
Laura Plantation
I’m back for Travel Thursday with a visit down to New Orleans!
For several years during my teaching career I taught social studies/history and I quickly learned that heading out of the classroom on field trips was one of the best ways to learn the material. Spending a week in Washington DC can teach you more about the history of the United States than a whole year in the classroom. And chances are you’ll remember more of the information because you were able to see and experience history instead of just reading about it!
So when the opportunity came up to visit Laura Plantation outside of New Orleans, LA I jumped on the chance! And I have to say, I learned more about life in the south during the 1800 and 1900’s during the 90-minute tour than I did in all of my years of school! What I appreciated most about the tour was that they didn’t simply share information of the dishes and furniture, but told the stories of the people who lived there. The story of 4 generations of a Creole family, white, black and in between, and their complex and complicated relationships. Those stories made for a fascinating and engaging tour.
Laura Plantation was built in the early 1800’s and I must admit that I was expecting to see a traditional plantation with a white house and white pillars but we learned that when these houses were built, white houses meant Americans were in residence and the colorful houses, like Laura Plantation, indicated Creoles were in residence.
The stark contrast between the dining/kitchen areas of the main house and the slave quarters were eye opening. During this time wealth was measured in the number of slaves you owned and upon your death when your personal belongings were inventoried, your slaves would be included in this list.
It’s easy to imagine generations of Creole families spending time on the front porch of Laura Plantation overlooking the Mississippi River. Families with the common bonds of being born in Louisiana, professing the Catholic faith, and speaking French/Creole. Families who saw the Civil War come and the Civil War go, but life on the planation remained the same. Families who employed slaves who received paychecks in a language they couldn’t read. Families who were integrated but integration did not mean equality. Laura was born in the mid 1800’s and the fact she was born when Abraham Lincoln was president and died when John F. Kennedy was president tells you what all she saw in her lifetime.
If you’re in the New Orleans area I’d recommend touring the Laura Plantation. Our family has been talking about our visit for weeks
What historical events would you want to learn more about through traveling?
Disclaimer: We received complimentary admission to the Laura Plantation but all thoughts and opinions are my own.


26 Comments
Deb- It's me, debcb!
Looks amazing. I love traveling through the south because there’s so much history.
Maryrose
How amazing! I love tours like these. I visited a plantation during a trip to Georgia, and I agree – the stories are incredible. I’d love to visit this place one day. Thanks for sharing!
Joanna
What a neat place! I always visit the southern plantations when we visit my family on the east coast. I just love their history and beauty:)
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I definitely want to visit more now that I’ve seen this one!
ashley alteman
wow. what an experience. SO much history. I would absolutely love to visit here sometime in my life. Great post. This was such a unique read with such amazing photos. Love this so much.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
This is actually one of my favorite posts I’ve ever written so thank you!
Lix
This is fascinating. I’m filing the name away to look into it further.
Lexi
New Orleans is on my places to visit. This looks like such a great place to visit!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
If you make it to New Orleans, I would highly recommend visiting Laura Plantation!
Jaclyn
How beautiful! How fun would a plantation be?!?!
Alli
I’m southern born and raised, but I didn’t know the story behind what the colorful houses and white houses meant. I would love to visit Laura Plantation.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I am obsessed with plantations (it’s basically my dream home!) and I never knew the difference either!
Erin
What a beautiful property! And that tree! It just exudes Southern goodness 🙂
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Agreed…the tree just makes me think of the South!
Jamie @ Coffee With Us 3
I just love history, especially American history, so this totally appeals to me! It’s interesting how much more history is real to us when we hear the stories and visit the places, than when we sit in a desk and memorize dates. What an awesome experience!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I used to teach history so I know first hand how much more real it is when you get to hear stories and visit places than just sitting in a desk listening to lectures…I truly truly loved my time at Laura Plantation!
Seana Turner
It looks so charming and inviting. I’ve never even been the area, so I think I would learn so much and just enjoy the change of venue.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I haven’t spent much time in the south either so it was fun to see a new part of the country!
Roxanne
I LOVE NOLA!!! We visited this plantation days before hurricane Katrina! I am so glad to see it still stands as beautiful as the day we made our visit!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I was sad we didn’t get to spend more time in NOLA…what we saw was amazing!
Debra
So gorgeous! We used to live not too far from New Orleans and we never made it up there. Still makes me sad!
Lucie Palka
Looks like a lovely place to visit! Being French Canadian, I’m fascinated by the history of how the French were forced out of the east coast and settled in Louisianna! There is lots of great French Music from the creole culture!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Being a French Canadian I’m sure you’ll find it quite interesting! They clearly explained that these Creole plantations were not part of the American south but were a separate culture
Lux Ganzon
I love simple and peaceful places like this. A breath of fresh air from the malls.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
It was such a breath air from typical tourist places
Karissa
What a great place to visit. I would love to go check it out someday.