Destrehan Plantation

Digital Photo by John Sheldon Perilloux 9/4/98
copyright © 1998-2001 John Sheldon Perilloux. All rights reserved

Destrehan is billed as the oldest documented plantation house in the Mississippi Valley. Destrehan is a raised Creole mansion which was built over the years of 1787-1790 for Robin de Logny, by a free man of color named Charles Paquet.

The wings were added in 1810 when Jean Noel Destrehan, son-in-law to Robin de Logny became the home's owner.

In 1811 Destrehan became the site for the trial of participants in the great 1811 slave revolt, which had begun upriver at the Woodland Plantation.

In 1840 when Judge Pierre Adolph Rost became the owner (he was Destrehan's son-in-law) the house was remodeled in the Classical Revival style and the rear gallery was enclosed.

Members of the Destrehan family controlled the property until 1910 and by the late 1950's the property had been abandoned. It had been vandalized, and was badly deteriorated and on it's way to oblivion. In 1971 local preservationists contacted Amoco Oil Company, who owned the property, about preserving the historic old home. Amoco donated the home place and four acres to the newly formed River Road Historical Society, a non-profit organization, which had been established specifically to oversee the home and it's restoration.

Local lore has it that pirate Jean Lafitte was a frequent guest to the plantation, being a dear friend of it's owner. Rumors of buried treasure on the grounds, still abound. A drainage canal at the rear of the plantation, courtesy of Jean Noel Destrehan, is reputed to the the artery by which Lafitte and his band of pirates were able to escape from the authorities. Another rumor is that on stormy nights, the specter of Lafitte haunts the house and points to the hearth before vanishing.

It is also said, that the ghost of Nicholas Noel Destrehan, son of Jean Noel Destrehan, also occupies the old home.

All set for a buggy ride. The year is 1893. The scene is the Manor House at the Destrehan Plantation on the Old River Road, a few miles north of New Orleans, Louisiana. The young lady in the big hat is Bertha Luce, who was to become a Mrs. Wilkes of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Holding the reins is Destours La Rue, the plantation overseer. A descendant, he was named after Jean Baptiste Destrehan des Tours. The photograph was taken by the young lady's mother, Mrs. George Don Luce. Notice the huge cistern in the background, used to collect rain water for drinking, cooking, and washing. The horse and buggy, incidentally, got excellent mileage and was virtually pollution-free.

Photographs courtesy of River Road Historical Society, Destrehan, LA

Collection of Frank Gordon & Son
New Orleans, Louisiana USA