Belle Grove Plantation
Encyclopedia
Belle Grove, also known as Belle Grove Plantation, was a plantation
and elaborate Greek Revival
and Italianate
-style plantation mansion near White Castle in Iberville Parish, Louisiana
. Completed in 1857, it was one of the largest mansions ever built in the South, surpassing that of the neighboring Nottoway
. Nottaway is often cited as the largest antebellum plantation house remaining in the South. The masonry structure stood 62 feet (18.9 m) high and measured 122 feet (37.2 m) wide by 119 feet (36.3 m) deep, with seventy-five rooms spread over four floors.
Andrews built the mansion from 1852 to 1857 at a cost of $80,000, not including the free (slave) labor or the plentiful cypress lumber and hand-made bricks produced on the plantation. The house was designed by New Orleans architect Henry Howard
. Andrews had a legendary rivalry with the owner of Nottoway Plantation
, John Randolph. This competition even extended to their mansions, with both massive structures designed by Howard in a mix of the Greek Revival and Italianate styles.
Following the American Civil War
and ensuing collapse of the plantation economy, Andrews sold the home and plantation in 1867 to James Ware, for the meager sum of $50,000. The Ware family continued to live and farm the plantation until the early 1920s. After several bad crop years, they were forced to sell the home. From 1925 onwards the house sat vacant.
The post-Ware era at Belle Grove saw the finely crafted home rot away in Louisiana's harsh environment. Neglect allowed a leaky roof to expand and destroy the rear wing of the mansion. Several owners purchased the home, each with aspirations of restoration, but none had the means necessary in the lean years of the Great Depression
and World War II
to stop the onslaught of rapid decay. On March 17, 1952, a mysterious fire during the night destroyed what remained of the house.
Dozens of books have been written regarding Belle Grove's beauty and charm, while hundreds of photographs have been published illustrating those narratives. Famous photographer Clarence John Laughlin
, described Belle Grove in his work, Ghosts Along the Mississippi:
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
and elaborate Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
and Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
-style plantation mansion near White Castle in Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Completed in 1857, it was one of the largest mansions ever built in the South, surpassing that of the neighboring Nottoway
Nottoway Plantation
Nottoway Plantation, also known as Nottoway Plantation House is located in White Castle, Louisiana. This home was completed in 1859 for the John Hampton Randolph family. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.-Early history:...
. Nottaway is often cited as the largest antebellum plantation house remaining in the South. The masonry structure stood 62 feet (18.9 m) high and measured 122 feet (37.2 m) wide by 119 feet (36.3 m) deep, with seventy-five rooms spread over four floors.
History
Belle Grove was owned by John Andrews, a wealthy sugar planter originally from Virginia. Andrews owned over 7000 acres (2,832.8 ha) spread over several plantations, with Belle Grove having 3/4 of a mile (1.21 km) of river frontage. He founded Belle Grove during the 1830s, with Dr. John Phillip Read Stone as a partner. Andrews assumed full ownership in 1844, when the partnership was dissolved. By the 1850s, his more than 150 slaves were producing over half a million pounds of sugar each year.Andrews built the mansion from 1852 to 1857 at a cost of $80,000, not including the free (slave) labor or the plentiful cypress lumber and hand-made bricks produced on the plantation. The house was designed by New Orleans architect Henry Howard
Henry Howard
-Nobles and politicians:*Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey , English aristocrat and poet*Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton , son of the Earl of Surrey*Henry Howard, 2nd Earl of Norfolk *Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk...
. Andrews had a legendary rivalry with the owner of Nottoway Plantation
Nottoway Plantation
Nottoway Plantation, also known as Nottoway Plantation House is located in White Castle, Louisiana. This home was completed in 1859 for the John Hampton Randolph family. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.-Early history:...
, John Randolph. This competition even extended to their mansions, with both massive structures designed by Howard in a mix of the Greek Revival and Italianate styles.
Following the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and ensuing collapse of the plantation economy, Andrews sold the home and plantation in 1867 to James Ware, for the meager sum of $50,000. The Ware family continued to live and farm the plantation until the early 1920s. After several bad crop years, they were forced to sell the home. From 1925 onwards the house sat vacant.
The post-Ware era at Belle Grove saw the finely crafted home rot away in Louisiana's harsh environment. Neglect allowed a leaky roof to expand and destroy the rear wing of the mansion. Several owners purchased the home, each with aspirations of restoration, but none had the means necessary in the lean years of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to stop the onslaught of rapid decay. On March 17, 1952, a mysterious fire during the night destroyed what remained of the house.
Dozens of books have been written regarding Belle Grove's beauty and charm, while hundreds of photographs have been published illustrating those narratives. Famous photographer Clarence John Laughlin
Clarence John Laughlin
Clarence John Laughlin was a United States photographer best known for his surrealist photographs of the U.S. South.Laughlin was born in to a middle class family in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His rocky childhood, southern heritage, and interest in literature influenced his work greatly...
, described Belle Grove in his work, Ghosts Along the Mississippi:
When completed, its tremendous mass rose on huge brick foundation arches over twelve feet above the surrounding earth, its walls and mantels were plastered and carved by the most expert European craftsmen money could secure, its great flight of brick steps was covered with imported marble, its door knobs and keyhole guards were of silver, its pillars bore Corinthian capitals six feet high but of the utmost refinement. Its theatrical magnificence would have delighted the Bibiena family-seventeenth century designers of the most elaborate and grandiose stage sets for kings. Yet it was not heavy, or pompous. It managed somehow, to combine vastness with delicacy; titanic proportions with grace and warmth....
External links
- Friends of Belle Grove Plantation of Louisiana Website
- Louisiana Plantation Homes, Colonial and Antebellum by W. Darrell OverdykeW. Darrell OverdykeWilliam Darrell Overdyke was an American historian known particularly for his work on 18th- and 19th-century plantation homes in his adopted state of Louisiana as well as the anti-immigration Know Nothing political party in the American South.-Background:Overdyke was born in Cherokee near...
- Belle Grove Plantation Records, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill