Butler Greenwood Plantation
Encyclopedia
The Butler Greenwood Plantation is a plantation
in Louisiana
. It is on U.S. Route 61
, 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) to the North of St. Francisville, Louisiana
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
in the 1770s when the area was British territory
; later, when Spain gained control, he treated with Governor Manuel Gayoso
. When Dr. Flower died in 1813, his eight heirs would divide thousands of arpent
s of land in the Felicianas
, Rapides Parish, along Bayou Manchac
, and in the Mississippi Territory
. The family residence bordering Bayou Sara, appraised in the estate division at $12,300, was left to Dr. Flower’s 20-year-old married daughter Harriett.
Harriett Flower’s husband, Judge George Mathews
, was a superior court judge in the Mississippi Territory and then the Territory of Orleans, appointed by President Thomas Jefferson
, and would become the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
once Louisiana became a state in 1812. His father, General George Mathews
, was an American Revolutionary War
hero who survived being bayoneted nine times to become a US Congressman, military general and two-term governor of Georgia.
Harriett and Judge George Mathews lived at Butler Greenwood and raised indigo, cotton, sugarcane and corn, shipping the crops from their own dock on Bayou Sara and extending their landholdings to include a productive sugar plantation in Lafourche Parish that, according to Lewis Gray’s figures, placed them among the top 9% of sugar planters in the state in the 1850s. After the death of Judge Mathews in 1836, his widow continued to run the plantations with help from her son Charles.
In the census of 1860, both Harriett and her son list their occupations as planter, their household including Charles’ wife Penelope Stewart, their children, an Austrian music teacher and an Irish gardener, with 96 slaves living in 18 dwellings and their personal estate valued at $260,000. In that year the 1400 acres (5.7 km²) of Butler Greenwood Plantation produced 130 bales of cotton, 2000 bushels of corn, 175 hogsheads of sugar and more than 10,000 gallons of molasses. Their other plantations covered nearly 10000 acres (40.5 km²) worked by some 400 slaves and were equally productive in 1860, although after the Civil War the labor force had fallen to a field gang of only 27 freedmen working for monthly wages on the home place.
grand piano, and the area’s finest original Victorian formal parlor, its twelve matching pieces still in the original upholstery. The house is surrounded by extensive groves of live oaks and formal gardens. The original detached brick kitchen dates from the 1790s, the garden gazebo from the 1850s. It is now open for house tours and overnight stays in B&B cottages on the plantation grounds.
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...
in 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...
. It is on U.S. Route 61
U.S. Route 61
U.S. Route 61 is the official designation for a United States highway that runs from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River, and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's...
, 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) to the North of St. Francisville, Louisiana
St. Francisville, Louisiana
St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,712 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St...
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
HIstory
The plantation was created by Dr. Samuel Flower, a Quaker physician who emigrated from PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the 1770s when the area was British territory
History of the United States (1776–1789)
Between 1776 and 1789, the United States emerged as an independent country, creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing its national government. In order to assert their traditional rights, American Patriots seized control of the colonies and launched a war for independence...
; later, when Spain gained control, he treated with Governor Manuel Gayoso
Manuel Gayoso de Lemos
Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos Amorín y Magallanes was the Spanish governor of Louisiana from 1797 until his death in 1799. Born in Oporto, Portugal on May 30, 1747, to Spanish consul Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos y Sarmiento and Theresa Angélica de Amorín y Magallanes, he received his education in...
. When Dr. Flower died in 1813, his eight heirs would divide thousands of arpent
Arpent
An arpent is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman actus. It is used in Quebec as well as in some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana.-Unit of length:...
s of land in the Felicianas
Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
Feliciana Parish is a former parish of Louisiana, formed in 1810 from West Florida territory. It was divided in 1824 into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish. Feliciana is a Spanish word meaning Happy Land. It originated in 1775 and was named by Spanish Governor Galvez...
, Rapides Parish, along Bayou Manchac
Bayou Manchac
Bayou Manchac is an bayou in southeast Louisiana. This bayou was once a very important waterway linking the Mississippi River to the Amite River.-Exploration:...
, and in the Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
. The family residence bordering Bayou Sara, appraised in the estate division at $12,300, was left to Dr. Flower’s 20-year-old married daughter Harriett.
Harriett Flower’s husband, Judge George Mathews
George Mathews (judge)
George Mathews, Jr. was a Judge of the Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans and a Judge of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1813 until his death in 1836.-Early life:...
, was a superior court judge in the Mississippi Territory and then the Territory of Orleans, appointed by President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and would become the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
once Louisiana became a state in 1812. His father, General George Mathews
George Mathews (Georgia)
George Mathews was an United States planter, merchant, and pioneer from Virginia and western Georgia. He served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War then settled in Georgia. He served as the 20th Governor of Georgia, one term in the U.S...
, was an American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
hero who survived being bayoneted nine times to become a US Congressman, military general and two-term governor of Georgia.
Harriett and Judge George Mathews lived at Butler Greenwood and raised indigo, cotton, sugarcane and corn, shipping the crops from their own dock on Bayou Sara and extending their landholdings to include a productive sugar plantation in Lafourche Parish that, according to Lewis Gray’s figures, placed them among the top 9% of sugar planters in the state in the 1850s. After the death of Judge Mathews in 1836, his widow continued to run the plantations with help from her son Charles.
In the census of 1860, both Harriett and her son list their occupations as planter, their household including Charles’ wife Penelope Stewart, their children, an Austrian music teacher and an Irish gardener, with 96 slaves living in 18 dwellings and their personal estate valued at $260,000. In that year the 1400 acres (5.7 km²) of Butler Greenwood Plantation produced 130 bales of cotton, 2000 bushels of corn, 175 hogsheads of sugar and more than 10,000 gallons of molasses. Their other plantations covered nearly 10000 acres (40.5 km²) worked by some 400 slaves and were equally productive in 1860, although after the Civil War the labor force had fallen to a field gang of only 27 freedmen working for monthly wages on the home place.
Today
Now the home of the seventh and eighth generation of the family, author Anne Butler and her daughter Chase Poindexter, Butler Greenwood is a simple, raised cottage-style plantation home filled with oil portraits, Brussels carpet, gilded pier mirrors, Mallard poster beds, fine china and silverware, a French PleyelPleyel et Cie
Pleyel et Cie is a French piano manufacturing firm founded by the composer Ignace Pleyel in 1807. In 1815, he was joined by his son, Camille, as a business partner. The firm provided pianos to Frédéric Chopin, and also ran a concert hall, the Salle Pleyel, where Chopin performed his first — and...
grand piano, and the area’s finest original Victorian formal parlor, its twelve matching pieces still in the original upholstery. The house is surrounded by extensive groves of live oaks and formal gardens. The original detached brick kitchen dates from the 1790s, the garden gazebo from the 1850s. It is now open for house tours and overnight stays in B&B cottages on the plantation grounds.