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In St. John Parish . . .
You’ll see some rare structures.
A charcuterie, little cypress board smokehouses
with sweet wisps of pecan smoke curling through the boards,
curing andouille—our rich, spicy sausage famous in gumbos and jambalayas.
A plantation with flying staircases and 22 double rows of preserved slave cabins.
And a Steamboat Gothic plantation similar to an ornate, graceful riverboat.
Then there are the hundreds of bonfire trees
we spend weeks building each Christmas season along miles of the river.
When we light them up, thousands warm to the spirit of Christmas.
There’s more to see—the oldest sugar cane mill in the country—operating since 1802. Swamp tours, antique shops, festivals, museums, plantations and gardens. All just 20 minutes from New Orleans, accessible from major highways and the international airport.
Plantations—St. John the Baptist Parish
Evergreen Plantation
Come walk with us through a living history book. 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. Evergreen has its country’s highest historic designation and joins Mt. Vernon and Gettysburg in being granted Landmark status for its agricultural acreage.
Today, Evergreen Plantation remains a privately owned, working sugar cane plantation. Evergreen Plantation is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
At Evergreen you will see not only the “Big House” but also two garconnaires, two pigeonaires, the kitchen, the domestic slave house, the milking barn, the carriage house, the stables, the Creole house, the Greek Revival privy, and the Victorian house. You will walk down an alleé of over one-hundred 200 year old oaks to visit twenty-two slave cabins in their original double row configuration.
The Evergreen tour highlights 250 years of family ownership, the architectural significance of the buildings, it’s reliance on agriculture and emphasizes the plantations dependency on slave labor and later the labor of freed African-Americans that was necessary to operate such an enterprise. We take the interpretation of this site very seriously and strive to do justice to its history.
You will also have the opportunity to ride the Swamp Buggy down a historic trail through an unchanged Mississippi River wilderness swamp to pristine Alligator Lake for a party boat ride and a thrilling experience on our Evergreen Swamp Tour.
At the Victorian House Restaurant and Gift Shop you can purchase items made on the plantation or the books on our suggested reading list. You can have lunch, order a picnic under an oak tree, complete with quilts and picnic baskets, or talk to us about magical experiences including any combination of plantation tour, swamp tour and restaurant.
Evergreen Plantation
Evergreen Swamp Tours
Victorian House Restaurant
4677 Hwy 18
Edgard, La. 70049
985-497-3837
888-858-6877
www.evergreenplantation.com
Email: evergreenplantation@earthlink.net
www.evergreenswamptours.com
Email: evergreenswamp@yahoo.com
San Francisco Plantation
“The Most Opulent House on the River.”
Built in 1856, it’s the only authentically restored plantation home on River Road. It boasts a vivid palette, hand-painted ceilings, faux mabre & faux bois, and period antiques. A galleried house in the old Creole style, the exterior portrays the house in its entire splendor with its Gothic windows, ornate embellishments and gingerbread trim. Surrounded by massive oaks hundreds of years old. Guides in period dress will stir your imagination with stories and anecdotes as you visit the main house, 1830’s Slave Cabin, School House and Gift Shop. Come and visit this exceptional example of southern grandeur and exquisite architectural design, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, just 40 minutes away from downtown New Orleans. Open daily except major holidays. Admission $10 adults, $5 children (17-6), 5 & under free. Group rates. Faites l’ expérience de la Louisiane.
St. John Parish
2646 Hwy. 44 (River Road)
Garyville, LA 70051
Phone 985-535-2341 Toll free 888-509-1756
Fax 985-535-5450
www.sanfranciscoplantation.org
Swamp Tours—St. John Parish
Cajun Pride Tours
Great vacation memories! Entertaining and breathtaking views of the Manchac Swamp on comfortable tour boat. Transportation avail. from most New Orleans area hotels. Plantation, City, Swamp and Combo tours offered.
www.CajunPrideTours.com
1-800-467-0758
Email: info@CajunPrideTours.com
Evergreen Swamp Tours
Evergreen Swamp Tours is a unique wilderness/swamp tour a wild and uncontrolled Mississippi River Batture swamp. Enter this pristine environment on a specialized buggy and then proceed on a boat around a Mississippi River Oxbow lake. This wild land is subject to huge fluctuations of Mississippi River water. The swamp teems with alligators and a multitude of other wildlife (snakes, birds, deer, squirrels, etc.) Your guide will provide you with an exciting, historic tour, including facts about the Mississippi River, wildlife in the batture, and the endangered Louisiana wetlands.
Benjamin Richard, manager, grew up on a wildlife refuge and is a wildlife biologist. He has been in the swamps and marshes of Louisiana all of his life and has a deep love of the great outdoors which is characterized in the tour you will cherish as a highlight in your visit to the wilds of the swamp.
Evergreen Plantation
Evergreen Swamp Tours
Victorian House Restaurant
4677 Hwy 18
Edgard, La. 70049
985-497-3837
888-858-6877
www.evergreenplantation.com
evergreenplantation@earthlink.net
www.evergreenswamptours.com
evergreenswamp@yahoo.com
Links
St. John the Baptist Parish
www.sjbparish.com
Jacob’s World Famous Andouille and Sausage
www.cajunsausage.com
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