Asphodel Plantation

Asphodel Plantation is a historic house and former plantation located approximately 3.5 miles south of Jackson in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The property is associated with the early nineteenth-century plantation economy of the American South and is particularly notable for its Greek Revival architecture, its surviving cemetery, its connections to the Kendrick and Fluker families, and its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The house was constructed as a cottage between approximately 1820 and 1830 by Benjamin Kendrick, a cotton planter and slave owner. Kendrick built the residence as a gift for his wife, Caroline, whose maiden name was Pollard. The plantation operated within a system that depended on the forced labor of enslaved African Americans to cultivate cotton. That history is central to understanding Asphodel: the property represents both a surviving architectural work and a site shaped by slavery, plantation agriculture, and the social order of antebellum Louisiana. The name Asphodel refers to a plant associated with the lily family. The term was used in ancient Greek tradition and by eighteenth-century English and French poets in connection with flowers such as daffodils or narcissus. The name also contributed to the property's later literary and cultural associations. During the period of Kendrick ownership, the plantation was principally connected with cotton production and the household of its owner. After Benjamin Kendrick died in 1838, Asphodel was inherited by his daughter Isabella Kendrick and her husband, Colonel David Jones Fluker. The property was caught up in the violence of the American Civil War during the siege of Port Hudson in 1863. Union soldiers reportedly set fire to the house, but the fire went out before the building was destroyed. This episode helps explain the site's importance as a survivor of wartime disruption as well as of changing agricultural and social systems. Architecturally, the house is a Greek Revival structure with a symmetrical front elevation, six Doric columns, and two front doors. It contains fourteen rooms. Its form and surviving details reflect the scale and aspirations of a prosperous Louisiana plantation residence in the antebellum period. The property also includes a cemetery, which was recognized alongside the house for its historical significance. The house underwent restoration and renovation beginning in 1949 under the ownership of John Fetzers and his sons. Robert E. Couhig purchased the property in July 1958. Both the house and the cemetery were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1972. The listing established formal recognition of the property's architectural and historical value, although the site is not a consumer brand or operating commercial enterprise in the conventional sense. Asphodel has also acquired cultural significance through its associations with art and literature. John James Audubon visited the plantation while it was being built and painted portraits of Isabella Kendrick Fluker and two of her sons. The paintings are held in Virginia and bear an inscription identifying them as having been painted at Asphodel. Author Lyle Saxon described the property as the “jewel of Louisiana,” while Joan Didion referred to it in her writing about the American South, where it appeared among historic sites recommended for understanding the region. The Asphodel Plantation Cookbook, published in 1980, further extended the property's name into regional heritage publishing.

Asphodel Plantation was established in the early nineteenth century in the vicinity of present-day Jackson, Louisiana. The house was built between about 1820 and 1830 by Benjamin Kendrick, a cotton planter and slave owner. Kendrick constructed the residence as a gift for his wife, Caroline Pollard Kendrick. The plantation's cotton operations relied on enslaved African American labor, placing the property within the economic and coercive system that sustained antebellum plantation agriculture in Louisiana. The name Asphodel derives from the name of a plant associated with the lily family. In classical Greek tradition and in the writing of eighteenth-century English and French poets, the word could refer to flowers including daffodils or narcissus. The name gives the property a literary and botanical association, but the site's historical identity is principally connected with its house, cemetery, agricultural setting, and the families who owned it. Benjamin Kendrick died in 1838. Ownership then passed to his daughter Isabella Kendrick Fluker and her husband, Colonel David Jones Fluker. Isabella's family also connected Asphodel to the visual arts. During the house's construction, John James Audubon visited the plantation and painted portraits of Isabella and two of her sons. Those works, now held in Virginia, carry an inscription identifying Asphodel as the place where they were painted. The property experienced a wartime threat during the American Civil War. In 1863, during the siege of Port Hudson, a group of Union soldiers reportedly set fire to the house. The fire went out, allowing the building to survive. The incident forms part of the plantation's Civil War history and illustrates the vulnerability of privately owned buildings during military operations in the region. Asphodel's architecture is Greek Revival. The front elevation is symmetrical and features six Doric columns and two front doors. The residence contains fourteen rooms. These features reflect the architectural language used by prosperous plantation owners in the antebellum South and help explain the property's later preservation value. The associated cemetery adds a further layer of historical evidence about the people connected with the estate. A major period of preservation began in 1949, when John Fetzers and his sons undertook restoration and renovation work. Robert E. Couhig purchased Asphodel in July 1958. On November 15, 1972, both the house and the cemetery were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The designation recognized the site's architectural character and historical associations. The property's later legacy has been shaped by heritage writing, art history, and literature. Lyle Saxon characterized Asphodel as the “jewel of Louisiana.” Joan Didion mentioned the plantation in her account of travel and cultural interpretation in the American South, placing it alongside other historic Louisiana sites. The 1980 publication of The Asphodel Plantation Cookbook by Marcelle Reese Couhig added another cultural artifact associated with the property. Asphodel therefore survives not as a conventional commercial brand but as a named historic place whose significance combines architecture, plantation history, slavery, war, preservation, art, and regional memory.

• 1980

  The Asphodel Plantation Cookbook published

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Marcelle Reese Couhig published The Asphodel Plantation Cookbook through Pelican Publishing Company.

• 1972

  National Register listing

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The house and cemetery were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1972.

• 1958

  Purchased by Robert E. Couhig

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Robert E. Couhig acquired Asphodel Plantation in July 1958.

• 1949

  Restoration begins

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  John Fetzers and his sons began restoration and renovation work on the historic house.

• 1863

  House threatened during the siege of Port Hudson

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Union soldiers reportedly set fire to Asphodel during the Civil War, but the fire went out before the house was destroyed.

• 1838

  Inheritance by Isabella Kendrick Fluker

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  After Benjamin Kendrick's death, the property passed to his daughter Isabella Kendrick Fluker and her husband, Colonel David Jones Fluker.

• 1830

  Greek Revival house completed

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The Asphodel residence was completed as a Greek Revival cottage or plantation house for Benjamin Kendrick and his wife Caroline.

• 1820

  Construction period begins

  [1]Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Construction of the plantation house began during the period from approximately 1820 to 1830 under Benjamin Kendrick.

A preserved Louisiana historic house and heritage site representing Greek Revival architecture, plantation-era history, slavery, Civil War memory, and regional cultural heritage.

1. 1Asphodel Plantationen.wikipedia.org