Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation

Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Ruined mill at the plantation
Nearest city	Thibodaux, Louisiana
Coordinates	29°48′23″N 90°46′18″W / 29.80639°N 90.77167°WCoordinates: 29°48′23″N 90°46′18″W / 29.80639°N 90.77167°W
Area	1,230 acres (500 ha)
Built	1850
Architectural style	Renaissance, Queen Anne
NRHP Reference #	78001426[1]
Added to NRHP	March 24, 1978

Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation is located in Thibodaux, Louisiana. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The plantation was owned by Joseph Tucker, a Virginian, who bought more than 50,000 acres of land along Bayou Lafourche. The earliest structures on the property date to the 1830s. It was at one time the largest producer of sugar in Lafourche Parish, and a mill was built on the property for this purpose. As many as 135 slaves lived and worked on the property prior to the Civil War. While the main house built by Tucker was destroyed during the Civil War, shotgun houses and Creole cabins remain on the property. The mill stopped production in the 1930s, and sustained significant damage during Hurricane Betsy in 1965.^[2]

Laurel Valley today

With over fifty original structures remaining it is the largest surviving 19th and 20th century sugar plantation complex left in the United States^[3] and is still a working sugarcane farm.^[2] The general store on the property is open to the public, displaying tools and farm implements used in the cultivation of sugar cane as well as locally made arts and crafts.^[3] Laurel Valley was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1978.

Popular culture

Several movies have been filmed at Laurel Valley, including Angel Heart, Crazy in Alabama, A Gathering of Old Men, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, A Lesson Before Dying, Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White, and Ray.^[4][5][6][7]

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Heart of Louisiana: Laurel Valley Plantation". Retrieved January 22, 2015.
3. "Laurel Valley Village Plantation: Louisiana Travel". Retrieved January 22, 2015.
4. "Angel Heart (1987) - IMDb". Retrieved January 23, 2015.
5. "Crazy in Alabama (1999) - IMDb". Retrieved January 23, 2015.
6. "Laurel Valley Village Sugar Plantation & Museum". Retrieved January 22, 2015.
7. Nicholls State University yearbook, La Pirogue, 1989

External links

• City of Thibodeaux: Areas of Interest - includes visiting information for the Laurel Valley Village/Plantation Museum and Country Store
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, "Big" House, 2 Miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Boarding House, 2 miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Corn Crib, 2 miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Double Creole Quarters, 2 Miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Drainage Plant, 2 Miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Engineer's House, 2 Miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, General Store, 2 Miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Railroad, 2 Miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, School House, 2 miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Shotgun Quarters, 2 miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER
• Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Sugar Mill, 2 miles South of Thibodaux on State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA at HAER