From the Greek Revival grandeur of Belle Helene, to the Moorish fantasy of Longwood, to the simplicity of Rosella, the plantation homes of Louisiana and the Natchez area powerfully recall the brief flowering of the unique civilization of the Old South. In their noble façades, sculptured interiors, and scattered outbuildings can be seen the feudal splandor of the great cotton and sugar planters, and the doomed glory of the Confederate war effort. In these 120 resonant full-color photographs, David King Gleason fully captures the aura of Louisiana's plantation homes -- some beautiful in the morning light, some shaded by trees and hanging moss, some crumbling in decay and neglect. Taking each house on its own terms, Gleason's photographs present the buildings and their environs sharply and without deception. Accompanying the photographs are captions that give a brief architectural evaluation of each house and provide notes on its construction, history, and present condition. Gleason has organized his book as a journey along the waterways that were the lifeline of Louisiana's plantations, their link to New Orleans and to the markets and factories of the North. Beginning in the vicinity of New Orleans and the lower Mississippi, Gleason presents such houses as Evergreen, with its columns and twin circular staircases; the exuberant San Francisco; and Oak Alley, set at the end of a spectacular avenue of 28 oak trees. Continuing along the bayous that lead into the western part of the state, he shows us the palatial Madewoood, constructed from seasoned timbers and 60,000 slave-made bricks; the meticulously restored Shadows-on-the-Teche; the ramshackle Darby House; and Bubenzer, which served as a Union army headquarters during the Civil War.From Cane River country and north Louisiana, the photographs portray Magnolia, burned by Union troops and then rebuilt to its original specifications; Melrose, built in the early 1830s by a freed slave; and Oakland, the location for the Civil War movie The Horse Soldiers. Moving overland towards Natchez; the elaborate, octagonal Longwood; Rosemont, the boyhood home of Jefferson Davis; Oakley, where John James Audubon was once engaged as a tutor; and Rosedown, with its elaborate gardens.Continuing south of Baton Rouge along the River Road, Gleason closes his tour with homes including Mount Hope, built in the eighteenth century; Nottoway, the largest plantation home in the South, completed on the eve of the Civil War; Indian Camp, a leprosarium for most of its existence; and the pillared galleries of Belle Helene. The plantation homes of Louisiana were highly personal expressions of pride and faith in the future. Yet the building of these spectacular monuments was a brief phenomenon. In the wake of the Civil War, the South's economy was devoted to survival, not luxury. A tribute to the plantation home, David King Gleason's photographs reveal the beauty, grandeur, and poignance of these monuments.

Originally published in 1941, Old Louisiana Plantation Homes and Family Trees is the definitive guide to the important plantation homes of the Pelican State, as well as the socially and historically prominent families who lived in them. Volume I of the two-volume, boxed set describes structures in several diverse sections of the state, from traditional, Spanish-moss-hung plantations in south Louisiana to the African-inspired structures on the rounds of Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches Parish. The first volume features many rare photographs of historically significant townhomes, plantations, and outbuildings--many no longer extant--and provides detailed genealogical and anecdotal information on a genteel society and lavish lifestyle that is now only a cherished memory. Some of the great houses discussed include D'Estrehan, Tezcuco, Seven Oaks, Parlange, Asphodel, Evergreen, and Rosedown. Volume II traces the history of several important families and features numerous portraits, coats of arms, and archival photographs. It also contains a wealth of genealogical and biographical information about many of the most prominent families in Louisiana history. Some of the family names included are La Frenier, De Livaudais, Forstall, Fortier, Schmidt, S�ghers, Milliken, Parlange, De Brierre, D'Herbigny, Butler, Pipes, Ellis, Percy, Plauch�, Barrow, Bringier, Kenner, Stauffer, Knox, Semmes, Walmsley, Ranlett, Smyth, Sully, De Marigny, De La Ronde, Almonaster, De Dreux, Villere, Beauregard, Matthews, Rathbone, De Buys, Hicky, Duggan, De Macarty, vonPhul, Cade, Du Brocca, Allain, D'Estrehan des Tours, De La Barr�, Koch, Muller, Bruce, Boehm, Seebold, De Bachell�, De Vilbiss, De Beaulieu de Marconnay, Konzelman, Parker, Pitkin, Levert, Ware, Prudhomme, Wilkinson, and Stewart.

The plantation homes of Louisiana were built by wealthy cotton and sugar planters, who vied with one another to create the most splendid residences in the years before the Civil War. This edition of the guide features descriptions of more than 250 significant houses in Louisiana, many dating from the days of French and Spanish rule. Seventy-one photographs highlight the finest structures.