Who is behind the Whitney Plantation museum in Louisiana?
John Cummings has been working to create a slavery museum since the 1990s, when he bought the former Whitney Plantation, a 1,700 acre property in Louisiana, from a petrochemical firm.
What is the Whitney Plantation historic district?
/ 30.03917°N 90.65056°W / 30.03917; -90.65056 The Whitney Plantation Historic District is a museum devoted to slavery in the Southern United States. The district, including the main house and outbuildings, is preserved near Wallace, in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, on the River Road along the Mississippi River.
How long does it take to tour the Whitney Plantation?
Los Angeles Times says the 90-minute tour at Whitney plantation is like no other plantation along the river road. On your 90 minute tour your Guide will show you Slave cabins A Freedmen’s Church detach kitchen and outbuildings a 1790 owner’s house and a memorial built to honor the enslaved.
How many slaves were there in Whitney Plantation?
The German Coast, where Whitney Plantation is located, was home to 2,797 enslaved workers. After the United States outlawed the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, many captives came to Louisiana from the Upper South through the domestic slave trade. Thousands were smuggled from Africa and the Caribbean through the illegal slave trade.
What family owned the Whitney Plantation?
The Haydel familyThe Haydel family continued to operate the plantation until the death in 1860 of Marie Azélie Haydel, the daughter-in-law of Jean Jacques Haydel Sr. Her heirs sold the property in 1867 to Bradish Johnson of New York, who named the property after his grandson, Harry Whitney, a writer and Arctic explorer.
How many slaves were on the Whitney Plantation?
Despite the fact that the Whitney Plantation, a sugar-cane plantation formerly home to more than 350 African slaves, is immaculately groomed, the raw emotion of the place is undeniable.
Who owns the Whitney Plantation in New Orleans?
John CummingsJohn Cummings, a 77-year-old white New Orleans trial lawyer owns the property and site of the museum.
Is Whitney Plantation a real plantation?
Whitney Plantation is the only former plantation site in Louisiana with an exclusive focus on slavery. Generations of Africans and their descendants were enslaved here to establish and maintain indigo, rice, and sugar crops. Visitors learn about this history through tours, exhibits, memorials, and artwork.
What was the biggest plantation in America?
Nottoway Plantation HouseThe plantation house is a Greek Revival- and Italianate-styled mansion built by craftsmen along with slaves for John Hampden Randolph in 1859, and is the largest extant antebellum plantation house in the South with 53,000 square feet (4,900 m2) of floor space....Nottoway Plantation.Nottoway Plantation HouseAdded to NRHPJune 6, 198013 more rows
What was filmed at Whitney Plantation?
It was at Whitney Plantation where the 2012 Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained and the 2013 movie 12 Years a Slave were filmed. The historic property now contains an overseer's house, the rare French Creole main house, a plantation store, a two story tall pigeon-house, slave quarters, and other structures.
What is the oldest plantation in Louisiana?
Destrehan PlantationEstablished in 1787 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Destrehan Plantation remains the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley.
How old is the Whitney Plantation?
219Whitney Plantation / Age (c. 1803)
When did Whitney Plantation Close?
History of Whitney Plantation Cummings owned and operated the property for 20 years, from 1999 – 2019.
What is the oldest plantation in the US?
Shirley is Virginia's first plantation, founded in 1613 after a royal land grant carved the plantation out of the Virginia frontier. Shirley is also the oldest family-owned business in North America dating to 1638 when Edward Hill I began farming in Charles City along the James River.
What is the most famous plantation in South Carolina?
Charleston's Most Visited Plantation Magnolia has been selected as one of "America's Most Beautiful Gardens" (Travel + Leisure Magazine), and is the only garden honored with this distinction in the State of South Carolina!
What is the biggest plantation in Louisiana?
Nottoway PlantationNottoway Plantation Is The Largest Plantation In Louisiana.
What was the biggest plantation in Texas?
Nassau Plantation was a 4,428 acres (17.92 km2; 6.919 sq mi) endeavor purchased by the Adelsverein on January 9, 1843, in Fayette County, Texas, near what is now Round Top. A Texas State Historical Marker was installed in 1968, Marker 3550.
Where did most slaves in New Orleans come from?
The Africans enslaved in Louisiana came mostly from Senegambia, the Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra, and West-Central Africa. A few of them came from Southeast Africa.
Were there slaves in Baton Rouge?
Twenty-five African slaves and two whites resided at the first settlement in Baton Rouge, founded in 1718. By 1860 the white population of Baton Rouge was 5,429, with a slave population of 1,247. As the hand-written bill of sale shows, slaves were bought and sold among the white citizens.
What is the oldest plantation in Louisiana?
Destrehan PlantationEstablished in 1787 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Destrehan Plantation remains the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley.
Why were the heads of the escaped slaves placed on spikes in New Orleans?
The severed heads of a number of these escapees were placed on spikes in New Orleans’ French Quarter as a warning. The establishment is home to several stark relics that tell the story of a dark period in American history, through the eyes of the enslaved. The goal of the project was to recreate an authentic slave experience, ...
How much did Cummings spend on his artifacts?
He spent $8 million of his personal fortune on artifacts, research, and restoration. Cummings set out to take on this project simply to tell the story of slavery; he felt that nobody else was telling it, so he thought he would do it himself.
Where was the first slavery museum?
John Cummings has been working to create a slavery museum since the 1990s, when he bought the former Whitney Plantation, a 1,700 acre property in Louisiana, from a petrochemical firm.
Is there a museum dedicated to slavery?
A museum dedicated to the tragedy of the terrorist attacks of September 11th opened in Lower Manhattan less than 13 years after they occurred. However, 150 years after the end of the Civil War, no federally-funded museum dedicated to slavery has ever existed. Slavery, to some, is ancient history, but to others it is history ...
Where is Whitney Plantation?
The Whitney Plantation Historic District is a museum devoted to slavery in the Southern United States. The district, including the main house and outbuildings, is preserved near Wallace, in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, on the River Road along the Mississippi River. The plantation was started in 1752 by German immigrants Ambroise Haydel ...
What is the most important architectural example in Louisiana?
The French Creole raised-style main house, built in 1803, is the most important architectural example in the state. The plantation has numerous outbuildings or "dependencies": a pigeonnier or dovecote, a plantation store, the only surviving French Creole barn in Louisiana, and slave quarters.
Is Whitney Plantation on the National Register?
The Whitney Plantation historic district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1992. It is one of 26 sites featured on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail . The Whitney Plantation Slave Memorials, with recorded names of many slaves. Rear of the Big House.
Where is Whitney Plantation located?
Whitney Plantation located at 5099 Highway 18 in Wallace, Louisiana on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
What is Whitney Plantation Museum?
Whitney Plantation Museum is the only museum in Louisiana with an exclusive focus on the lives of enslaved people. During your visit, you will learn about the history of slavery on a southern Louisiana sugarcane plantation.
Was Whitney Plantation a pilgrimage?
We were short on time and could only visit one plantation, and Whitney seemed to provide the best experience. But it was more than an experience. Whitney Plantation is so much more than a tour. It is a pilgrimage. One that I did not know I was taking until I found myself on hallowed ground, walking in the footsteps of my ancestors.
How did the indigo industry in Louisiana change?
The indigo industry in Louisiana remained successful until the end of the eighteenth century, when it was destroyed by plant diseases and competition in the market. After enslaved workers on Etienne DeBore’s plantation successfully granulated a crop of sugar in 1795, sugar replaced indigo as the dominant crop grown by enslaved people in Louisiana. Sugar production skyrocketed after the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and a large influx of enslaved people to the territory, including thousands brought from Saint Domingue (Haiti).
How many slaves were there in Louisiana in 1795?
In 1795, there were 19,926 enslaved Africans and 16,304 free people of color in Louisiana. The German Coast, where Whitney Plantation is located, was home to 2,797 enslaved workers. After the United States outlawed the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, many captives came to Louisiana from the Upper South through the domestic slave trade.
How did enslaved men make dye?
Enslaved men typically worked to produce the dye from the plants. In order to create the dye, enslaved workers had to ferment and oxidize the indigo plants in a complicated multi-step process. To begin, enslaved workers harvested the plants and packed the leaves into a large vat called a steeper, or trempoire.
Why was ribbon cane used in Louisiana?
This cane was frost-resistant, which made it possible for plantation owners to grow sugarcane in Louisiana’s colder parishes. In 1822, the larger plantation owners began converting their mills to steam power. This was advantageous since ribbon cane has a tough bark which is hard to crush with animal power.
Where did the slaves come from in Louisiana?
The Africans enslaved in Louisiana came mostly from Senegambia, the Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra, and West-Central Africa. A few of them came from Southeast Africa. Click here to Whitney Plantation's Enslaved Workers.
Where was sugar cane grown in Louisiana?
In 1817, plantation owners began planting ribbon cane, which was introduced from Indonesia. This cane was frost-resistant, which made it possible for plantation owners to grow sugarcane in Louisiana’s colder parishes. In 1822, the larger plantation owners began converting their mills to steam power. This was advantageous since ribbon cane has a tough bark which is hard to crush with animal power.
How many slaves were there in Louisiana before the Civil War?
Just before the Civil War in 1860, there were 331,726 enslaved people ...
Summary
Historic Structures
The French Creole raised-style main house, built in 1790, is an important architectural example in the state. The plantation has numerous outbuildings or "dependencies": a pigeonnier or dovecote, a plantation store, the only surviving French Creole barn in North America (ca. 1790), a detached kitchen, an overseer's house, a mule barn, and two slave dwellings. The complex includes …
Overview
The plantation was a 1,800-acre property. Today, 200 acres are occupied by the museum which opened to the public for the first time in December 2014. (The remaining acreage was sold off by the previous owners in the 1970s.) The museum was founded by John Cummings, a trial attorney from New Orleans who has spent more than $8 million of his own fortune on this long-term project, and worked on it for nearly 15 years. The director of research is Dr. Ibrahima Seck, a Senegalese scholar …
In popular culture
A scene from the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained was filmed in the rebuilt blacksmith's shop. The Atlantic magazine made a short documentary video about the museum in 2015, Why America Needs a Slavery Museum.
See also
• Evergreen Plantation, also in the vicinity of Wallace
• Louisiana African American Heritage Trail
• National Register of Historic Places listings in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
• Plantation complexes in the Southern United States
External links
• Official website
• Whitney Plantation museum confronts painful history of slavery. CBS This Morning. April 8, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
• Stodghill, Ron (May 25, 2008). "Driving Back Into Louisiana's History". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2020.