10 Iconic U.S. Plantations with Unforgettable Pasts

Plantations were first established in the 17^th century after the British offered citizens large pieces of land if they made the harsh journey to the United States. Once they arrived in the New World, most settlers chose the South as their home. These new landowners had such large properties, so they turned to the slave trade to maintain their plantations. These slaves were captured in Africa, brought to the South, and forced into hard labor. While some of these plantations remained private residences, most are now historical sites or museums that people can tour and learn about their disturbing histories. Therefore, here are 10 iconic U.S. plantations with unforgettable pasts.

1. Oak Alley Plantation – Louisiana

The Oak Alley Plantation, initially named Bon Sejour, was built in 1837 and completed in 1839 by George Swainey for the brother of twice governor of Louisiana, Andre Roman. His name was Telesphore Roman. The plantation house is made of stuccoed brick, with a pale-colored porch. Furthermore, 28 colossal Tuscan columns surround the house, measuring 70 feet on each side. Additionally, there are 28 oak trees on the property as well. Unfortunately, there are no buildings in existence today to tell the story of the slaves that worked at Oak Alley Plantation. However, records show that 24 cabins on the property housed slaves. But, the buildings still on the property include a caretaker’s house, hospital, sugarhouse, sawmill, and one hundred stable stalls.

2. Whitney Plantation – Louisiana

Ambroise Heidal was the first to purchase the land the Whitney Plantation now stands on in 1752. Heidal immigrated from Germany and decided to change his name to Haydel. When he died, he passed the plantation on to his youngest son, Jean Jacques Jr, who also passed it on to his two sons, Marcellin and Jean Jacques II. These two sons would eventually also purchase the neighboring property. However, when Marcellin died in 1839, his wife, Marie, inherited the properties and ran them during their most productive times. She turned Whitney Plantation into one of Louisiana’s most successful sugarcane businesses. However, she did not do this without help. Marie was one of the state’s largest enslavers at the time until she died in 1860.

After the American Civil War had ended in 1867, Bradish Johnson bought the plantation and decided to rename it Whitney for his daughter, whose husband’s name was Whitney. One of the latest owners of this plantation was John Cummings, who owned Whitney from 1999 to 2019. He put in a lot of work and money to restore the plantation to its former glory, 10 years to be exact, and it is now open to the public for tours.

3. Oakland Plantation – Louisiana

Jean Pierre Emanuel Prud’homme founded Oakland Plantation when he began farming in the area in 1785. Then, in 1789, he finally received a Spanish land grant. Jean and his family enjoyed this plantation for two centuries, and it is currently designated as a National Historic Landmark. At first, Oakland Plantation’s cash crops were indigo and tobacco. However, in the 1800s, they turned their attention to cotton.

According to local legend, Oakland was the first plantation to farm cotton on a large scale west of the Mississippi. As the demand for cotton started to grow, so did the need for slaves, especially for plantations like Oakland. So, due to the industrial revolution in the northern states, the slave trade grew in the South. Some descendants of enslaved laborers remained in Oakland throughout the 20^th century as sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Today, tourists can visit this historical plantation, which has nearly 60 existing buildings.

4. Boone Hall Plantation – South Carolina

A mere half an hour’s drive from downtown Charleston lies the beautiful Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens. This plantation was used in The Notebook as Allie’s family’s summer home. But, it has a rich history, which is explained on the tour. This plantation is 340 years old and initially built in 1681 by one of the first immigrants in South Carolina, John Boone.

The property was sold several times, including to a Georgian prince over the next three centuries. During this period, Boone Hall had established itself as a successful peach, cotton, indigo, and pecan producer. It was the leading supplier of pecans in the United States by the end of the 19^th century. In fact, it is still in operation today. Visitors can take a tour and pick strawberries when in season. However, in the early 19^th century, it housed around 85 slaves who worked their fingers to the bone to produce handmade bricks.

5. Pebble Hill Plantation – Georgia

The Pebble Hill Plantation was changed from a working farm to a shooting and winter home plantation for a family from Cleaveland in the late 1800s, the Hanna Family. It stayed in the family until the last member, Elisabeth Ireland Poe, passed away, and her dying wish was to open the plantation to the public. So, it is a museum today where visitors can take self-guided tours, and they provide a map of all the spots of interest like the dog hospital, stable and cow barn complex, family cemetery, school, and other sites.

6. Houmas House Plantations – Louisiana

This 10-acre property is a remnant of the Burnside Plantation located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, approximately 30 miles from Baton Rouge. Alexander Latiel first developed this land as sugar plantations after he acquired it in 1774 from Houma natives. Houmas house changed hands several times until John Burnside bought it in the late 1850s and grew the property by over 20,000 acres. Unfortunately, due to the large size of the plantation, Burnside acquired 800 slaves, making it the largest plantation of its size in antebellum Louisiana.

The Great Depression caused the property to fall into disarray until Dr. George B. Crozat purchased it in 1940, who restored it and the immediate grounds. Lastly, in 1980, Houmas House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

7. Nottoway Plantation – Louisiana

John Hampden Randolph built this iconic U.S. plantation in 1859. The mansion cost him $80,000, which equates to $1.9 million today. Nottoway Plantation is an Italian-style home surrounded by stunning trees and gardens. This massive home features 64 rooms, five galleries, and seven staircases. Sadly, the Randolphs enslaved 155 African Americans. The Randolphs believed slaves would be more productive if they received food, housing, medicine, compensation, and rewards for good work. However, the family made them work on the sugarcane plantation night and day without any breaks.

8. James Madison’s Montpelier – Orange County, Virginia

James Madison’s Montpelier covers 2,700 acres of land and was owned by the fourth president of the United States, James Madison. This was actually where he came up with his legacy of a government by the people. The home has magnificent views of vast horse pastures and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The plantation is now open to the public and gives tourists a detailed account of the enslaved told by their descendants.

9. Sion Hill Plantation –Maryland

John Ireland started Sion Hill in 1785. It was an academy for boys but was never completed, and he sold it in 1975. The new owner Gideeon Denison willed the property to his daughter Minerva in 1799, and with her new husband, she completed the house. It was also the primary residence of the Father of the American Navy, Commodore John Rodgers, from 1772 to 1839, who eventually purchased the property from Minerva. The Commodore’s family lived there for six generations.

10. Magnolia Plantation – South Carolina

The Magnolia Plantation is the oldest in South Carolina as the first owner, Thomas Drayton Jr., built the manor house in 1680. In the early 19^th century, Magnolia was used as an administrative center, so the owners converted the inland rice fields into ornamental lakes. Sadly, the original house burned in a fire in 1811, so a new manor home was constructed shortly after. A large portion of the plantation was sold to the Charleston Mining and Manufacturing Company in the late 1800s, while the rest of the property stayed in the hands of the Drayton family descendants, and they still own it to this day.