Oakland Plantation

Oakland Plantation, originally known as the Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme Plantation and also called Bermuda, is a historic plantation in an unincorporated area of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. It is one of the nation's best and most intact examples of a French Creole cotton plantation complex. The site is now owned by the National Park Service as part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 29, 1979, is designated as a notable destination on the state's Louisiana African American Heritage Trail, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 3, 2001. The plantation grounds and structures lie within the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, in the National Park Service's Cane River National Heritage Area. Situated on a bend of the Cane River Lake, it is accessible by Louisiana Highway 119 in the Bermuda community near the parish seat of Natchitoches. Oakland Plantation is located near Magnolia Plantation, another National Historic Landmark within the park, and Melrose Plantation. It is associated with Atahoe Plantation of Natchez, developed by one of the Prud'homme family, and with Cherokee Plantation, built by a granddaughter of Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme. It is also associated with the community of Isle Brevelle, a local Creole community. The original owners, Jean-Pierre Emanuel Prud'homme and his wife Marie Catherine (Lambre) Prud'homme, acquired the land through a 1785 Spanish-Era land grant and completed the plantation house in 1821. Family tradition holds that Oakland was one of the first plantations in the area to grow cotton on a large scale, cultivated and harvested by enslaved African Americans. The plantation also raised farm animals, served by extant buildings such as the dipping vat, turkey shed, mule barn, two pigeonniers, and several chicken coops. At the end of 1795, 38 enslaved African Americans lived at Oakland Plantation. The Prud'hommes also owned and operated a general store on the plantation, which housed the Bermuda U.S. Post Office for many years. By 1860, 160 enslaved African Americans harvested cotton, labored in the house, or crafted tools and furniture. After the Civil War, Oakland continued to produce large amounts of cotton. Sharecroppers, primarily descendants of the enslaved African Americans who had lived there, worked small plots and lived in the property's cabins. After the mechanization of cotton farming in the 1960s, tenants such as Elvin Shields's family were asked to leave, ending the plantation's sharecropping era. Descendant J. Alphonse Prud'homme won the gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis for growing the highest-grade cotton in the South. The Cane River Creole National Historical Park was authorized by Congress in 1994 with support from U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston (R-LA). In 1997, the National Park Service acquired the main buildings and surrounding land of Oakland Plantation for the park. The NPS has reached advanced stages in preserving and conserving the many outbuildings and the plantation house, and has furnished interiors with furniture, paintings, and textiles as they were in the 1860s at the end of the antebellum plantation era. The park's program includes interpretation of emancipation and the history of freedmen and Creoles of color and their descendants, who lived and worked on Oakland Plantation for nearly 100 years after the American Civil War. In 2018, the National Park Service continued these interpretive efforts and undertook an ethnographic project to hear from Traditionally Associated People from both Oakland Plantation and Magnolia Plantation, creating five documentary films. The community has strongly associated the plantation with the Prud'homme family, many of whose descendants still reside in the area today.

Oakland Plantation, originally known as the Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme Plantation and also known as Bermuda, is a historic plantation in an unincorporated area of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. It is one of the nation's best and most intact examples of a French Creole cotton plantation complex. The Oakland Plantation is now owned by the National Park Service as part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 29, 1979. It is designated as a notable destination on the state's Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 3, 2001. The original owners, Jean-Pierre Emanuel Prud'homme and his wife Marie Catherine (Lambre) Prud'homme, acquired the land for the Oakland Plantation through a 1785 Spanish-Era land grant. They completed building the Oakland Plantation house in 1821. The family tradition claims that Oakland was one of the first plantations in the area to grow cotton on a large scale, which was cultivated and harvested by enslaved African Americans. They also raised and used farm animals, which were served by extant buildings, such as the dipping vat, the turkey shed, the mule barn, two pigeonniers, and several chicken coops. At the end of 1795, 38 enslaved African Americans lived at the Oakland Plantation. The Prud'hommes also owned and operated a general store on the plantation, which also housed the Bermuda U.S. Post Office for many years. The plantation flourished in the 19th century, and by 1860, 160 enslaved African Americans harvested cotton, labored in the house, or crafted tools and furniture. After the Civil War, the Oakland plantation continued to produce large amounts of cotton. Sharecroppers, primarily the descendants of the enslaved African Americans who lived at the Oakland Plantation, worked on small plots of land and lived in the property's cabins. After the mechanization of cotton farming in the 1960s, tenants like Elvin Shields's family were asked to leave the plantation, putting an end to the Oakland Plantation's sharecropping era. Descendant J. Alphonse Prud'homme won the gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis for growing the highest-grade cotton in the South. The Cane River Creole National Historical Park was authorized by Congress in 1994, with support by US Senator J. Bennett Johnston (R-LA). In 1997, the National Park Service acquired the main buildings and surrounding land of Oakland Plantation for the park. The NPS has reached advanced stages in the preservation and conservation of the many outbuildings, and of the plantation house. They have completed furnishing interiors with furniture, paintings, and textiles as it was in the 1860s at the end of the antebellum plantation era. The park's program includes interpretation of emancipation and the history of freedmen and Creoles of color, and their descendants, who lived and worked on Oakland Plantation for nearly 100 years after the American Civil War. They were all integral to the region's community life. In 2018, the National Park Service continued these interpretive efforts and undertook an ethnographic project to hear from Traditionally Associated People from both Oakland Plantation and Magnolia Plantation, creating five documentary films. The community has strongly associated the plantation with the Prud'homme family, many of whose descendants still reside in the area today.

• 2018

  The National Park Service undertook an ethnographic project with Traditionally Associated People from Oakland and Magnolia Plantations, creating five documentary films.

• 2001

  Designated a National Historic Landmark on January 3, 2001.

• 1997

  The National Park Service acquired the main buildings and surrounding land of Oakland Plantation for the park.

• 1994

  The Cane River Creole National Historical Park was authorized by Congress, with support by US Senator J. Bennett Johnston (R-LA).

• 1979

  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1979.

• 1960

  After the mechanization of cotton farming in the 1960s, tenants like Elvin Shields's family were asked to leave the plantation, ending the sharecropping era.

• 1904

  Descendant J. Alphonse Prud'homme won the gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis for growing the highest-grade cotton in the South.

• 1860

  By 1860, 160 enslaved African Americans harvested cotton, labored in the house, or crafted tools and furniture.

• 1821

  The Oakland Plantation house was completed.

• 1795

  At the end of 1795, 38 enslaved African Americans lived at the Oakland Plantation.

• 1785

  Jean-Pierre Emanuel Prud'homme and Marie Catherine (Lambre) Prud'homme acquired the land through a Spanish-Era land grant.

A preserved French Creole cotton plantation complex and National Historic Landmark, interpreted by the National Park Service for its architectural, agricultural, and African American heritage.

• Cotton

  The plantation was one of the first in the area to grow cotton on a large scale, cultivated and harvested by enslaved African Americans.

• General store goods

  The Prud'hommes owned and operated a general store on the plantation, which also housed the Bermuda U.S. Post Office for many years.

• Farm animal products

  The plantation raised and used farm animals, served by extant buildings such as the dipping vat, turkey shed, mule barn, two pigeonniers, and several chicken coops.

1. 1Oakland Plantation (Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Oakland Plantation - Wikidatawikidata.org