Melrose Plantation

A few months ago I took a day trip over to Nachitoches (pronounced nakka-tush), Louisiana, and one of the places I visited was Melrose Plantation, south of the city in the Cane River Creole National Park.  This is definitely not Tara or anywhere near some of the other opulent Southern plantations that have been refurbished, but it is a wonderful example of a working plantation of the 1800s in the South, and the main house, although very large, was somewhat modest reflecting the character of the people who lived in her.

Melrose was established in the late 1700s by a freed black slave, a woman no less!  The main house was built in 1833.

Today the complex is owned by a local historic organization and includes eight of the original structures.  All the materials for the building of these structures was found on the acreage of the plantation, which was self-sufficient as far as food and materials.  One of the remaining structures is a weaving house where fabrics were woven, often in African patterns, for use on the plantation.  One of the original looms remains.  Another structure is a jail where insubordinate slaves were housed.  That's hard to talk about for me, so I won't.  But even in those days there were former slaves who owned slaves of their own and it was a way of life in this area of our country.  The plantation sustained itself by growing sugar cane, cotton, and other agricultural crops.  There are several plantations in this area.  Because of their proximity to the Cane River, they had transportation for their crops and other goods to the outside world.

The grounds of Melrose are beautiful in all seasons.  In this area of Louisiana, and even in East Texas where I live, lichen grows on the trees and almost everything in sight.

I was intrigued by this large iron hook by all the doors when I took a tour of the main house.  It was actually a hook and eye mechanism whereby the doors to the plantation were locked at night.  That hook is probably at least two feet long!

And here you see the hook in its locked position.

The timbers for the walls and doors are probably two feet thick.  

I don't think anything other than a battering ram could break these doors down.

The grounds of Melrose are populated by beautiful live oak trees.  They're estimated to be at least 250 years old!  Many of the branches are over 100 feet long.  Although you can see the Spanish moss on the low-lying branches to the right, a few years ago the plantation staff began stripping it from the trees because redbugs nesting in the moss would often fall on the heads and shoulders of visitors!  If you've ever been bitten by redbugs, you don't want that to happen!