Louisiana Plantation Trail

Take a Step Back in Time

on the River Parishes

Plantation Trail by Madelaine Brauner Landry

Oak Alley Plantation

Are you fascinated with history, discovery, and a fondness for old things? You might consider exploring Louisiana’s River Road for tours of its unique plantation homes. There are various compelling reasons to visit. The importance of sightseeing properties from the Deep South’s antebellum past is hard to ignore. Human beings were held in bondage, a slave experience we cannot deny or ignore. The lives of wealthy plantation owners are also enlightening, and these sites offer a treasure trove of archives containing art, photography, books, and music that help reveal many mysteries.

The following is hardly an exhaustive list. River Road boasts approximately 12 plantations, most open to the public. Whether you choose a day trip, or one that evolves over a few days, allow yourself to slow down and explore other historical sites you will find along the way. Some are in ruin; some are recognizable from film and television. This journey can be an eye-opening historical and personal experience that will provoke many emotions. Its diversity will not disappoint. Magic is instilled in the traveler who realizes that what initially compelled them to take the trip will not necessarily be what they take away when it comes to an end.

1811 Kid Ory Historic House (LaPlace)

Promoted as one of the oldest structures in St. John the Baptist parish, the 1811/Kid Ory Historic House tells the story of an 1811 slave rebellion, as well as the dawn of jazz, two noteworthy historical events. Using diverse media to engage visitors, these museum walls share tales from the “big house” from which it was created. This site was home to a variety of owners from 1797-1922, but it is currently not furnished as a residence. It serves as a repository of artifacts, historical musical instruments, interactive displays and panels for art and photography. Testimonies of the enslaved, as well as an archive of Kid Ory Creole jazz memorabilia are its primary features.

Laura Plantation (Vacherie)

The exciting part of this site is its ongoing contribution to research to the story of enslaved people in Louisiana’s Creole past, as well as its home’s history that includes four generations of female ownership. Laura reveals its captivating story starting with its builder, Guillaume Duparc, a French Naval veteran of the American Revolution. His sugar farming complex sat on high ground with access to the Mississippi River, and included land originally settled by Native Americans or purchased from the Acadians. Female descendants eventually became responsible for the daily operations of the original home and business. Laura’s story unfolds in a 2017 museum exhibit entitled “From the Big House to the Quarters: Slavery on Laura Plantation.”

Houmas House

Laura Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation (Vacherie)

Always a must when touring River Road plantations, Oak Alley also offers dining and overnight accommodations. This home has been a sugar plantation, an abandoned investment property, cattle ranch, and a beloved local icon that escaped destruction plans from the Army Corps of Engineers. Today’s Oak Alley is designated a National Landmark, and boasts a non-profit Foundation whose mission is to interpret, maintain, and preserve each component of its fascinating history. Open to the public for almost five decades, it remains dedicated to its unique “narrative integrity,” as its secrets reveal not only a magnificent landscape, an exquisitely appointed home, but also a place of human enslavement and inescapable painful history.

San Francisco Plantation (Garyville)

In 1827, Elisée Rillieux, a man who counted himself among the gens de couleur libres (free people of color), had a vision. He bought tracts of lands, and slaves, establishing a sugar plantation 40 miles downriver from New Orleans in St. John Parish. His speculation paid off, and San Francisco developed successfully through various owners, surviving the Great Flood of 1927, a legislative action that preserved many River Road plantations, and massive restorations by ECOL and Marathon Oil. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it was renovated through scientific analysis of materials and structure, returning it to its pre-Civil War antebellum splendor. It displays a distinctive style and color scheme enjoyed by over 100,000 visitors annually.

Houmas House (Darrow)

By contrast, Houmas House allows its visitors to experience sugar plantation life in the post-Civil War era, renovated to reflect life in the 1880s. The site offers a guided mansion tour that covers a 250-year history that highlights its architectural features, furnishings, expansive gardens, and details of plantation life as the South sought to sustain its former glory. It also offers three restaurant/dining options and overnight accommodations. Featured in almost twenty films, Houmas House sits in a large curve of the mighty Mississippi, on high ground first settled by the Houmas Indians. This fertile land created plantations that grew cotton, sugarcane, corn, indigo and tobacco, as well as provided rich hunting for early settlers.

For more extensive travel and site details, visit www.louisianatravel.com/ attractions/historic-homes.

Who’s the one person you shouldn’t travel without? Your Travel Advisor

Mention this ad and get up to $50 on board credit on a 7 day cruise!

DREAM VACATIONS Michael Naquin (337) 520-4073 www.atlastravel.fun

Movers and Shakers in Southwest Louisiana...

Who’s News? You tell us! Send press releases to edit@thriveswla.com

Lakeside Bank Welcomes Twenda Hanson

Lakeside Bank has named Twenda Hanson Vice President/ South Lake Charles Market Manager. Originally from Lake Charles, Hanson brings more than 42 years of experience in the banking field to her new position at Lakeside. She has extensive experience in both personal and commercial banking, as well as customer service and staff coaching and development.

She has held a variety of positions during her banking career in Southwest Louisiana, including bookkeeper, teller, personal banker, assistant branch manager and small business lender. She most recently served as a financial center manager. Hanson has completed numerous banking compliance training courses and is also a licensed notary public.

Twenda Hanson

Hanson will be working at Lakeside’s Main Office, located at 4735 Nelson Road in Lake Charles.

Dawn Johnson-Hatcher

Memorial Names New Chief Financial Officer

DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS copiers • scanners • printers • fax • shredders

Locally owned and operated for over 30 years

600 W McNeese Street, Lake Charles | (337) 474-9913 asiofficesystems.com

Dawn Johnson-Hatcher has been promoted to the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Memorial Health System. Dawn has served on the administrative team as Vice President of Finance since 2018.

Dawn came to Memorial with more than 25 years of healthcare financial experience. Prior to joining Memorial, Dawn previously served as the Chief Financial Officer for CHRISTUS Lake Area Hospital. She has also served as the Assistant Chief Financial Officer and Financial Security Officer for Northwest Medical Center Oro Valley and Assistant Chief Financial Officer of El Dorado Hospital both located in Tucson, Arizona. She holds a degree in Business Administration and a master’s in business administration, both from the University of Phoenix in Tucson.

WCCH Names Odom Chief Nursing Officer

West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) is pleased to announce that Robbin Odom, MSN, BHA, RN, CPHQ, CPPS, HACP, LSS has been named Chief Robbin Odom Nursing Officer. In her role, Odom will be responsible for organizing and administering the Nursing care and associated patient care departments according to the hospital’s mission and vision. She will collaborate with members of senior leadership, medical staff, and clinical areas to provide quality services to hospital customers and our community.

Odom brings over 25 years of healthcare management experience with her to WCCH. She began her nursing career as a registered nurse in 1991 and has since successfully served in various senior leadership roles, including Interim CEO, during her career.

Odom holds a Bachelor’s in Health Administration from Kennedy Western University and a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Walden University. She is currently a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Louisiana Organization of Nurse Executives, the Louisiana Hospital Association, and the National Association for Healthcare Quality. She also holds numerous healthcare certifications.

CSE Announces Lori Hagan as Main Office Branch Manager

Lori Hagan has been chosen as the newest Branch Manager for CSE Federal Credit Union (CSE). Hagan comes to CSE with

over 30 years’ experience branch management and financial services. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from McNeese State University. Hagan will manage overall branch operations for the Main Office of CSE, located at 4321 Nelson Road in Lake Charles.

CSE is federally insured by NCUA. Membership and Eligibility required.

CSE Welcomes Member Business Lender Tray Braud

CSE Federal Credit Union (CSE) announces the addition of Tray Braud, Member Business Lender. Braud succeeds Jim Swift, Tray Braud Business Loan Officer, who retired at the end of May 2021.

Braud brings over 10 years of experience in the financial sector. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Finance from McNeese State University. Braud will provide services for Members seeking business loans, under the direction of Chief Lending Officer, Jennifer Erickson.

CSE is federally insured by NCUA. Membership and Eligibility required.

Chantlin Achieves Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist Status

The Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE) announced that Cynthia Chantlin, Diabetes Coordinator at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital achieved Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist status by successfully completing the Certification Examination for Diabetes Educators. Candidates must meet rigorous eligibility requirements to be able to take the Examination. Achieving certification status demonstrates to people with diabetes and employers that the health care professional possesses distinct and specialized knowledge, thereby promoting quality of care for people with diabetes. Currently, there are over 15,000 diabetes educators who hold CBDCE certification.

Chantlin has served as a Diabetes Program Coordinator at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) for 5 years. Prior to serving in this capacity, she served as a Registered Dietitian at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. The diabetes program at WCCH, a program recognized by the American Diabetes Association, holds education classes weekly and individual education is provided to patients when needed. A support group, led by Chantlin, will resume once COVID-19 guidelines allow.

Cynthia Chantlin

Poche Named West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital Physician of the Quarter

West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) has named Mahlon P. Poche Jr., M.D., Emergency Medicine as the recipient of the 4th Quarter 2020 – Physician Award. The award recognizes a clinical physician who consistently achieves high standards in the practice of medicine.

Dr. Poche received his Medical Degree from Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed a Family Practice Residency Program from LSU in Baton Rouge, at Earl K. Long Medical Center. He is currently meeting his maintenance of certification by the American Board of Family Practice.

Dr. Poche has been a member of the WCCH Medical Staff since September 2003 and is currently an active Emergency Room staff member of Professional Emergency Medicine Management Group (PEMM) at WCCH.

Mahlon P. Poche Jr., MD Anna Marcantel Tammy Gillett

Ochsner CHRISTUS Health Center – Lake Area Welcomes Nurse Practitioners Marcantel, Gillett

CHRISTUS Ochsner Health Southwestern Louisiana welcomes nurse practitioners Anna Marcantel and Tammy Gillett to Ochsner CHRISTUS Health Center – Lake Area.

A cum laude graduate of McNeese State University, Marcantel earned a master’s degree in nursing from the University of South Alabama in 2008. She diagnoses and treats chronic and acute health conditions. She has experience in family planning, including IUD and Nexplanon insertion and removal, and she coordinates care through pregnancy and postpartum.

Gillett has 25 years’ experience in obstetrics, gynecology, family planning, hormone replacement, STD management and colposcopy. After graduating from McNeese State University in 1985, she earned a certificate of advanced practice in nursing from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas at El Paso.

To schedule an appointment at any Ochsner CHRISTUS Health Center throughout the Lake Charles area, call 337.491.7577 or visit Ochsner. org/doctors to schedule online.