Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie, Louisiana
For the final portion of our tour, I promised to take everyone inside the main house at Oak Alley. A man's reputation is won and lost on how he handles his promises, and I wouldn't want to give the impression that my promises are not worth the Ethernet they're written on. So let's go ahead and amble up to the front door. There we'll find a friendly guide to take us through the front door.
Here you can see the front door, and the beautiful scene that awaits visitors. Don't be shy. Step right in. You are more than welcome to enjoy the wonderful scenes that await in every room.
Now, to be honest with you, I won't even try to describe the historical details and architectural features of the house. For that, be sure to take the tour yourself. Our own guide was bursting with stories and details that make the tour well worth the ticket price. But I would like to share a few pictures that we took as we made our way through the house.
Speaking of guides, here you can see our guide, dressed as if she stepped right out of the Antebellum era. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, Antebellum refers to the period of time before the American Civil War. That is the era to which this term is attached in the United States. From what I understand, the rest of the world considers the years leading up to World War I as the Antebellum era. But for our purposes, and this tour, we'll stick with the American definition.
The pictures on the far wall are paintings of Jacques and Celina Roman, who lived in this house from 1836 to 1866. (Celina lived in the house after Jacques' death in 1848 until her own death in 1866.)
A punkah fan hangs over this long dining room table. When the family had slaves, a house slave would sit in the corner and pull on a rope. This kept the fan in motion, cooling the diners as they ate.
We were encouraged to keep an eye out for ghosts, especially ones that might show up in our photographs. An active imagination might be tempted to think I caught one here, but I'll have to disappoint everyone and point out it is only the glare from the sun. (Or is it?) The stairs are quite steep, and in fact, one of the Roman children, Louise, fell down stairs when her hoop skirt caught. She lost a leg in the accident. Though it was thought that she fell down the stairs in Oak Alley, recent reports tell us she in fact was in New Orleans at the time. But if you stand at the top of the stairs here, you can believe how easy it would be to fall down such steep stairs.
On the second floor you'll find the Roman's bedroom. It was here that Jacques Roman died in 1848. The historical detail in this room is wonderful to examine, including the chandelier.
Be sure to check out the detail work above the lights.
Across from the Roman Bedroom is the only room in the house that is not decorated in the Antebellum style. This was Josephine Stewart's room. She lived in the house from 1925 until October 3, 1972. Mrs. Stewart founded the Oak Alley Foundation, which enables the plantation to remain open for the public.
For more information on Josephine Stewart, click here.
And if you missed the first two parts of this tour be sure to check them out.
For more information on Oak Alley, be sure to visit their website: Oak Alley Plantation
To see all of our posts featuring Louisiana Plantations click on the link below:
Louisiana Plantations at Room With No View
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