Whitney Plantation

  In 1752, Ambroise Heidel, a German Immigrant, purchased the plantation in Louisiana and became wealthy growing indigo. It was know as Habitation Haydel and remained in the family through four generations, although by the early 1800s the main crop was sugar cane. The last family member died just before the Civil War and the plantation received a new name in 1867 when Bradish Johnson bought the property and named it after his grandson, Harry Payne Whitney.

  All of this information about the owners of the plantation is well documented but little is known about the people who did all of the work – the 100s of enslaved people from Africa. John Cummings, a New Orleans lawyer, set about to tell the story of slavery on the plantation after he bought the property in the late 1990s. There are more than a dozen River Road plantations that are open to tour and while some of them do touch on slavery Whitney is the only one focused solely on the enslaved people.

  The site has a small museum with exhibits on the history of slavery, the history of slavery in Louisiana, and the history of Whitney Plantation. The grounds include the original plantation house and outbuildings. A few slave cabins have been relocated to the grounds because all of the original ones were demolished. A slave built church was also relocated to the grounds.

 

A large section of the property has been set aside for memorials with statues created by local artists. The Wall of Honor lists all of the slaves that lived, worked, and died on the plantation. The Field of Angels remembers the 2,200 enslaved children who died in St. John the Baptist Parish between the 1820s and the 1860s. Allees Gwendolyn Midlo Hall has the names of 107, 000 people enslaved in Louisiana along with quotes from the Slave Narratives Collection, part of the Federal Writers Project of the 1930s.  Tour are self guided so download a free tour from Google Play or Apple before going.

  The site was damaged by Hurricane Ida in August 2021 so not everything was opened during our visit.The church has a ramp but was closed. The second floor of the house was closed. It is not accessible. One section of the property appeared to be closed. The visitor center/museum is accessible. The first floor of the house is accessible. The memorial area is accessible. The paths to the outbuildings and slave cabins are surfaced with large, loose gravel and are not accessible. The buildings have steps and are not accessible.

  The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. It is surfaced with large, loose gravel so park as close to the entrance as possible. Whitney 30.0395, -90.65191