Oak Alley - Part 1

When you think of antebellum plantations you probably picture what Oak Alley looks like now.  When it was built it didn't look like that.  It went through a transformation when it was purchased in the 20th century by its new owner.  All the columns were added!

From the parking lot you approach the house from the back.

A docent dressed in period costume welcomes you and directs you around to the front.

The front looks out through this alley of Virginia live oak trees that are 300 years old.

"Sometime in the early 1700s an unknown settler planted an alley of 28 oaks in two equal rows spaced 80 feet apart leading to the river." (from Oak Alley brochure)

The river is the Mississippi.  At the end of the alley is a flood control levee.

I zoomed in on this ship passing on the river with only the top structure visible.

Every one of those windows is really a door to allow for air circulation.  It's a hot place in the summer.

This plantation has figured in quite a few movies and soap operas.

Live oaks have a life span of 600 years so these trees are just middle aged.

The plantations of Louisiana between the capital, Baton Rouge and New Orleans grow sugar cane still.  When we pulled into the parking area for Oak Alley we were surrounded by fields in cultivation.  I had to ask what was growing and the answer was sugar cane.

More on Oak Alley and its history in the next post.

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