Felicity Plantation is a historic

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

on the banks of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. It is located along Louisiana Highway 18 in Vacherie, St. James Parish. Felicity is a sister plantation to St. Joseph Plantation, and was built around 1846 (or 1850) by Valcour Aime as a wedding gift to his daughter, Felicite Emma, and her spouse, Septime Fortier, who was also her cousin. Acquired by a bank in 1873, the plantation was purchased by Saturnine Waguespack in 1890, who merged it with the St. Joseph Plantation to form the St. Joseph Plantation and Manufacturing Company. The house still remains in the Waguespack family.

Architecture

The

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...

has elements of

French Colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. French colonial architecture has a long history, beginning in North America in 1604 and being most active in the Western Hemisphere (Car ...

and Anglo-American styles. It is characterized by its wide hallways and high-ceilinged rooms, while featuring a carved cypress

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

. Several of the rooms contain red Italian marble mantlepieces. Six wooden pillars are large in size and square in shape. The house was damaged during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005 and has since been restored.

Grounds

The grounds still contain an original barn and

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

quarters houses.

In film

Several films have used the plantation as a location, including ''

The Skeleton Key ''The Skeleton Key'' is a 2005 American supernatural folk horror film directed by Iain Softley and starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joy Bryant. The screenplay by Ehren Kruger follows a New Orleans hospice n ...

'' (2005) and ''

12 Years a Slave ''Twelve Years a Slave'' is an 1853 memoir and slave narrative by Solomon Northup as told to and written by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York state, details himself being tricked to go to Washington, D.C., whe ...

'' (2013), along with Season One of the WGN television series, '' Underground''.

References

{{NRHP Houses completed in 1846 Sugar plantations in Louisiana Houses in St. James Parish, Louisiana Plantation houses in Louisiana Slave cabins and quarters in the United States 1846 establishments in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in St. James Parish, Louisiana Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana

Architecture

Grounds

In film

See also

References