Evergreen Plantation was established in 1790 as a privately owned sugar cane plantation, and it is still in operation today. The house is open to the public by reservation only. The citys 37 buildings are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the majority of them from the antebellum era. You can choose which field you want to search. The only known historic map of the plantation The Mulberry Grove Plantation in Georgia was built in 1736, making it the states oldest plantation. It is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. Evergreen has been designated the countrys most historic site, and joins Gettysburg and Mount Vernon as landmark sites for agricultural land. People live here and work here, the website said. No longer anonymous, the men, women, and children who called Evergreen Plantation home provide a window to the past and enhance the historical narrative. 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. Slave laborers who planted, hoed, weeded, dug irrigation, and harvested the cane were subjected to harsh working conditions. By the 1940s, the plantation was reacquired and fully restored. Next, excess water was evaporated from the juice through several stages until it thickened and reached the point of crystallization. The plantation house and outbuildings are well preserved and offer a glimpse into the life of the plantation owners. In 1944, when Mrs. Gray purchased Evergreen Plantation, the double row of slave cabins was occupied primarily by sugar cane workers. It is meant for everyone, from scholars who wish to engage in comparative analysis to individuals searching for their ancestors. Evergreen Plantation is owned by a family who has resided in the area for generations. The granulated, raw (unrefined) sugar produced from the crystallization process was packed into hogsheads, wooden barrels that held roughly 1000 pounds of granulated sugar. Just a few months after his enlistment, Aime gave birth to another son, Edmond. Evergreen Plantation. Itinerary Home | List The plantation was established in 1752 by Claude Treme, and was later owned by his son-in-law, Jacques Treme. Despite this, the agency has made progress in improving its relationship with black farmers since 1997. The number of slaves fluctuated over the years, but there were always at least 300 slaves working on the plantation. Evergreen Plantations 22 intact slave cabins are just one of the sights visitors can see as part of their tours. Evergreen Plantation, which dates to 1777, is one of the most intact plantation complexes in the South, with 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including "two garconnieres, two pidgeonniers, the kitchen, the domestic slave house, the stables, the Greek Revival privy, and twenty-two slave cabins in their original double-row 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. Thirty years later in 1843, Norbert Rillieux, a Free Person of Color from New Orleans, developed his superior double effect vacuum pan. These birds are currently not seen standing quietly under the two rows of live oak trees that surround them. Although our doors are not open for tours, we do provide educational and research opportunities. Over the years the plantation's property was subdivided and sold (1). Call 985-497-3837 to arrange a visit. All rights reserved. Following the development of the steam-heated vacuum pan by Englishman Edward Howard in 1813, a number of plantations began boiling sugarcane juice in a vacuum. He was described as "an American negro age 25." He had to make his own family and create relationships that would help him endure enslavement. . 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. 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. Evergreen Plantation was one of the largest plantations in the Southern United States, with more than 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land and over 150 slaves. Evergreen Plantation has been rated as a 90-minute tour in our review. More than 400 individuals were enslaved at Evergreen Plantation over the course of 150 years. Evergreen Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is located on State Hwy. He married Aime, a 17 year old girl enslaved on the plantation with her mother Katty and siblings. No longer anonymous, the men, women, and children who called Evergreen Plantation home provide a window to the past and enhance the historical narrative. It is located on Louisiana Highway 18 in St. John the Baptist Parish, near Wallace, and is a plantation on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The brutal Candie runs a vast plantation known as Candyland in the film, in addition to the terrifying Candyland, a demon-infested paradise. it is clear that they are indeed antebellum. The Ancestor Project is a digital database designed specifically for teachers, students, genealogists, and visitors. 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. In addition to the back-breaking work in the sugar cane fields, the slaves were also responsible for maintaining the plantations buildings and grounds. In addition to the database detailed biographical essays on the lives of enslaved individuals also are featured on the website, containing significant data obtained from the Civil War pension files of slaves who joined the Union army. From St. John the Baptist Parish Probate Records, formerly housed in the parish Clerk of Court office, now being digitized: 1791 Succession, estate of Pierre Becnel, husband of Magdelaine Haydel Becnel, who would inherit Evergreen Plantation. The Evergreen Plantation was founded in 1752 by the family. It is in studying their lives that the nuances and complexities of the past can begin to be understood. This digital archive will serve as a resource for teachers, students, historians, genealogists, and visitors. Louisiana joined the Confederacy during the Civil War but soon came under Union control after the fall of New Orleans in 1862. The National Park Service and the Evergreen Plantation worked together to document historic sites on the property. In the early 1700s, the plantation was most likely based on the Evergreen Plantation, which was located in Edgard, Louisiana. He moved from Evergreen to Carroll Plantation (also known as Johnson) and lived the rest of his life there. Monetary contributions to Preservation Resource Center are tax-deductible as provided by law. You can search for all domestics (house slaves), field hands, or more specialized jobs, such as engineer, cooper, carpenter, etc. 19th-century barns. 1829 - The plantation's name was changed from Hopewell to Evergreen .? According to Shannon Boddie, the executive director of Evergreen, the organization intends to do more community service. Many of the slave laborers on plantations in the South worked in the fields as plow hands, carters, ditchers, or woodcutters, among others. The site, which has 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, is the only one in the South with intact plantation buildings. Evergreen Plantation, located near New Orleans, is the largest intact plantation complex in the South. 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. The Evergreen Plantation is one of the oldest plantations in the United States, having been established in 1752. 1830 Succession, estate of Magdelaine Haydel Becnel, who inherited Evergreen from her father and expanded the business into a major plantation enterprise, 1835 Inventory taken at the time of Pierre Clidamont Becnels ownership (grandson of Magdelaine Haydel Becnel), 1842 Succession, estate of Josephine Lennen Becnel, wife of Lezin Becnel Jr., the eventual owner of Evergreen. By 1850, the Ward family had owned over 1,000 slaves in addition to being one of the most active slave trading families. The Preservation Alliance of New Orleans, Inc., d.b.a. Many were exceptionally skilled, working as long sawyers, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, engineers, seamstresses, and domestics. Some noteworthy original features, such as chimneys, shutters, The plantation includes 37 contributing buildings, all but eight of them antebellum, making it one of the most complete plantation complexes in the state and the South. Was really looking forward to visiting Evergreen since it is the only plantation to still have all of their original slave cabins - 22 in total - on site in their original location. The database is meant for everyone, from scholars who wish to engage in comparative analysis to individuals searching for their ancestors, Evergreens website said. Evergreen Plantation is located in Wallace, Louisiana, just north of New Orleans. have caused alterations. The original structures where enslaved people lived can still be found on the property. Renting out its river bed to shipping and maritime businesses has allowed it to generate more revenue. She had been staying in the iconic big house on occasion, but after the property opened its stately gates to the public in 1998, she moved to a cottage. The Catholic Church in Louisiana completely embraced family alliances when it came to marriage. The Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey was led by Dr. Jayur Mehta, excavating a large portion of land on Evergreen plantation. . Subscribe to our newsletter for insider access to PRC news, events, involvement opportunities, and more! This data provides insight into the enslaved communitys scope of skills, kinship networks, family relationships, and places of origin. Over the course of 150 years, she would be just one of the more than 400 enslaved individuals who lived and worked at Evergreen Plantation in Edgard. The short documentary film titled Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey was edited and created by FSU student Cooper Lyon using footage provided from the excavation as well as footage collected on his own, Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey. Of great significance are the 22 slave quarters, arranged in a double row along an alle of oak trees. Ned first appeared on an Evergreen Plantation inventory in 1858. On some plantations, slaves worked in eight-hour shifts, called watches, and adult slaves worked two such shifts each day during grinding season. Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door monthly? 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. 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. The first black troops to join the United States army did so in Louisiana. The house is open to the public by The plantation is now a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. This diverse community was made up of Africans, the enslaved from the American South, and Creoles of Louisiana. This new technology had the advantage of being a more controlled method of boiling, where lower temperatures were required and less fuel was needed. Constructed in 1790, Evergreen remains one of the most intact plantation sites in the South. Refer to the list of names of those enslaved at Evergreen by clicking on the link below. His wife is from the Caribbean, and he brought many of her cultures influences with him from home. Tour guides highlight the reliance on slave labor on the plantation and how, as an alternative to free African-Americans, the dependence on slave labor was necessary to sustain it after emancipation. Ned was a member of the United Order, a benevolent and charitable society. Evergreen Plantation, located in Edgard, Louisiana, is one of the most intact slaveholding sites in the South, dating back to 1790. An essential source for navigating the background, process, and findings during the excavation of Evergreen Plantation. He was disabled due to a serious oblique inguinal hernia that had gone untreated for decades. Neds term of enlistment expired in March 1867. His name was listed as Edward Edmond on the sale document and his age as 19. Heidel, a French Creole, founded Evergreen Plantation in 1886. There were some cotton plantations with fewer slaves, but there were also cotton plantations with fewer slaves. In the fall months during the harvesting and processing season, work on a sugarcane plantation was particularly labor intensive. The details within the database allow us to read and interpret the past. In addition to her regular quarters, the plantations owner, Lake Charles, La., businesswoman Matilda Gray Stream, lives there on occasion. Cabins and oaks, upriver (east) side of quarters. One of his grandchildren, Olivia Simon, lived to be 100 years old. All content 2023Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. The gates will remain open for tours until 1:45 p.m. on weekdays, and until 10:30 a.m. on weekends. Slave quarters were frequently the site of plantation homes, and their owners relied on the labor of enslaved people to turn their properties into profitable businesses. their original appearance and double row configuration, have survived After a royal land grant carved it out of the Virginia frontier, the plantation was established in 1613 as Virginias first. There are only a few antebellum sugar plantations left in the United States, and the property is one of the few remaining in the South. Your email address will not be published. Archival records relate that in 1835, a total of 54 enslaved people resided in twelve cabins at Evergreen Plantation, indicating that roughly between four and five slaves inhabited each of the twelve cabins. After years of in-depth research, we have amassed a vast collection of primary source documents that shed light on the individuals who were purchased and brought here to labor in the sugar cane fields as well as those who were born into slavery in the cabins that still stand today. Originally the term was used for a slave with some Native American ancestry, but by this time designated a child with one quarter European ancestry. They attended the Second African Baptist Church. Evergreen Plantation is given an 85-minute tour, according to a review. Ned first appeared on an Evergreen Plantation inventory in 1858. Evergreen Plantation is the only one in the South still standing. He also built a brick home located near a spring. [citation needed]. The United States government granted them their freedom in 1877. Walking the grounds and actually following the slave's path, and seeing how they slept and cooked and worked.. in contrast with touring the plantation house-- was a profound and moving experience to say the least. He and his new wife, Elizabeth, had a daughter together. The terrifying Candyland plantation, run by the brutal Candie, is also featured in the movie. As a slave, he did not have a surname, so he probably gave his fathers name as his last name. Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana) Built1832Architect John CarverArchitectural styleGreek RevivalFederalNRHP reference No.19100386Significant dates 11 more rows. In his later years, Ned was supported in part by a pension from the federal government for his service in the war. at all. Evergreen. Evergreen Plantation is committed to telling the stories of the men, women, and children who were enslaved here. Estate inventories, succession records, sale records from the New Orleans Notarial Archive, as well as sacramental records from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, were used in the research. Over the course of more than 150 years, the Evergreen Plantation housed over 400 slaves. The plantation is now a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. There are only a few plantations in the South that are as intact as the Evergreen Plantation, with 37 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including 22 slave cabins. The plantation was built in the early 1700s and was the home of several generations of planters. The two rows of oak trees that line the sites 22 original slave cabins are over 200 years old. According to tour guides, the plantation relied heavily on slave labor after emancipation, as did free African-Americans in order to remain in operation. Information contributed by Russ Burriss, a Earle family descendant, from. The Evergreen Plantation, a well-preserved sugar cane plantation from the nineteenth century, is a fine example of an old plantation. Evergreen has its country's highest historic designation and joins Mount Vernon and Gettysburg in being granted landmark status for its agricultural acreage. 66 were here. In the films early scenes, Django and Schultz track down the criminal group the Brittle Brothers. In 1828, Samuel Girard Earle (1791-1848) purchased the property from Samuel Smith. of Sites | Map | Learn Neds children and grandchildren continued to live and work at Evergreen Plantation for decades to come. LOUISIANATRAVEL.COM is the official travel authority for the state of Louisiana. It is surprising that these quarters, retaining Aime was described as a griffe, indicating that she was of mixed race. On the eve of the Civil War, most sugarcane plantations in Louisiana used vacuum pans to produce unrefined crystallized sugar. The oldest plantation in Louisiana is the St. Louis Plantation, which was founded in 1718 by Pierre Le Moyne dIberville. The antebellum era saw thousands of cabins built throughout the South. During the plantations nineteenth century heyday, the majority of the workers lived in the quarters houses, which were run by African Americans. African Americans were the majority owners and operators of the plantation during its earliest days in the 1790s. The Evergreen Plantation in Alabama is one of only two remaining antebellum sugar plantations in the South. Ned was one of them. The 1860 census lists Lezin By December, he was locked in a slave jail in the largest slave market in the United States. The couple went on to have more children and continued to work in the cane fields on Evergreen Plantation. The house was extensively restored during the 1940s, with 300,000 bricks from the demolished Uncle Sam Plantation used in the restoration.[3]. Tobacco was once produced on the plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, and shipped throughout the colonies to England. Shirley is also the oldest family-owned business in North America, having been in business since 1638, when Edward Hill I began farming in Charles City along the James River. The main house was constructed mostly in 1790, and renovated to its current Greek Revival style in 1832. Interior of quarters cabin with double fireplace. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. His name was recorded as Edward Edmonds. Today, many plantation homes are portrayed as elegant gardens with beautiful interiors, ignoring the darker side of their history. His son, Julius Richard, was born here on September 11, 1929; the family later added a second floor made of wood. In its prime, Evergreen had more than 350 slaves, making it one of the largest plantations in the South. reservation only. 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. Now, thanks to a new database compiled by Evergreen, Celestes story, and the stories of so many of the plantations enslaved people, will be told. These gangs of slave laborers worked in tandem in the fields cutting, stacking, and loading cane stalks onto mule-drawn carts. The slaves were freed, but the plantation workers were not. 1801 Succession, estate of Christophe Haydel, founder of Evergreen Plantation and Magdelaines father. Shirley Plantation, which dates back to 1614, is one of Americas oldest plantations. Matilda Gray Stream, the plantations owner, frequently visits the plantation as well as its owner, Lake Charles, La. The Slave Community Evergreen Plantation Slavery - the engine that drove economic growth 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. Exploring The Pros And Cons, Exploring The Pros And Cons Of Adding Carb Cleaner To A Gasoline-Powered Lawn Mower Fuel System. He was described as an American negro age 25.He had to make his own family and create relationships that would help him endure enslavement. Aimes older sister was considered a mulatresse, but her younger siblings were all listed as negroes. More | Next Site. The plantation is currently used as a wedding and event venue, and the family is proud to be able to share their history with others. Slaves were highly skilled, and without them, the . The 400 acres of Evergreens sugarcane fields are still productive. Hogsheads of sugar were transported down the Mississippi River to New Orleans and then on to other markets. 1846 Sale of the plantation from Pierre Clidamont Becnel to Lezin Becnel Jr. 1851 Succession, estate of Fanny Baconnais Becnel, wife of Lezin Becnel Jr. 1854 Succession, estate of Pierre Clidamont Becnel, 1856 Succession, inventory taken by Lezin Becnel Jr. included in his papers at Tulane University, 1858 Partnership formed between brothers Lezin Becnel III and Michel Becnel, sons and heirs of Lezin Becnel Jr., to operate the plantation together. The Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey was led by Dr. Jayur Mehta, excavating a large portion of land on Evergreen plantation. The details within the database allow us to read and interpret the past. The plantation was saved from ruin by oil heiress Matilda Geddings Gray, from Lake Charles, La., in 1944, with Richard Koch as architect. Establishing a new plantation required workers with certain capabilities and expertise, and it is likely that each of these slaves was chosen specifically by Becnel to perform the types of work for which they were described. Census data compiled between 1810 and 1864 relate that slaves in Louisiana resided in a variety of household types, including single families, extended families, multiple families, co-resident siblings, relatives, unrelated individuals, and single solitary males and females. The Rural Development Initiative for African American Farmers is one of several programs the agency has developed to assist African American farmers. Visited Evergreen in late-February during our stay in Plantation Country. This means that the slave was born in the colony of Louisiana---later the state of Louisiana---spoke French, practiced Catholicism, and embraced Creole cultural norms. Ned remarried on February 12, 1887. Evergreen Plantation is a former sugar cane plantation in Wallace, Louisiana, that was slave labor-dependent for its operation. Over the decades, the most serious change to Evergreen as a plantation The enslaved lived in the cabins as free people until the end of the Civil War; they were slaves for many years. Enlistment Papers under the alias Edward Edmonds, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Ned was sold away from his family, friends, and home and was forced to board the ship Cyane in Richmond, Virginia, on November 18, 1851. You can get a sense of Louisianas sugar cane industry firsthand by taking a tour of the facility. His physician attributed his death to arteriosclerosis. Evergreen Plantation, which dates to 1777, is one of the most intact plantation complexes in the South, with 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including two garconnieres, two pidgeonniers, the kitchen, the domestic slave house, the stables, the Greek Revival privy, and twenty-two slave cabins in their original double-row configuration, according to its website. The Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana had over 350 slaves in the early 1800s. This story appeared in the April issueof the PRCsPreservation in Print magazine. According to Joseph McGill, this is the largest collection of slave dwellings in the world.