Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation

Historic plantation in Louisiana, United States

United States historic place


Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district

Ruined mill at the plantation
29°48′04″N 90°46′45″W / 29.80124°N 90.77915°W / 29.80124; -90.77915
Area	1,230 acres (500 ha)
Built	1850
Architectural style	American Renaissance, Queen Anne Revival
NRHP reference No.	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 originally owned by a French Acadian named Etienne Boudreaux. He was one of thousands of petit habitants who made their way to southern Louisiana after being expelled from Nova Scotia. Boudreaux bought a Spanish land grant about two miles south of Thibodaux along Bayou Lafourche in 1785.

Not much is known about the Boudreaux family, but the 1810 census lists 13 people living at the residence, nine males and four females. The Boudreaux family home, built in 1816, is the oldest surviving structure on property.

The property that came to be known as Laurel Valley Plantation was officially sold to Joseph W. Tucker in 1832. Tucker was a Virginian, who bought about 5,000 acres of land along Bayou Lafourche. 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 burned by Union soldiers during the Civil War, shotgun houses (built circa 1895) and Creole cabins (built circa 1845) remain on the property. The mill stopped production in 1926, and sustained significant damage during Hurricane Betsy in 1965. In 2021, the plantation sustained extensive damage during Hurricane Ida and lost more than a dozen of the original buildings. However, Laurel Valley was able to reopen again 1 month later and currently offers guided tours of the property.^[2]

Laurel Valley today

With about 40 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] The store wasn't originally at the plantation, it had to be moved there. Its proprietor was Leon Z. Boudreaux.

Laurel Valley Plantation was added as a historic district to the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1978.^[1]

Contributing properties

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The historic 1,230 acres (500 ha) district comprises about 80 buildings and structures dating from c.1850 to c.1910:^[4]^[5]

Along LA 308

Plantation Church, also known as Old Fountain Missionary Baptist Church, 29°47′11″N 90°47′01″W / 29.78633°N 90.78352°W / 29.78633; -90.78352 (Plantation Church), comprises the adjacent cemetery.
Double Creole House #1, 29°47′15″N 90°47′04″W / 29.78759°N 90.78452°W / 29.78759; -90.78452 (Double Creole House #1), built c.1890.
Double Creole House #2, 29°47′21″N 90°47′11″W / 29.7893°N 90.7864°W / 29.7893; -90.7864 (Double Creole House #2), built c.1890.

Plantation Store, 29°47′24″N 90°47′12″W / 29.78995°N 90.78671°W / 29.78995; -90.78671 (Plantation Store), built c.1890.
Double Creole House #3, 29°47′25″N 90°47′13″W / 29.79033°N 90.78683°W / 29.79033; -90.78683 (Double Creole House #3), built c.1890.
Creole House #1, 29°47′25″N 90°47′14″W / 29.79016°N 90.78732°W / 29.79016; -90.78732 (Creole House #1), built c.1900.
Creole House #2, 29°47′26″N 90°47′15″W / 29.79043°N 90.78741°W / 29.79043; -90.78741 (Creole House #2), built c.1910.
Shotgun House #1, 29°47′27″N 90°47′14″W / 29.79076°N 90.78723°W / 29.79076; -90.78723 (Shotgun House #1), built c.1890.

Main House Complex

Plantation House, 29°48′33″N 90°46′16″W / 29.80926°N 90.77123°W / 29.80926; -90.77123 (Plantation House), built c.1880.
Servants' Quarters, 29°48′32″N 90°46′16″W / 29.80899°N 90.77101°W / 29.80899; -90.77101 (Servants' Quarters), built c.1880.

Single family Creole houses area

Double Creole House #4, 29°48′37″N 90°46′19″W / 29.81018°N 90.77184°W / 29.81018; -90.77184 (Double Creole House #4). No more standing.
School House, 29°48′38″N 90°46′19″W / 29.81059°N 90.77196°W / 29.81059; -90.77196 (School House). No more standing.
Shotgun House #2, 29°48′41″N 90°46′17″W / 29.81146°N 90.77144°W / 29.81146; -90.77144 (Shotgun House #2), built c.1910.
Creole House #3, 29°48′43″N 90°46′16″W / 29.81187°N 90.77111°W / 29.81187; -90.77111 (Creole House #3), built c.1880.
Creole House #4, 29°48′44″N 90°46′15″W / 29.81217°N 90.77087°W / 29.81217; -90.77087 (Creole House #4), built c.1880.

Creole House #5, 29°48′45″N 90°46′14″W / 29.81246°N 90.77063°W / 29.81246; -90.77063 (Creole House #5), built c.1880.
Creole House #6, 29°48′46″N 90°46′13″W / 29.81276°N 90.77039°W / 29.81276; -90.77039 (Creole House #6), built c.1880.
Creole House #7, 29°48′47″N 90°46′13″W / 29.81305°N 90.77015°W / 29.81305; -90.77015 (Creole House #7), built c.1880.
Telephone Booth, 29°48′48″N 90°46′13″W / 29.81334°N 90.77022°W / 29.81334; -90.77022 (Telephone Booth). No more standing.
Weighing Station, 29°48′47″N 90°46′11″W / 29.81313°N 90.76981°W / 29.81313; -90.76981 (Weighing Station), built c.1910.
Plantation Foreman House, 29°48′46″N 90°46′09″W / 29.81267°N 90.76911°W / 29.81267; -90.76911 (Plantation Foreman House), built c.1900.

Creole double houses area

Watchman/Overseer's House, 29°48′40″N 90°46′22″W / 29.81106°N 90.77268°W / 29.81106; -90.77268 (Watchman/Overseer's House), built c.1900.
Double Creole Tenant House #1, 29°48′41″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81125°N 90.77255°W / 29.81125; -90.77255 (Double Creole Tenant House #1), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #2, 29°48′41″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81141°N 90.77242°W / 29.81141; -90.77242 (Double Creole Tenant House #2), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #3, 29°48′42″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81158°N 90.77228°W / 29.81158; -90.77228 (Double Creole Tenant House #3), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #4, 29°48′42″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81175°N 90.77215°W / 29.81175; -90.77215 (Double Creole Tenant House #4), built c.1880.

Double Creole Tenant House #5, 29°48′43″N 90°46′19″W / 29.81192°N 90.77201°W / 29.81192; -90.77201 (Double Creole Tenant House #5), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #6, 29°48′44″N 90°46′19″W / 29.81209°N 90.77187°W / 29.81209; -90.77187 (Double Creole Tenant House #6), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #7, 29°48′44″N 90°46′18″W / 29.81225°N 90.77173°W / 29.81225; -90.77173 (Double Creole Tenant House #7), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #8, 29°48′45″N 90°46′18″W / 29.81243°N 90.77158°W / 29.81243; -90.77158 (Double Creole Tenant House #8), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #9, 29°48′45″N 90°46′17″W / 29.8126°N 90.77145°W / 29.8126; -90.77145 (Double Creole Tenant House #9), built c.1880.
Double Creole Tenant House #10, 29°48′46″N 90°46′17″W / 29.81277°N 90.77131°W / 29.81277; -90.77131 (Double Creole Tenant House #10), built c.1880.
Creole Tenant House #1, 29°48′47″N 90°46′16″W / 29.81294°N 90.77118°W / 29.81294; -90.77118 (Creole Tenant House #1), built c.1880.
Office/Carriage House, 29°48′47″N 90°46′16″W / 29.81306°N 90.77102°W / 29.81306; -90.77102 (Office/Carriage House), built c.1880.
Shop, 29°48′47″N 90°46′15″W / 29.81316°N 90.77089°W / 29.81316; -90.77089 (Shop), built c.1880.

Production Complex and Shotgun houses

Single Tenant House #1, 29°48′42″N 90°46′24″W / 29.81155°N 90.77347°W / 29.81155; -90.77347 (Single Tenant House #1), built c.1884.
Single Tenant House #2, 29°48′42″N 90°46′24″W / 29.81172°N 90.77333°W / 29.81172; -90.77333 (Single Tenant House #2), built c.1884.
Single Tenant House #3, 29°48′43″N 90°46′24″W / 29.8119°N 90.77321°W / 29.8119; -90.77321 (Single Tenant House #3), built c.1884.
Single Tenant House #4, 29°48′44″N 90°46′23″W / 29.8121°N 90.77305°W / 29.8121; -90.77305 (Single Tenant House #4), built c.1884.
Single Tenant House #5, 29°48′48″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81327°N 90.77215°W / 29.81327; -90.77215 (Single Tenant House #5), built c.1884.
Single Tenant House #6, 29°48′48″N 90°46′19″W / 29.81344°N 90.77202°W / 29.81344; -90.77202 (Single Tenant House #6), built c.1884.
Multiple Tenant House/Storage Shed, 29°48′42″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81177°N 90.77259°W / 29.81177; -90.77259 (Multiple Tenant House/Storage Shed), built c.1900. No more standing.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #1, 29°48′43″N 90°46′22″W / 29.81188°N 90.77274°W / 29.81188; -90.77274 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #1), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #2, 29°48′43″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81201°N 90.77233°W / 29.81201; -90.77233 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #2), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #3, 29°48′44″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81214°N 90.77254°W / 29.81214; -90.77254 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #3), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #4, 29°48′44″N 90°46′22″W / 29.81226°N 90.77276°W / 29.81226; -90.77276 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #4), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #5, 29°48′45″N 90°46′23″W / 29.81242°N 90.77302°W / 29.81242; -90.77302 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #5), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #6, 29°48′45″N 90°46′24″W / 29.81259°N 90.77331°W / 29.81259; -90.77331 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #6), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #7, 29°48′46″N 90°46′25″W / 29.81274°N 90.77358°W / 29.81274; -90.77358 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #7), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #8, 29°48′44″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81221°N 90.77218°W / 29.81221; -90.77218 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #8), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #9, 29°48′44″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81233°N 90.77238°W / 29.81233; -90.77238 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #9), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #10, 29°48′45″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81244°N 90.77259°W / 29.81244; -90.77259 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #10), built c.1900.

Single Tenant Shotgun House #11, 29°48′45″N 90°46′22″W / 29.81261°N 90.77287°W / 29.81261; -90.77287 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #11), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #12, 29°48′46″N 90°46′23″W / 29.81279°N 90.77314°W / 29.81279; -90.77314 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #12), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #13, 29°48′47″N 90°46′24″W / 29.81295°N 90.77343°W / 29.81295; -90.77343 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #13), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #14, 29°48′45″N 90°46′19″W / 29.81247°N 90.77197°W / 29.81247; -90.77197 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #14), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #15, 29°48′45″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81259°N 90.77218°W / 29.81259; -90.77218 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #15), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #16, 29°48′46″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81272°N 90.77238°W / 29.81272; -90.77238 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #16), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #17, 29°48′46″N 90°46′22″W / 29.81288°N 90.77266°W / 29.81288; -90.77266 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #17), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #18, 29°48′47″N 90°46′23″W / 29.81305°N 90.77294°W / 29.81305; -90.77294 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #18), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #19, 29°48′47″N 90°46′24″W / 29.81319°N 90.77321°W / 29.81319; -90.77321 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #19), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #20, 29°48′46″N 90°46′19″W / 29.8128°N 90.77204°W / 29.8128; -90.77204 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #20), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #21, 29°48′46″N 90°46′20″W / 29.81291°N 90.77223°W / 29.81291; -90.77223 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #21), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #22, 29°48′47″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81307°N 90.77251°W / 29.81307; -90.77251 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #22), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #23, 29°48′48″N 90°46′22″W / 29.81324°N 90.77281°W / 29.81324; -90.77281 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #23), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #24, 29°48′48″N 90°46′23″W / 29.8134°N 90.77308°W / 29.8134; -90.77308 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #24), built c.1900.
Single Tenant Shotgun House #25, 29°48′49″N 90°46′21″W / 29.81354°N 90.77259°W / 29.81354; -90.77259 (Single Tenant Shotgun House #25), built c.1900.
Loading Crane, 29°48′48″N 90°46′15″W / 29.81339°N 90.77084°W / 29.81339; -90.77084 (Loading Crane).
Sugar Mill, 29°48′49″N 90°46′17″W / 29.81363°N 90.77135°W / 29.81363; -90.77135 (Sugar Mill), built c.1850.
Exhaust Stack, 29°48′51″N 90°46′16″W / 29.81412°N 90.77102°W / 29.81412; -90.77102 (Exhaust Stack), built c.1850.
Boarding House, 29°48′50″N 90°46′17″W / 29.81401°N 90.77149°W / 29.81401; -90.77149 (Boarding House), built c.1900.
Grinding Mill Pump Station, 29°48′53″N 90°46′17″W / 29.81471°N 90.77147°W / 29.81471; -90.77147 (Grinding Mill Pump Station).
Corn Shed Barn, 29°48′53″N 90°46′15″W / 29.81477°N 90.77083°W / 29.81477; -90.77083 (Corn Shed Barn), built c.1880.
Shed, 29°48′53″N 90°46′15″W / 29.81459°N 90.77076°W / 29.81459; -90.77076 (Shed).
Pump House, 29°48′50″N 90°46′13″W / 29.81397°N 90.77032°W / 29.81397; -90.77032 (Pump House).
Creole Tenant House #2, 29°48′49″N 90°46′12″W / 29.81372°N 90.77003°W / 29.81372; -90.77003 (Creole Tenant House #2), built c.1890.
Weigh Station, 29°48′49″N 90°46′12″W / 29.8136°N 90.77012°W / 29.8136; -90.77012 (Weigh Station), built c.1890.

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, A Lesson Before Dying, Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White, and Ray.The Depeche Mode Music Video "Freelove" was also filmed on the plantation.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] ^[10]

The history of the Laurel Valley Plantation was told in an episode of "Mysteries of the Abandoned" (S06E02).

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Heart of Louisiana: Laurel Valley Plantation". Retrieved January 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Laurel Valley Village Plantation: Louisiana Travel". Retrieved January 22, 2015.
^ "Laurel Valley Plantation" (PDF). State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation. Retrieved July 12, 2018. with four photos and a map
^ Anne Harmon, Mina McKee, Donald Naquin, Dr. Paul Leslie, Betty Maggio (September 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form: Laurel Valley Plantation". National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) With 15 photos from 1977.
^ "Angel Heart (1987) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
^ "Crazy in Alabama (1999) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
^ "Laurel Valley Village Sugar Plantation & Museum". Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
^ Nicholls State University yearbook, La Pirogue, 1989
^ The Highwaymen https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1860242/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation.

•The Boudreaux Years

City of Thibodeaux: Areas of Interest - includes visiting information for the Laurel Valley Village/Plantation Museum and Country Store
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. LA-1, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, State Route 308, Thibodaux, Lafourche Parish, LA", 17 photos, 2 measured drawings, 23 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-A, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Sugar Mill", 14 photos, 1 color transparency, 6 measured drawings, 78 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-B, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Railroad", 1 photo, 27 data pages, 1 photo caption page
HAER No. LA-1-C, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Drainage Plant", 5 photos, 2 measured drawings, 29 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-D, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Corn Crib", 3 photos, 1 color transparency, 2 measured drawings, 9 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-E, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, 'Big' House", 9 photos, 3 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page
HAER No. LA-1-F, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Boarding House", 6 photos, 1 color transparency, 2 measured drawings, 3 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-G, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Engineer's House", 1 photo, 1 measured drawing, 1 photo caption page
HAER No. LA-1-H, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Double Creole Quarters", 10 photos, 1 measured drawing, 2 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-J, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Shotgun Quarters", 5 photos, 2 color transparencies, 1 measured drawing, 2 photo caption pages
HAER No. LA-1-K, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, General Store", 2 photos, 1 measured drawing, 1 photo caption page
HAER No. LA-1-L, "Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, School House", 2 photos, 1 color transparency, 1 measured drawing, 2 photo caption pages

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana

Lists
by parish

Other lists

v t e Municipalities and communities of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States
Parish seat: Thibodaux
City	Thibodaux
Towns	Golden Meadow Lockport
CDPs	Bayou Blue‡ Bayou Country Club Chackbay Choctaw Cut Off Des Allemands‡ Galliano Kraemer Lafourche Crossing Larose Lockport Heights Mathews Raceland
Other communities	Delta Farms Gheens Leevile Port Fourchon Theriot
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes
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