1811 SLAVE REVOLT TRAIL

THE HISTORY OF THE ENSLAVED

From slavery to civil rights, hear local stories of triumph in the face of adversity.

Out here, the impressive plantation houses along the Great River Road are a stark yet stunning reminder of our region’s wealthiest period and America’s darkest chapter. The streets of our towns hold the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and other marchers in the freedom fight of the Civil Rights Era.

Experience the 1811 Slave Revolt Trail where America’s largest uprising of enslaved people took place. Destrehan Plantation, the oldest plantation in the Mississippi Valley, houses the 1811 Slave Revolt Museum for an in-depth depiction of the revolt. At the 1811/Kid Ory Historic House, tour the museum where the Slave Revolt began and where famous Jazz musician, Edward “Kid” Ory was born. Learn more about the enslaved by visiting 1811slaverevolt.com.

At Whitney Plantation visitors become fully immersed in the lives of the enslaved. Evergreen Plantation is known as the most intact plantation complex in the South, presenting 22 original slave cabins. Take a narrated driving tour in St. John the Baptist Parish to discover key historical sites of the Civil Rights movement. Visit the final resting place of Ethel B. Robinson, Civil Rights leader and founder of St. John Rescue Mission Church, and see the Bethlehem Baptist Church and Knights of Peter Claver Office where the meetings of the Civil Rights Movement took place.

See the Historic Riverlands Christian Center, the first Black Catholic Church in Louisiana. While you’re there explore the Soul River Musical Journey, detailing the vast influence African Americans have had on our shared music culture throughout history. In Louisiana’s River Parishes, history is remembered around every corner.

Learn more at The1811SlaveRevolt.com

FROM THE GROUND UP

Out here, awe-inspiring architecture embodies the poetic myth of our region.

The plantation houses along the Great River Road are the most assertive remains of a complex plantation culture. Within the big houses, lavish entertainment areas are often a stark contrast to the utilitarian living quarters. Look closely to identify how the river played a large role in the construction and detailing of the structures.

At Laura: Louisiana's Creole Heritage Site, Guillaume Duparc used highly skilled enslaved people to assemble his house using an inverted boat design. Today, etched roman numerals on beams that helped pull together that design can still be found in the basement of the house, which is the best example of farm houses from that period.

Edmond Bozonier Marmillion of San Francisco Plantation turned his vision into the very steamboat Gothic style that resembled the ornate structures of a Mississippi riverboat. Visit Destrehan Plantation, the oldest documented plantation house in the lower Mississippi Valley. Designed and built by Charles Parquet, "a free man of color."

Drive by the restored Godchaux Sugar House on the River Road in Reserve and visit the St. Joseph and Felicity Plantations, the latter of which just underwent extensive renovations.

Learn more at NewOrleansPlantationCountry.com