Oak Alley Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation is a historic plantation located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in the community of Vacherie Louisiana. Oak Alley is named for its distinguishing visual feature, an alley or canopied path, created by a double row of southern live oak trees about 800 feet long, planted in the early 18th century — long before the present house was built. The allée or tree avenue runs between the home and the River. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture and landscaping, and for the agricultural innovation of grafting pecan trees, performed there in 1846–47 by an enslaved gardener.

History

Jacques and Celina Roman
The Bon Séjour plantation, as Oak Alley was originally named, was established to grow sugarcane, by the French Creole Valcour Aime when he purchased the land in 1830. Aime, known as the “King of Sugar,” was one of the wealthiest men in the South. In 1836, Valcour Aime exchanged this piece of property with his brother-in-law Jacques Télesphore Roman for a plantation owned by Roman. The following year Jacques Roman began building the present mansion under the oversight of George Swainy and entirely with enslaved labor. The mansion was completed in 1839. Roman’s father-in-law, Joseph Pilié, was an architect and probably designed the house.

The most noted slave who lived at Oak Alley Plantation was named Antoine. He was listed as “Antoine, 38, Creole Negro gardener/expert grafter of pecan trees,” with a value of $1,000 in the inventory of the estate conducted upon J.T. Roman’s death. Antoine was a master of the techniques of grafting, and after trial with several trees, succeeded in the winter of 1846 in producing a variety of pecan that could be cracked with one’s bare hands; the shell was so thin it was dubbed the “paper shell” pecan. It was later named the Centennial Variety when entered in competition at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where it won a prize. The trees may be found throughout southern Louisiana, where the pecan was once a considerable cash crop. Although Antoine’s original trees were cleared for more sugar cane fields after the Civil War, a commercial grove had been planted at nearby Anita Plantation. Unfortunately, the Anita Crevasse (river break) of 1990 washed away Anita Plantation and all remains of the original Centennial pecans.

Jacques Roman died in 1848 of tuberculosis and the estate began to be managed by his wife, Marie Therese Josephine Celina Pilié Roman (1816–1866). Celina did not have a skill for managing a sugar plantation and her heavy spending nearly bankrupted the estate. In 1859 her son, Henri, took control of the estate and tried to turn things around. The plantation was not physically damaged during the American Civil War, but the economic dislocations of the war and the end of slavery made it no longer economically viable; Henri became severely in debt, mainly to his family. In 1866, his uncle, Valcour Aime and his sisters, Octavie and Louise, put the plantation up for auction and it was sold for $32,800 to John Armstrong.

Andrew and Josephine Stewart
Successive owners could not afford the cost of upkeep and by the 1920s the buildings had fallen into disrepair. In 1925 the property was acquired by Andrew Stewart as a gift to his wife, Josephine, who commissioned architect Richard Koch to supervise extensive restoration and modernize the house. As a virus had wiped out the sugarcane industry in the early 1900s, the Stewarts ran Oak Alley Plantation as a cattle ranch. Josephine had grown up on a cattle ranch in Texas and was familiar with this type of industry. Sugar cane cultivation was reintroduced at the plantation in the 1960s. The Stewarts were the last owners to live in residence. Josephine Stewart left the historic house and grounds to the Oak Alley Foundation when she died in 1972, which opened them to the public.

What to Photograph

Photography is welcomed on the grounds at Oak Alley Plantation, except for the “Big House” exhibit.
Videotaping and video-streaming are prohibited during guided visits.
For safety reasons, the use of “drones” or any aerial photography devices is not permitted.

Photo sessions held on the property require and additional fee.

Where it is:

Located within an hour from New Orleans and Baton Rouge on the Great River Road.

Directions from New Orleans to Oak Alley Plantation

Take Interstate 10 (West) to Interstate 310 (South). Exit #220 – for Boutte. Continue on Interstate 310 across the Destrehan/Luling Bridge to exit #10 – for Donaldsonville, Highway 3127. Travel twenty-three buy diazepam online without prescription (23) miles on Highway 3127 to major intersection with Highway 20. Turn right on Highway 20, travel three (3) miles to Highway 18, turn left and travel three (3) miles to Oak Alley Plantation.
Alternate rouge: Take Interstate 10 (West) to the Gramercy Exit #194. Turn left on Highway 641 (South). Follow Highway 641 (South), which will turn into Highway 3213. Continue on Highway 3213 over the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge (also known as Gramercy/Wallace Bridge). Take the exit on the down ramp toward Vacherie. Turn left onto Highway 18 and travel seven and one-half (7 1/2 ) miles to Oak Alley Plantation.

Directions from New Orleans International Airport to Oak Alley Plantation
Turn right out of the airport onto Highway 61 (West), also known as Airline Highway. Travel approximately four (4) miles to Interstate 310 (South). Continue on Interstate 310 across the Destrehan/Luling Bridge to exit #10 – for Donaldsonville, Highway 3127. Travel twenty-three (23) miles on Highway 3127 to major intersection with Highway 20. Turn right on Highway 20, travel three (3) miles to Highway 18, turn left and travel three (3) miles to Oak Alley Plantation.

Alternate route: turn right out of the airport onto Highway 61 (West), also known as Airline Highway. Travel approximately four (4) miles to Interstate 310 (North). Continue on Interstate 310 (North) to the exit for Interstate 10 (West) to Baton Rouge. Continue on Interstate 10 (West) to the Gramercy Exit #194. Turn left on Highway 641 (South). Follow Highway 641 (South), which will turn into Highway 3213. Continue on Highway 3213 over the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge (also known as Gramercy/Wallace Bridge). Turn left onto Highway 18 and travel seven and one-half (7 1/2 ) miles to Oak Alley Plantation.

Directions from Baton Rouge to Oak Alley Plantation
Take Interstate 10 (East) to the Lutcher/Mississippi River Bridge exit #194. Turn right on Highway 641 (South). Follow Highway 641 (South), which will turn into Highway 3213. Continue on Highway 3213 over the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge (also known as Gramercy/Wallace Bridge). Take the exit on the down ramp toward Vacherie. Turn left onto Highway 18 and travel seven and one-half miles to Oak Alley Plantation.

Maps:

Interactive Google Map

Use the map  + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views.  Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.

GPS

N 30.00500
W 90.77889

Cost:

Plantation Admissions 

Hours:

Hours of Operations:
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily

Location Contact Information:

Oak Alley Plantation Photo Gallery

Click Here for full page gallery

More Photographic Destinations in Louisiana:

Interactive Google Map

Use the map  + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views.  Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.

Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State