Nottoway Plantation

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Nottoway Plantation is located in Bayou Goula, Louisiana. This home was completed in 1859 for the John Hampton Randolph family.

Contents

[edit] Early History

John was born in Virginia on March 24, 1813 and married his wife Emily Jane Liddell on December 14, 1837. They had eleven children. The most famous was Cornelia. She was famous for writing her diary “The White Castle of Louisiana” which was later published. Women were not allowed to publish books during this time so Cornelia used M.R. Ailenroc as her publishing name. The book has sold thousands of copies throughout the years. Mr. Randolph devoted most of his time to the plantation and managing the slaves. The historic plantation home survived the American Civil War with only a single grapeshot to the far left column. Nottoway originally sat on 400 acres (1.6 km²) of highland, and 620 acres (2.5 km²) of swamp.

Nottoway was totally surrounded by sugarcane fields, and oak trees. The home consists of 53,000 square feet (4,900 m²) of living area. It has 365 openings, one for each day of the year. There are 200 windows and 165 doors. Most of its 200 windows also double as doors. The ceilings were 15 and one half feet high and the doors were 11 feet (3.4 m) tall. Above the doors and along the ceilings are plaster frieze work that was made from moss, horse hair, clay, plaster, mud and Spanish moss.

The house was carpeted in 1858 for $3,800 by Timothy Joyce. Mr. Randolph then hired a skilled mason, Newton Richards who furnished two huge flights of granite steps for the front of the home. The steps at the entrance of the home were designated for men and women. Women went up on the left and men went up the right set of steps. This was so that the men wouldn’t see the women’s ankles. If a man saw your ankles for any reason, you had to get married. The steps for the men can be identified by the boot scraper at the bottom of the steps.

footnote: During Civil War During the Civil War, Mr Randolph took 200 slaves to Texas and grew cotton there.

[edit] Later History

Six of the Randolph daughters were married in the white ballroom. There was also a mirror so that the women could see if their ankles were showing because if a single man were to see single women’s ankles they would have to marry. Over the fireplace, there is a painting of Mary Henshaw whose eyes follow you around the room, which has no relation to the family. The beds were lumpy and rolling pins were used to smooth the beds.

In the master bedroom, Mrs. Randolph would have a spot to hide their belongings that were very valuable to the family in a bedpost at the end of the bed. In the master bedroom are pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph. Mr. Randolph is 40 years old and Mrs. Randolph is 37 years old. She is 7 months pregnant. On the left side of their bed is a small nursery where they cared for the sick and the new babies. They would put a sheet or a net over the baby’s crib so that no insects could harm the baby.

After Mr. Randolph’s death Mrs. Randolph sold the plantation in 1889 for $50,000. In later years, Nottoway was sold for $10,000 because the owner had tax problems.

[edit] Inside

There are 64 rooms in the house which includes 26 closets and what use to be a 10-pin bowling alley for the children on the 1st floor. There are 3 floors, 6 staircases, 3 bathrooms, and 22 square columns. The bowling alley now serves as a museum and banquet area for guests at the plantation. Mr. Randolph’s favorite room in the house was the White Ballroom; he had it painted completely white to show off the natural beauty of all of the women, especially, his seven daughters that entered the room.

[edit] External links

(2008). Historic nottoway plantation. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from Historic Nottoway Plantation Web site: http://www.nottoway.com/PageDisplay.asp?p1=2744