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OnSite in New Orleans Plantation Country

Day 3

  • San Francisco Plantation
  • Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse
  • Evergreen Plantation
  • Whitney Plantation
  • Swamp Tour With Cajun Pride
  • Dinner at Frenier Landing

Restaurant and Oyster Bar

The third day of the FAM took the group to explore three more plantations on the River Road, beginning at San Francisco Plantation in Garyville. After that, they stopped in LaPlace for lunch and a sausage-making demonstration at Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse, which has been making boudin, andouille and other distinctive sausage products for generations. From there, they visited the plantation home and mysterious hidden slave quarters of Evergreen Plantation in Edgard and then toured Whitney Plantation in nearby Wallace. They capped off the day with a fascinating swamp tour, followed by a farewell dinner overlooking the waterfront at the beautiful Frenier Landing Restaurant and Oyster Bar.

San Francisco Plantation

Completed in 1856, San Francisco Plantation now sits on land owned by Marathon Oil, which runs a large refinery on the site. The oil company restored the home and operates it as a historic site for visitors. Tours highlight ceiling murals hand painted by artists for the German family that first owned the home. The exterior of the home is now painted in traditional German colors, adding a touch of Old World aesthetic to New Orleans Plantation Country.

Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse

At Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse, a small grocery store and lunch kitchen in LaPlace, butchers preserve the heritage and art of traditional Creole sausage products. The group had a delicious lunch there, sampling products such as andouille chips, boudin balls, smoked turkey and smoked chicken salad, and learned about the company’s heritage from the employees whose families have worked there for generations. The employees also took visitors into the back to watch as butchers created andouille, the signature sausage of Louisiana, and see the smoke pit where meats are hung to cure.

Evergreen Plantation

A French family lived at Evergreen Plantation for 104 years, from its establishment in 1790 until well after the Civil War. During the tour of the home, guides told visitors about the unique co-dependency of the plantation owners and the enslaved people who worked there, many of whom stayed on as sharecroppers long after the original owners abandoned the property. The tour ended with a walk down an alley of historic old trees, which hide slave cabins and evidence of the vibrant community that flourished on the site despite difficult circumstances.

Whitney Plantation

At many plantation homes in the South, enslaved people are an important part of the story interpreters tell. But at Whitney Plantation, the enslaved make up the entire story. Purchased by a New Orleans attorney and real-estate investor in 1999, Whitney was opened four years ago as a memorial to enslaved people. Structures original to the plantation and other period buildings are used to highlight the historic experience of slavery, and numerous memorials and sculptures on the grounds pay homage to more than 107,000 enslaved men, women and children who worked on plantations throughout Louisiana.

Cajun Pride Swamp Tours

For another up-close exploration of the area bayous, the group boarded a pontoon boat for an hourlong expedition with Cajun Pride Swamp Tours. During this cruise, they saw plenty of local wildlife, including a family of raccoons, snapping turtles and dozens of alligators. They also saw the waterside burial ground of 17 people who died in an area flood in 1915 and heard the story of Julia Brown, a local voodoo priestess who, according to legend, was responsible for the flooding. The highlight of the cruise, though, was the opportunity to hold and take pictures with a baby alligator.

Brian Jewell

Brian Jewell is the executive editor of The Group Travel Leader. In more than a decade of travel journalism he has visited 48 states and 25 foreign countries.