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One day when I browsing through my email, I saw one from Groupon and decided to see what activities/attractions were available in my area. Groupon is a nice way to try out a new venue at a reduced cost. I spotted a St. Joseph Plantation in Vacherie, LA two for 1 tour. I had never been to St. Joseph Plantation before and I love to explore local so this was a win-win. Through the Groupon, I was able to get two tour tickets for the price of one, plus children five and under are free.
When you arrive at the plantation, you’ll visit the gift shop to purchase your tickets and gather for the next available tour. Check out St. Joseph Plantation’s website for the latest tour times.
Your tour will start with a 10 minute video that will tell you about the history of sugar cane and how it’s turned into the sugar that you buy at the store. After the video, your tour guide will start the tour of the main house.
History of St. Joseph Plantation
In 1838, H. H. Richardson, one of America’s most important architects of the 19th century, was born at St. Joseph Plantation (formerly called Priestly Plantation).
Josephine Aime married Alexis Ferry and purchased the plantation in 1858. In 1877, unable to retain ownership after slavery was abolished, they lost their plantation for non-payment of back taxes.
The Ferry family sold the plantation to Joseph Waguespack in 1877. In 1890 Saturnine Waguespack merged St. Joseph Plantation with Felicity Plantation to form the St. Joseph Plantation and Manufacturing Company. The plantation is still maintained by descendants of the Waguespack and Simon families.
The lives of these families through the years were deeply intertwined with the neighboring plantations: Oak Alley, Laura and “Le Petit Versailles”.
Plantation Tour
The tour covered all the rooms in the main house, including the front and back porch. Our tour guide provided us with a detailed history of the plantation and the owners along the way. Our guide was so sweet, answered all of our questions and even offered to take our photo.
The plantation has numerous outbuildings that can be explored at your leisure including original slave cabins, detached kitchen, blacksmith’s shop, carpenter’s shed and a schoolhouse.
Tip: Visit St. Joseph Plantation for the first tour on Sunday morning. We were the only visitors on the tour which was very nice. We could ask any questions that we wanted. Plus, I didn’t feel like S was bothering other guests.
Mourning Tours
My next visit to St. Joseph Plantation, will be during October to learn about the history and culture of Old Creole Louisiana and their mourning traditions. In honor of the important customs and traditions, St. Joseph Plantation has annual “Mourning Tour” from October 1st through November 2nd. The plantation home is dressed in full “deep mourning” including black crepe drape, pianos and organ are closed, mirrors covered and a black draped coffin which is placed in the main hall. As a part of the regular house tour, St. Joseph Plantation family members and friends explain these old customs and rituals of mourning.
Today
Something that is unique about St. Joseph Plantation is that it is an actual working sugar cane plantation! The plantation is 2,500 acres including their “sister” plantation – Felicity. Felicity is closed to the public at this time, however it has been used in films including 12 Years a Slave and Skeleton Key. Currently, Underground, an upcoming TV series, is being filmed at Felicity.
With St. Joseph Plantation being a working plantation, many tours are guided by family members themselves or they have at least one family member on site.
Tip: Consider bringing a picnic lunch. St. Joseph Plantation has several picnic tables under the oaks out back.
If you are visiting, southeast Louisiana be sure to check out the plantations along the river including St. Joseph.
Have you visited a plantation? What is your favorite plantation?
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