Mills operated around the clock processing sugarcane. Individuals who married Protestants and Catholics were required to receive forgiveness in the sixth degree. The loads of cut cane stalks were crushed between rotating steel rollers to extract the cane juice. Merritt, who was 21 years old at the time, stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 55 pounds. Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Louisiana's Must See-It-To-Believe-It Festivals, Dont Miss the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, Louisiana State Parks Offer Cabin Getaways. The plantation was established in 1752 by Claude Treme, and was later owned by his son-in-law, Jacques Treme. The Catholic Church in Louisiana completely embraced family alliances when it came to marriage. Evergreen Plantation, located near New Orleans, is the largest intact plantation complex in the South. All rights reserved. Even if the plantation owner did not grow any crops, he or she relied on the labor of enslaved people to turn it into a profitable business. Call 985-497-3837 to arrange a visit. Some noteworthy original features, such as chimneys, shutters, 2023 Louisiana Office of Tourism. [6][7], It is a production site of films such as Django Unchained (2012)[8] and Antebellum (2020). The couples first child, Marcel, was born in 1858. You can search for all domestics (house slaves), field hands, or more specialized jobs, such as engineer, cooper, carpenter, etc. The book is intended to shed light on the lives of all those who lived at Evergreenblack and white, enslaved, and free. On some plantations, slaves worked in eight-hour shifts, called watches, and adult slaves worked two such shifts each day during grinding season. More | Next Site. Danny Hymel and his family have been farming the property for more than two centuries, as Alfred Songys great-grandson. Where is Evergreen Plantation located? Many were exceptionally skilled, working as long sawyers, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, engineers, seamstresses, and domestics. Aime was described as a griffe, indicating that she was of mixed race. Ned was a member of the United Order, a benevolent and charitable society. 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. Evergreen Plantation was established in 1790 as a privately owned sugar cane plantation, and it is still in operation today. 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. Although our doors are not open for tours, we do provide educational and research opportunities. In addition to her regular quarters, the plantations owner, Lake Charles, La., businesswoman Matilda Gray Stream, lives there on occasion. See other South Carolina Barns & Farms The antebellum era saw thousands of cabins built throughout the South. 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. The current exhibit at the center depicts the architectural evolution of the house and cypress cabins using acrylic paintings. Many were exceptionally skilled, working as long sawyers, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, engineers, seamstresses, and domestics. Tobacco was once produced on the plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, and shipped throughout the colonies to England. In its prime, Evergreen had more than 350 slaves, making it one of the largest plantations in the South. Evergreen Plantation, a historic plantation in Louisiana, has a new interpretive center dedicated to its history. Becnel and his brother, the then owners of the plantation, as having 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. Boddie hopes that the exhibits and documents will pique the interest of descendants of all residents of Evergreen. In addition to the back-breaking work in the sugar cane fields, the slaves were also responsible for maintaining the plantations buildings and grounds. quarters. 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 Another relic of the plantation is an original garconnire, which young men used as sleeping quarters during their time on the plantation. Evergreen Plantation is the only one in the South still standing. The plantation operated until about 1930, when the Depression resulted in the owners abandoning the house. Evergreen Plantation is committed to telling the stories of the men, women, and children who were enslaved here. The granulated, raw (unrefined) sugar produced from the crystallization process was packed into hogsheads, wooden barrels that held roughly 1000 pounds of granulated sugar. He operated the land as a plantation and eventually built grist mills and a cotton gin (1). Evergreen Plantation still owns and operates as a privately owned sugar cane plantation today. This diverse community was made up of Africans, the enslaved from the American South, and Creoles of Louisiana. 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. It is meant for everyone, from scholars who wish to engage in comparative analysis to individuals searching for their ancestors. is the Mississippi River Commission map of 1876, which shows 22 cabins As slaves, they built the big house, built and maintained the levee, worked the sugarcane fields, ran the sugar mill, grew foodstuffs and cared for the big house and the Heidel and Becnel families. have caused alterations. Prior to Wards death in 1850, his family owned Brookgreen Plantation in Georgetown County, the largest slaveholder in the United States. Want to search back even further? 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. In the opening scene of Django and Schultz, a plantation was used as a staging area for Django and Schultz to track down the criminal gang the Brittle Brothers. The slaves at Evergreen were subject to brutal working and living conditions, with many of them being worked to death. An essential source for navigating the background, process, and findings during the excavation of Evergreen Plantation. The language and classifications on the original documents have been maintained. LOUISIANATRAVEL.COM is the official travel authority for the state of Louisiana. More than 400 individuals were enslaved at Evergreen Plantation over the course of 150 years. There were some cotton plantations with fewer slaves, but there were also cotton plantations with fewer slaves. African Americans provided the workforce and lived in the quarters houses at Evergreen Plantation for nearly 200 years, first as slaves and later as freedmen. Evergreen Plantation is a former sugar cane plantation in Wallace, Louisiana, that was slave labor-dependent for its operation. Aimes older sister was considered a mulatresse, but her younger siblings were all listed as negroes. The plantation has been reaching out to descendants of enslaved people who lived and worked there. The grounds include 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), including 22. His physician attributed his death to arteriosclerosis. Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana) Built1832Architect John CarverArchitectural styleGreek RevivalFederalNRHP reference No.19100386Significant dates 11 more rows. His name was recorded as Edward Edmonds. Evergreen. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The site, which has 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, is the only one in the South with intact plantation buildings. These gangs of slave laborers worked in tandem in the fields cutting, stacking, and loading cane stalks onto mule-drawn carts. Evergreen Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is located The 400 acres of Evergreens sugarcane fields are still productive. Many of the slave laborers on plantations in the South worked in the fields as plow hands, carters, ditchers, or woodcutters, among others. Evergreen Plantation is owned by a family who has resided in the area for generations. 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. On February 13, 1852, Ned Edwards was sold in a group with five other men. The details within the database allow us to read and interpret the past. Renting out its river bed to shipping and maritime businesses has allowed it to generate more revenue. By December, he was locked in a slave jail in the largest slave market in the United States. This suggests that Kattys eldest daughters had a different father than her younger children. Later used to designate a child of a mulatto with someone of full African ancestry, Archdiocese of New Orleans, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Baptismal records, Archdiocese of New Orleans, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Funeral records, Sale records from New Orleans Notarial Archives. It is in studying their lives that the nuances and complexities of the past can begin to be understood. The research remains ongoing, and the database will be updated as new discoveries are made. Slave trading and slave plantations were also common among plantation owners in the Deep South. 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. After years of in-depth research, Evergreens historians have amassed a vast collection of primary source documents that shed light on the individuals who were purchased and brought there to labor in the sugar cane fields as well as those who were born into slavery in the cabins that still stand today, a press release said. Your email address will not be published. These accounts illuminate the experiences of individuals whose stories have previously gone untold, contributing a more balanced approach to Americas historical narrative, the press release said. and doors remain, but nearly 150 years of patching, repairs, and reconstruction 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. Most enslaved individuals did not havesurnames. According to Joseph McGill, this is the largest collection of slave dwellings in the world. Susan Langenhennigis PRCs Director of Communications and the editor of Preservation in Print. Some labeled the agency the last plantation for failing to support black agricultural initiatives, arguing that it was thus becoming the last pillar of support. The agency, on the other hand, has made significant progress in improving relations with black farmers since 1997. Neds term of enlistment expired in March 1867. Family involvement in marital disputes was a major factor in Creoles lives. As a slave, he did not have a surname, so he probably gave his fathers name as his last name. 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. They bring to life the identities of real people who lived and worked on this specific site. Becnel paid $6800 for the six enslaved men, which would be approximately $232,000 today. The plantation is located in the southern United States and is still operational today. at all. They worked on the plantation in a variety of capacities, raising cotton and rice, among other crops. Evergreen is the most intact plantation complex in the South with 37 buildings on the National Register, including 22 slave. The slaves were freed, but the plantation workers were not. During the plantations nineteenth century heyday, the majority of the workers lived in the quarters houses, which were run by African Americans. A seemingly endless cycle of planting, hoeing, weeding, harvesting, and grinding comprised the work routine on Louisiana's sugarcane plantations during the 19th century. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1992 for its rich architectural legacy. In 1828, Samuel Girard Earle (1791-1848) purchased the property from Samuel Smith. 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. Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door monthly? EVERGREEN PLANTATION - 166 Photos & 80 Reviews - Landmarks & Historical Buildings - 4677 Hwy 18, Edgard, LA - Phone Number - Yelp Evergreen Plantation 80 reviews Unclaimed Frequently Asked Questions about Evergreen Plantation How is Evergreen Plantation rated? Evergreen Plantations 22 intact slave cabins are just one of the sights visitors can see as part of their tours. The brutal Candie runs a vast plantation known as Candyland in the film, in addition to the terrifying Candyland, a demon-infested paradise. His son, Julius Richard, was born here on September 11, 1929; the family later added a second floor made of wood. His wife is from the Caribbean, and he brought many of her cultures influences with him from home. No longer anonymous, the men, women, and children who called Evergreen Plantation home provide a window to the past and enhance the historical narrative. Plantations were commonly located on fertile creeks and rivers in the south, and they frequently had extensive land holdings. Matilda Gray Stream, the plantations owner, frequently visits the plantation as well as its owner, Lake Charles, La. 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. Film, in addition to the back-breaking work in the South evergreen plantation slaves December he! For tours, we do provide educational and research opportunities shutters, 2023 Louisiana Office of Tourism in. 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