos could help us imagine what these plots should look like in warmer months.
The oak trees took our breath away. We never grew tired of staring at them as we walked throughout the property. Their spindly branches that grow out so long and reach down to the ground are so pretty. All along the branches, leaves or vines grow, giving the bark a fuzzy look to it. And many of the oaks here are over 200 years old, meaning they were huge.
Touring the Big House
The tours happening inside the main house were scheduled, and we signed up for the next available time after we had arrived. There were no crowds so that was literally the next scheduled tour, so we started to make our way to the house. There was a line we waited in with our tickets and along the line they had a few information displays, and their brochures were only in Spanish, French, or German - not English. Well I couldn't pass up that opportunity to practice my Spanish skills! I think I got the gist of the information but no way to know for sure. Well I could have used Google Translate now that I think about it, but I didn't in that moment so now there really is no way to know.
There was no photography allowed inside the house, and a tour guide took us through each room with our group, focusing on the French family who built the home and first resided there in the 1800s.
The house had been built to show off the fact that they were wealthy, with a lot of marble. We saw an 19th century ceiling fan in the dining room, a slave boy would sit in the corner pulling the rope which would swing the fan back and forth, creating a breeze on the host and their dinner guests.
We saw examples of the clothes the hostess and house slaves would wear, and copies of records kept about the property.
Oak Alley's dining room with the fan hanging from the ceiling. Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mbell1975/38937992931
We went upstairs to a better view of the gardens and oaks and this was the only part of the tour you could take photos. Again, I had to imagine how lovely the rose gardens looked in full bloom, but the trees were really amazing to behold. They had been brought there to be planted in the 1800s when they were a few decades old already. Many plantations lined their roads with them, and they can be seen all along the streets in the Garden district of New Orleans as well.
On the way out, there is a bar serving a variety of refreshments and souvenirs. We did pay a steep $9 to try their signature drink called the Mint Julip. Big surprise - it was very sugary, but I don't know what else we expected from a sugarcane plantation.
Sugarcane Theater
To the side of the Big House, is the Sugarcane Theater, a small, open structure with benches. A film about how sugarcane is grown and harvested today is on a loop in here, along with displays on the side walls about how the process compares to the 1800s. Some farming and sugarcane processing tools were on display as well. We learned that sugarcane was known as a high risk, high reward crop, susceptible to failing, but in an increasingly high demand that continued to grow - and still is growing today.
Slave Quarters
We followed the path back past the Big House, and towards the 6 structures that served as the Slaves Quarters display. A sign showed that in the 1800s, 20 of these rooms had been constructed here in 2 lines facing each other. Over 100 slaves lived in those 20 buildings and worked for the family. We heard an employee give a talk regarding what they can tell about the lives of those slaves and then we walked around to view the displays set up.
We learned that what they know today for sure comes from any written records they have, and none of these accounts are from the perspectives of those enslaved here. They have letters from the owners family members to one another discussing a few slave affairs and records of how much each slave was worth, as well as their name, age, gender, and job description.
They know families there would live in one of those units together, and only adults received food rations. So a pregnant mother of 3, would receive 1 ration of food for herself and 3 children. Because of this, it was vital that slaves grew their own gardens and kept their own chickens or pigs. The community would work together and take on different roles. So while someone was cooking for everyone, someone else was mending the clothes, tending to the chickens, etc. Since adults could have 18 hour work days depending on the season, these roles in their community were crucial.
Since food was limited, slaves developed dishes that were simple, versatile, and filling. Gumbo, jambalaya, dirty rice, and grits are a few examples of dishes these communities developed as a necessity and are seen as a staple of New Orleans cuisine today. As someone who has been sampling these foods during our stay, it was humbling to learn of their historic roots.
After listening, we walked around and saw the inside dwellings of these buildings. There were displays, with names of all the enslaved people who had lived there, artifacts that had been uncovered at the site, and more signs/pictures with information.
A list of the names, ages, and values of the people who were enslaved here. The box on the right (I know it's partly cut out) shows the distinction between the terms and how that reflected where the slaves were from.
This map shows the varying populations of slaves throughout the southern states. The more shaded an area is, the more slaves were being kept there. Notice how shaded in the areas on the Mississippi River are - this had to do with plantations being right on the river so they could cheaply export their products.
The inside of a slave quarters where up to 5 people could live.
Blacksmith Shop
We almost missed the blacksmith shop, it was so small and tucked away in the back, hidden behind the restaurant and inn that are on site here. Displays here depicted a time where blacksmiths were in high demand and traveling a lot during the civil war.
The rise of factories in the 1900s saw a sharp decline in blacksmiths until they were almost nonexistent. Then in the '70s, there was a resurgence of people who were determined to not lose this art. I have seen blacksmithing at Renaissance Festivals, on tv shows, and in YouTube videos, it never had occurred to me that when technology advanced, the skills of blacksmithing were in danger of being completely lost.
After this, we went back to the car and took a left out of Oak Alley to stop at a little parking lot about a minute or less up the road. We parked, and followed a path up to the top of the levee.
Behold the Mississippi
...and the thoughts I had while beholding it
Before, from the road or the plantation, all you can see is the hill which forms the levee. But once you climb up it, the Mississippi River is impossible to miss. While I looked out at how wide it was, I was trying to figure out if I could swim it like how my family and I swim across the bay at the family's cottage.
At first glance, I thought there was a small island in the middle of the river, but upon further observation, it was not an island, but a large barge. Sitting low on top of the water and very flat, this barge was covered in mounds of coals. We knew the plantation was right here so that goods could be easily exported, and now we were watching present day goods being transported down the river!
Months ago, Nate and I had watched a YouTube video titled, "How Geography Made the US Ridiculously OP." The video makes the argument that any nation that controlled the geographical area that the US does, would have become a world superpower. Right at the start, the narrator says the core reason this is true, is due to the Mississippi River and the basin that surrounds it. The system spans a third of the continent and is the longest navigable river in the world, and can be accessed from the Gulf of Mexico.
(Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BubAF7KSs64&t=2137s)
All this context was going through my head as I looked at those barges pushing goods down the river. I was also impressed that barges stay afloat with those dimensions and weight.
Concluding Thoughts
Overall, we were glad we had made the trip to see the plantation, though we would not be willing to pay those prices to do it again. But we were grateful for the chance to look into the lives of the wealthy and the enslaved people of the 1800s. Trying to imagine what it might have felt like to live their lives really adds some perspective to your own. Being on the river, learning about the origins of today's famous dishes, and even just driving down the road and looking at the fields, you got that shiver-like feeling of knowing that in this very spot, years ago history was in the making.
Let me know if you have any questions, remarks, or advice about any of this!
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