evergreen plantation slaves

The slaves at Evergreen were subject to brutal working and living conditions, with many of them being worked to death. Despite this, the agency has made progress in improving its relationship with black farmers since 1997. More than 400 individuals were enslaved at Evergreen Plantation over the course of 150 years. He was described as an American negro age 25.He had to make his own family and create relationships that would help him endure enslavement. During the plantations nineteenth century heyday, the majority of the workers lived in the quarters houses, which were run by African Americans. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1992 for its rich architectural legacy. Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans is classified as a tax-exempt public charity under sections 509(a)(1), 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), and 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, Federal Tax Identification Number 72-0760857. Artists representation of slave cabin, circa 1800. Constructed in 1790, Evergreen remains one of the most intact plantation sites in the South. The 1860 census lists Lezin Become a member of the PRCfor a subscription! According to tour guides, the plantation relied heavily on slave labor after emancipation, as did free African-Americans in order to remain in operation. Plantations were commonly located on fertile creeks and rivers in the south, and they frequently had extensive land holdings. You can get a sense of Louisianas sugar cane industry firsthand by taking a tour of the facility. Pierre Clidamont Becnel was born as a result of a union. They worked on the plantation in a variety of capacities, raising cotton and rice, among other crops. The house is open to the public by This digital archive will serve as a resource for teachers, students, historians, genealogists, and visitors. The main house was constructed mostly in 1790, and renovated to its current Greek Revival style in 1832. Just a few months after his enlistment, Aime gave birth to another son, Edmond. He moved from Evergreen to Carroll Plantation (also known as Johnson) and lived the rest of his life there. His name was recorded as Edward Edmonds. The couples first child, Marcel, was born in 1858. Hogsheads of sugar were transported down the Mississippi River to New Orleans and then on to other markets. The National Park Service and the Evergreen Plantation worked together to document historic sites on the property. The Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey was led by Dr. Jayur Mehta, excavating a large portion of land on Evergreen plantation. . Originally the term was used for a slave with some Native American ancestry, but by this time designated a child with one quarter European ancestry. Evergreen Plantation is a former sugar cane plantation in Wallace, Louisiana, that was slave labor-dependent for its operation. Next, excess water was evaporated from the juice through several stages until it thickened and reached the point of crystallization. According to Joseph McGill, this is the largest collection of slave dwellings in the world. The plantation is now a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. Evergreen Plantation (Wallace, Louisiana), U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Louisiana African American Heritage Trail, National Register of Historic Places listings in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana, Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, "Matilda Geddings Gray and Evergreen Plantation", "Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' begins filming at the Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana on Monday On Location Vacations", Louisiana's African American Heritage Trail, Louisiana Digital Library Evergreen Plantation, History of the National Register of Historic Places, List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state, List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places, University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, National Register of Historic Places portal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evergreen_Plantation_(Wallace,_Louisiana)&oldid=1084343937, Museums in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, Houses in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, National Register of Historic Places in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, Slave cabins and quarters in the United States, Articles using NRISref without a reference number, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 April 2022, at 23:15. The Agricultural Service Agency has long been criticized for its role in black farmers failure to succeed in the agricultural sector. An 1835 document lists a total of 54 slaves at the plantation. Walking the grounds and actually following the slave's path, and seeing how they slept and cooked and worked.. in contrast with touring the plantation house-- was a profound and moving experience to say the least. In addition to tours that allow visitors to learn about the plantations history and how its crops are grown, the plantation is still in operation and is open to the public. Exploring The Pros And Cons, Exploring The Pros And Cons Of Adding Carb Cleaner To A Gasoline-Powered Lawn Mower Fuel System. We are open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., and tours are not permitted the following holiday week. The 400 acres of Evergreens sugarcane fields are still productive. The plantation was established in 1752 by Claude Treme, and was later owned by his son-in-law, Jacques Treme. Mills operated around the clock processing sugarcane. Evergreen. Enlistment Papers under the alias Edward Edmonds, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Ned was sold away from his family, friends, and home and was forced to board the ship Cyane in Richmond, Virginia, on November 18, 1851. By December, he was locked in a slave jail in the largest slave market in the United States. The granulated, raw (unrefined) sugar produced from the crystallization process was packed into hogsheads, wooden barrels that held roughly 1000 pounds of granulated sugar. Neds children and grandchildren continued to live and work at Evergreen Plantation for decades to come. Evergreen has its country's highest historic designation and joins Mount Vernon and Gettysburg in being granted landmark status for its agricultural acreage. Evergreen Plantation has 4.5 stars. Evergreen Plantation still owns and operates as a privately owned sugar cane plantation today. It is in studying their lives that the nuances and complexities of the past can begin to be understood., The database has helpful tips for searching its contents, including that most enslaved individuals did not have surnames and that American origin signifies that the individual was enslaved in one of the Upper Southern states, such as Virginia, North and South Carolina and Maryland, and was sold south to Louisiana while Creole indicates that the individual was born in Louisiana.. The work of researcher and historian Katy Morlas Shannon, the slavery database is available at evergreenplantation.org/slavery-database. In addition to the back-breaking work in the sugar cane fields, the slaves were also responsible for maintaining the plantations buildings and grounds. The details within the database allow us to read and interpret the past. He also built a brick home located near a spring. Monetary contributions to Preservation Resource Center are tax-deductible as provided by law. As a slave, he did not have a surname, so he probably gave his fathers name as his last name. The number of slaves fluctuated over the years, but there were always at least 300 slaves working on the plantation. By the 1940s, the plantation was reacquired and fully restored. The Catholic Church in Louisiana completely embraced family alliances when it came to marriage. Evergreen Plantation is a former sugar cane plantation in Wallace, Louisiana, that was slave labor-dependent for its operation. The Evergreen Plantation was founded in 1752 by the family. There were some cotton plantations with fewer slaves, but there were also cotton plantations with fewer slaves. People live here and work here, the website said. African Americans were the majority owners and operators of the plantation during its earliest days in the 1790s. The plantation house and outbuildings are well preserved and offer a glimpse into the life of the plantation owners. Although our doors are not open for tours, we do provide educational and research opportunities. Some could trace their ancestry back multiple generations to the first slaves brought to the plantation. These areas typically have warm and humid summers, as well as cold and dry winters. The plantation is now a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. Evergreen Plantation. Evergreen has its country's highest historic designation and joins Mount Vernon and Gettysburg in being granted landmark status for its agricultural acreage. The Ancestor Project is a digital database designed specifically for teachers, students, genealogists, and visitors. Slaves often worked in gangs under the direction of drivers, who were typically fellow slaves that supervised work in the fields. Evergreen Plantation has been rated as a 90-minute tour in our review. It does not indicate race. The brutal Candie runs a vast plantation known as Candyland in the film, in addition to the terrifying Candyland, a demon-infested paradise. Because of its quality and significance, the plantation was included among the first 26 featured sites on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. 4800 South Carolina Highway 187, Starr, SC 29684. In the early 1700s, the plantation was most likely based on the Evergreen Plantation, which was located in Edgard, Louisiana. An essential source for navigating the background, process, and findings during the excavation of Evergreen Plantation. Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Louisiana's Must See-It-To-Believe-It Festivals, Dont Miss the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, Louisiana State Parks Offer Cabin Getaways. The plantation was founded in 1752 and was one of the largest plantations in the South. Ned first appeared on an Evergreen Plantation inventory in 1858. Many were exceptionally skilled, working as long sawyers, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, engineers, seamstresses, and domestics. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Some could trace their ancestry back multiple generations to the first slaves brought to the plantation. The house was extensively restored during the 1940s, with 300,000 bricks from the demolished Uncle Sam Plantation used in the restoration.[3]. Evergreen Plantation, located in Edgard, Louisiana, is one of the most intact slaveholding sites in the South, dating back to 1790. Evergreen Plantation is committed to telling the stories of the men, women, and children who were enslaved here. The Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey was led by Dr. Jayur Mehta, excavating a large portion of land on Evergreen plantation. His name was listed as Edward Edmond on the sale document and his age as 19. Privately owned, it remains a working sugar cane plantation. Becnel paid $6800 for the six enslaved men, which would be approximately $232,000 today. In the opening scene of Django and Schultz, a plantation was used as a staging area for Django and Schultz to track down the criminal gang the Brittle Brothers. their original appearance and double row configuration, have survived African Americans provided the workforce and lived in the quarters houses at Evergreen Plantation for nearly 200 years, first as slaves and later as freedmen. Evergreen Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is located Family involvement in marital disputes was a major factor in Creoles lives. Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door monthly? On August 20, 1864, Ned joined the 80th United States Colored Infantry. The enslaved lived in the cabins as free people until the end of the Civil War; they were slaves for many years. Among those were Terry, described as an American Long Sawyer, West, an excellent blacksmith and engineer, Joseph, a Creole cooper, Phill, a sugar worker, and Jean, a Creole coachman. She had been staying in the iconic big house on occasion, but after the property opened its stately gates to the public in 1998, she moved to a cottage. The antebellum era saw thousands of cabins built throughout the South. The Nottoway Plantation, also known as the White Castle, is thought to be the largest remaining antebellum plantation in the American South. The citys 37 buildings are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the majority of them from the antebellum era. it is clear that they are indeed antebellum. The plantation is currently used as a wedding and event venue, and the family is proud to be able to share their history with others. His son, Julius Richard, was born here on September 11, 1929; the family later added a second floor made of wood. The Rural Development Initiative for African American Farmers is one of several programs the agency has developed to assist African American farmers. In addition to the database detailed biographical essays on the lives of enslaved individuals also are featured on the website, containing significant data obtained from the Civil War pension files of slaves who joined the Union army. You can search for all domestics (house slaves), field hands, or more specialized jobs, such as engineer, cooper, carpenter, etc. Want to search back even further? From St. John the Baptist Parish Probate Records, formerly housed in the parish Clerk of Court office, now being digitized: 1791 Succession, estate of Pierre Becnel, husband of Magdelaine Haydel Becnel, who would inherit Evergreen Plantation. Mowing The Lawn While Pregnant: Is It Safe And What Precautions Should You Take? All rights reserved. In addition to her regular quarters, the plantations owner, Lake Charles, La., businesswoman Matilda Gray Stream, lives there on occasion. The loads of cut cane stalks were crushed between rotating steel rollers to extract the cane juice. Ned remarried on February 12, 1887. The database is meant for everyone, from scholars who wish to engage in comparative analysis to individuals searching for their ancestors, Evergreens website said. His wife is from the Caribbean, and he brought many of her cultures influences with him from home. Life for enslaved African-Americans was difficult in Louisiana. Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform, Library of Congress. This data provides insight into the enslaved communitys scope of skills, kinship networks, family relationships, and places of origin. Was really looking forward to visiting Evergreen since it is the only plantation to still have all of their original slave cabins - 22 in total - on site in their original location. Becnel and his brother, the then owners of the plantation, as having The details within the database allow us to read and interpret the past. Despite the fact that the Ward family was one of the most powerful and wealthy families in South Carolina at the time, the plantation eventually fell into their hands. It is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. Creole indicates that the individual was born in Louisiana. Much of the sugar produced on Louisiana's plantations was consumed in such East Coast cities as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Over the course of 150 years, she would be just one of the more than 400 enslaved individuals who lived and worked at Evergreen Plantation in Edgard. Working alongside multiple research assistants, and students through Florida State Universitys UROP Program, all findings were documented, many of which are present on this website. Ned was one of them. At Evergreen Plantation, Pierre Clidamont Becnel purchased slaves that were skilled workers. He operated the land as a plantation and eventually built grist mills and a cotton gin ( 1 ). They bring to life the identities of real people who lived and worked on this specific site. at all. The plantation's historical commodity crop was sugarcane, cultivated by enslaved African Americans until emancipation. 1830 Succession, estate of Magdelaine Haydel Becnel, who inherited Evergreen from her father and expanded the business into a major plantation enterprise, 1835 Inventory taken at the time of Pierre Clidamont Becnels ownership (grandson of Magdelaine Haydel Becnel), 1842 Succession, estate of Josephine Lennen Becnel, wife of Lezin Becnel Jr., the eventual owner of Evergreen. The database is both sophisticated in the quantity and quality of information it contains and simple in its design. Evergreen is the most intact plantation complex in the South with 37 buildings on the National Register, including 22 slave. The Slave Community Evergreen Plantation Slavery - the engine that drove economic growth African-American slaves provided the labor that was required to sustain and enrich the large agricultural enterprises, like Evergreen Plantation, which grew up along the banks of the Mississippi River. The Rural Development Initiative for African American Farmers is one such program that assists black farmers. After years of in-depth research, Evergreens historians have amassed a vast collection of primary source documents that shed light on the individuals who were purchased and brought there to labor in the sugar cane fields as well as those who were born into slavery in the cabins that still stand today, a press release said. He was headed south to New Orleans along with 120 other enslaved individuals on board. Refer to the list of names of those enslaved at Evergreen by clicking on the link below. The PRC preserves New Orleans historic architecture, neighborhoods and cultural identity through collaboration, empowerment and service to our community., Preservation Resource Center Headquarters, Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, Search the Preservation in Print archives, Returns, Refunds, Exchanges, and Shipping Policy. Neds term of enlistment expired in March 1867. The Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana had over 350 slaves in the early 1800s. On some plantations, slaves worked in eight-hour shifts, called watches, and adult slaves worked two such shifts each day during grinding season. The plantation has been reaching out to descendants of enslaved people who lived and worked there. Evergreen Plantation has been a family home since the late-18th century. On February 13, 1852, Ned Edwards was sold in a group with five other men. 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