Making Ourselves at Home
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 8:57 pm
By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President
A wonderful thing happened last year when we announced that we would be returning the American Queen to service. We found ourselves at the center of a storm of well-wishes and outreach. So many people outside of the American Queen Steamboat Company put an impressive amount of effort into making certain that the reintroduction went smoothly and that we were greeted as returning friends in each port of call. We are immensely grateful to each of you. Without you, there would be no American Queen Steamboat Company.
In today’s blog, I’d like to acknowledge one destination who stood by our side from the instant we announced the American Queen’s refurbishment and new itineraries. Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Louisiana opened their doors, their arms and their hearts to us from our very first meeting. During our first call, they had a helicopter overhead snapping photos which they generously made available to us for promotional purposes and which we have used liberally on our website and in our advertisements. Our sincere thanks go out to all of you at Houmas House for all you have done for us and the American Queen. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share a little bit of what I learned from the Houmas House about what makes this such a special place.
Today, Houmas House Plantation and Gardens has reclaimed its position as the “Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road.” Through the vision and determination of Kevin Kelly, who fulfilled a lifelong dream by acquiring the property in the Spring of 2003, the mansion today reflects the best parts of each period in its rich history alongside the big bend in the Mississippi River.
The first owners of the plantation were the indigenous Houmas Indians, who were given a land grant to occupy the fertile plain between the Mississippi and Lake Maurepas to the north. The Houmas sold the land to Maurice Conway and Alexander Latil in the mid 1700's. The original French Provincial house that Latil erected on the property is situated directly behind the mansion, adjoined by a carriageway to the grand home described during its antebellum heyday as "The Sugar Palace." The original home was later used as living quarters for the staff that served the great house. By the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the plantation was established and producing sugar.
In 1810, Revolutionary War hero General Wade Hampton of Virginia purchased the property and shortly thereafter began construction on the mansion. However, it was not until 1825 when Hampton's daughter, Caroline, and her husband, Colonel John Preston, took over the property that the grand house truly began to take shape. Construction on the mansion was completed in 1828. At the same time, Houmas House began to build its sugar production and continued to increase its land holdings, which ultimately grew to 300,000 acres.
Irishman John Burnside bought the plantation in 1857 for $1 million. A businessman and a character, Burnside increased production of sugar until Houmas House was the largest producer in the country, actively working the crop on 98,000 acres. During the Civil War, Burnside saved the mansion from destruction at the hands of advancing Union forces by declaring immunity as a subject of the British Crown. Houmas House flourished under Burnside's ownership, but it was under a successor, Colonel William Porcher Miles, that the plantation grew to its apex in the late 1800's when it was producing a monumental 20 million pounds of sugar each year.
In 1927, the Mississippi came out of its banks in the epic "Great Flood." While Houmas House was spared, the surrounding areas were inundated. The ensuing economic havoc was but a prelude to the devastation of the Great Depression just two years later. Houmas House Plantation withered away. The mansion closed and fell into disrepair, a condition in which it remained until 1940 when Dr. George B. Crozat purchased it. Crozat bought Houmas House to be a summer home away from his native New Orleans. He renovated the property with the intent to give it a more "Federal" look than the stately Greek Revival style in which it was conceived. The structure was painted white inside and out. Crown moldings and ceiling medallions were removed and both interior and exterior forms and finishes were simplified.
Eventually, the Crozat heirs opened the property to tourists. In 1963, the defining Bette Davis film Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte was shot in the property. The room in which Ms. Davis stayed while filming is preserved as part of today's Houmas House tour. In fact, Houmas House has been a true star of both the big and small screens. It has appeared in the theatrical films Moon of the Wolf (1972), Mandingo (1975), A Closer Walk (1976), and Fletch Lives (1988), among others, and in TV series ranging from All My Children to Wheel of Fortune and Top Chef.
History is also reflected in the many antique furnishings and works of art that grace the Houmas House tour. Upon its completion in 1840, Houmas House was the “Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road” with its heroically-columned Greek Revival exterior topped by a belvedere that surveyed the oak alley leading south to the sweeping bend in the Mississippi and the miles and miles of cane fields to the north and east. The mansion is an excellent example of the peripteral type of Greek Revival architecture in which the main structure is surrounded by grand columns, each with an uninterrupted span from ground level to the roofline. Among Houmas House Plantation and Gardens' unique features are twin Garconierre, very rare among plantation homes. Federal arched dormers stand above the large Doric galleries. Inside, a free-standing, three-story helix staircase follows the corresponding curvature of the adjacent wall.
Houmas House Plantation and Gardens is one of our guests’ favorite stops and a featured destination on our cruises on the Lower Mississippi River. It is every bit as grand today as in its heyday and, coupled with the American Queen herself, it is easy to imagine that one is traveling in the South in the 1870s or 1880s. It is a fantastic port of call, an amazing property, a stunning house and, most importantly, it is run by the kindest, most giving and most friendly people that anyone could ever hope to meet. In every way, Houmas House embodies the generous Southern spirit and welcoming hospitality of the region. Our thanks go out to all of you at Houmas House who delight our guests week after week.
A wonderful thing happened last year when we announced that we would be returning the American Queen to service. We found ourselves at the center of a storm of well-wishes and outreach. So many people outside of the American Queen Steamboat Company put an impressive amount of effort into making certain that the reintroduction went smoothly and that we were greeted as returning friends in each port of call. We are immensely grateful to each of you. Without you, there would be no American Queen Steamboat Company.
In today’s blog, I’d like to acknowledge one destination who stood by our side from the instant we announced the American Queen’s refurbishment and new itineraries. Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Louisiana opened their doors, their arms and their hearts to us from our very first meeting. During our first call, they had a helicopter overhead snapping photos which they generously made available to us for promotional purposes and which we have used liberally on our website and in our advertisements. Our sincere thanks go out to all of you at Houmas House for all you have done for us and the American Queen. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share a little bit of what I learned from the Houmas House about what makes this such a special place.
Today, Houmas House Plantation and Gardens has reclaimed its position as the “Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road.” Through the vision and determination of Kevin Kelly, who fulfilled a lifelong dream by acquiring the property in the Spring of 2003, the mansion today reflects the best parts of each period in its rich history alongside the big bend in the Mississippi River.
The first owners of the plantation were the indigenous Houmas Indians, who were given a land grant to occupy the fertile plain between the Mississippi and Lake Maurepas to the north. The Houmas sold the land to Maurice Conway and Alexander Latil in the mid 1700's. The original French Provincial house that Latil erected on the property is situated directly behind the mansion, adjoined by a carriageway to the grand home described during its antebellum heyday as "The Sugar Palace." The original home was later used as living quarters for the staff that served the great house. By the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the plantation was established and producing sugar.
In 1810, Revolutionary War hero General Wade Hampton of Virginia purchased the property and shortly thereafter began construction on the mansion. However, it was not until 1825 when Hampton's daughter, Caroline, and her husband, Colonel John Preston, took over the property that the grand house truly began to take shape. Construction on the mansion was completed in 1828. At the same time, Houmas House began to build its sugar production and continued to increase its land holdings, which ultimately grew to 300,000 acres.
Irishman John Burnside bought the plantation in 1857 for $1 million. A businessman and a character, Burnside increased production of sugar until Houmas House was the largest producer in the country, actively working the crop on 98,000 acres. During the Civil War, Burnside saved the mansion from destruction at the hands of advancing Union forces by declaring immunity as a subject of the British Crown. Houmas House flourished under Burnside's ownership, but it was under a successor, Colonel William Porcher Miles, that the plantation grew to its apex in the late 1800's when it was producing a monumental 20 million pounds of sugar each year.
In 1927, the Mississippi came out of its banks in the epic "Great Flood." While Houmas House was spared, the surrounding areas were inundated. The ensuing economic havoc was but a prelude to the devastation of the Great Depression just two years later. Houmas House Plantation withered away. The mansion closed and fell into disrepair, a condition in which it remained until 1940 when Dr. George B. Crozat purchased it. Crozat bought Houmas House to be a summer home away from his native New Orleans. He renovated the property with the intent to give it a more "Federal" look than the stately Greek Revival style in which it was conceived. The structure was painted white inside and out. Crown moldings and ceiling medallions were removed and both interior and exterior forms and finishes were simplified.
Eventually, the Crozat heirs opened the property to tourists. In 1963, the defining Bette Davis film Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte was shot in the property. The room in which Ms. Davis stayed while filming is preserved as part of today's Houmas House tour. In fact, Houmas House has been a true star of both the big and small screens. It has appeared in the theatrical films Moon of the Wolf (1972), Mandingo (1975), A Closer Walk (1976), and Fletch Lives (1988), among others, and in TV series ranging from All My Children to Wheel of Fortune and Top Chef.
History is also reflected in the many antique furnishings and works of art that grace the Houmas House tour. Upon its completion in 1840, Houmas House was the “Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road” with its heroically-columned Greek Revival exterior topped by a belvedere that surveyed the oak alley leading south to the sweeping bend in the Mississippi and the miles and miles of cane fields to the north and east. The mansion is an excellent example of the peripteral type of Greek Revival architecture in which the main structure is surrounded by grand columns, each with an uninterrupted span from ground level to the roofline. Among Houmas House Plantation and Gardens' unique features are twin Garconierre, very rare among plantation homes. Federal arched dormers stand above the large Doric galleries. Inside, a free-standing, three-story helix staircase follows the corresponding curvature of the adjacent wall.
Houmas House Plantation and Gardens is one of our guests’ favorite stops and a featured destination on our cruises on the Lower Mississippi River. It is every bit as grand today as in its heyday and, coupled with the American Queen herself, it is easy to imagine that one is traveling in the South in the 1870s or 1880s. It is a fantastic port of call, an amazing property, a stunning house and, most importantly, it is run by the kindest, most giving and most friendly people that anyone could ever hope to meet. In every way, Houmas House embodies the generous Southern spirit and welcoming hospitality of the region. Our thanks go out to all of you at Houmas House who delight our guests week after week.