There are many incredible homes on the Great River Road, but few command the attention that Houmas House does. From it's great Tuscan columns, to gracious and expansive gardens, the home pays tribute to its over 240 year history.
In 1803, Donaldson and Scott built a new center hall cottage directly in front of the 1700s French House. In 1829, General Wade Hampton began the task of enlarging the Donaldson Cottage and transforming it into the Classical Revival Mansion that stands today.
After expanding Houmas House, General Hampton would die in 1835, leaving an estate valued at $1,641.65. His sound would inherit the estate, but would give it to his two step sisters, Caroline Hampton Preston and Susan Hampton, along with his step mother. Wade Hampton II would serve in an important advisory capacity to his family regarding the Houmas. Susan Hampton would die in 1845 after giving birth to her 3rd child, and soon after her mother Mary Cantey Hampton would give her share to her other daughter Caroline Hampton Preston, and her husband, John Smith Preston.
Caroline and her husband John would spent each fall and winter overseeing the harvest at Houmas, where they entertained guests, some for months at a time. After the death of his step brother in law, Wade Hampton II, in 1858, John Preston decided to sell the Houmas Plantation. Preston would sell the estate to John Burnside in 1858 for $1,000,000. (For reference, adjusted for inflation, that $1,000,000 would be $34,000,000 in todays money). At the time of the sale, the Houmas Estate had 35 acres of river front property on the Mississippi River, contained over 12,000 acres of cultivable land, and a work force of over 550 enslaved people. It was the finest property possessed by a single proprietor in America.
Immediately after acquiring Houmas, John Burnside set to work enlarging his holding and purchasing other sugar cane plantations along the Mississippi River. He was dubbed "The Sugar Prince" by attaining the largest sugar empire in the South. At age 71, John Burnside would die in 1881. He left his large estate to a boyhood friend, Oliver Beirne.
Oliver Beirne was 70 years old when he inherited the estate. He quickly took up residence at Houmas, and managed the property, along with the Burnside Plantation, and his own estate Old Sweet Springs. In 1882, Oliver enlisted his son-in-law William Porcher Miles to manage his Louisiana estates. In 1888, at the age of 77, Oliver died, leaving an estate of over $5 million dollars. (Equivalent in todays money over $110,000,000) His estate was left to his 5 grandchildren, the children of William Porcher Miles. It was in the 1890s that the Miles family enlarged the mansion be connecting the 1829 mansion to the French house. In 1899, at the age off 77, William Porcher Miles died, and the Houmas Estate and Company was inherited by William P Miles JR, and his sisters. Houmas was alive with family and friends, until a failed sugar crop in the 1920 forced the family to sell of the plantation piece by piece.
In 1940, the Miles Family sold the Houmas to Dr. George Crozat, who engaged an architect to remodel and redesign the Classic Revival Mansion into a Williamsburg Federal-style country home. Along with removing the belvedere railings and cupola ornaments, he removed the second floor rear bedroom wing. He also took down numerous outbuildings and redesigned and remodeled the interior of the mansion.
In the Spring of 2003, the Estate of Dr. George Crozat auctioned off the entire contents of the mansion and grounds. Kevin Kelly, a New Orleans Businessman, purchased the mansion and surrounding grounds and began the task of restoring the mansion and grounds. The mansion, having undergone 200 years of construction and remodeling by various owners, reflected a multitude of styles. Since it was impossible to return the house to any one particular era without sacrificing the others, the decision was made to select the best features from various periods to showcase a legacy of each family in the mansion. The mansion re-opened for tours in November of 2003.
Mr. Kelly allows tours of the mansion, but it remains his private residence, as it was for previous owners for over 240 years.
OUR VISIT
We visited the home in 2016. Unfortunately the day we visited, it was raining heavily, which really impeded our ability to enjoy the stunning grounds. However, we were able to still enjoy the grounds from many covered walkways and porches, and the gentleness of the rain added an aura of romance and quiet to the grounds. We hardly saw anyone else, and were the only people on our mansion tour, which always makes a tour more enjoyable. We still took lots of pictures and said that hoped someday we could come back to view the grounds when the sun was shining. The other downside to our visit was that we arrived later in the day, barely making the last tour of the day, which limited the time we had to enjoy the grounds. Even if it had not been raining, we would not have had much time after the tour to enjoy the grounds as they were going to be closing for the day. However, the you can stay onsite (we did not), they also have a restaurant onsite (that we did not eat it) and you can rent the house/grounds for weddings and other events.
The mansion tour was phenomenal. Our guide was dressed in period garb, and did a great job telling us all about the history of the house, and what life would have been like for those who lived in the house before. This house tour was also very unique since the owner still uses the house as his private residence. When we were there, he was not in town, so the entire house was open. Our guide told us that when the owner is in town, his private quarters are not included on the tour, but when he is not home he wants them included so that people can see not only the historic side of Houmas, but also the modern side. It was fun/interesting to see modern conveniences like toothpaste in the bathroom. It is very unique that the owner still uses the home as a private residence, and allows tours. The guide also said that the new owner was wonderful to work for, and clearly loved the house and was very proud of its tradition. While I was glad he was out of town while we were there so that we could see the whole house, part of me was sad he was not in because she said he often jumps on tours to add additional information. He sounds like someone who would be very cool to meet.
The interior of the home was beautiful, one of my favorite rooms was the dining room. Everything about it was simply stunning. You could easily imagine guests of by gone eras enjoying the comfort and hospitality of previous owners of Houmas House. The house did a beautiful job of bringing all of it's time periods together in a cohesive way, yet allowing each one to stand out on it's own.
The artifacts in the home were also simply amazing. Many of them were originals, or that the owner had purchased that were period appropriate. One of our favorites was a piece of furniture that look like a small table, but actually contained a surprised. The two pieces of the table could be pulled apart to reveal a chair, turning the table into a
desk. I have never seen another piece of furniture like it. Although that is one of my favorite things about Victorian furniture, rarely was a piece designed for only a single use! I also loved the Ben Butler chamber pot, as that is something I would love to own one day because I find it such a funny piece of history, talk about a way to show your disdain of a person! Dueling pistols are also very cool to me, and Houmas House had an awesome set. Dueling pistols contained all that was needed to fire 2 pistols. Whoever was challenged to a duel was able to select the weapon, and pistols were the most common choice. The men dueling would load the pistols on the field, in front of each other, and their seconds, to ensure that no one messed with the guns to give themselves an advantage. Although dueling was technically outlawed, even in the south, it was the preferred method of settling disputes between gentleman. The medicine canisters were also original and in amazing shape. Many of these "remedies" would be readily available and prescribed by doctors. Looking at the names today, we know why so many people did not survive their doctors "remedies" for what ailed them. The house also contained beautiful furniture from beds to chairs to cribs. Every room seemed to be more beautiful than the last.
Perhaps the most stunning part of the house was the free standing spiral staircase located towards the back of the home. The staircase had managed to survive all of the renovations intact, and it was truly a stunning feature of the home. It is also where the ghost of a young girl is said to often be seen, although she is said to disappear before anyone can talk to her.
If you are ever in Louisiana, and get a chance to visit Houmas House, it is a MUST SEE! The ticket price is a little on the pricey side, but it's worth it for all that it gives you access to. However, I would recommend giving yourself plenty of time to tour the house, stroll the grounds, and grab a bite to eat. I feel you could truly spend a day just enjoying everything Houmas House has to offer. If you want to learn more about this house, or to plan your own trip, you can visit their website at www.houmashouse.com.
