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Oakland Plantation
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Oakland Plantation
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| Nearest city: | Natchitoches, Louisiana |
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| Built: | 1818 |
| Architectural style: | French Colonial |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 79001073[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | August 29, 1979 |
| Designated NHL: | January 3, 2001[2] |
Oakland Plantation was originally known as the Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme Plantation. It is also known as Bermuda. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001, it is part of Cane River Creole National Historical Park near Natchitoches, Louisiana.[2][3]
The plantation is associated with Atahoe Plantation and Isle Brevelle, and is near Magnolia and Melrose plantations.
Oakland Plantation is situated on a bend on the Cane River Lake off Highway 119 in the Bermuda Community near Natchitoches, Louisiana. In 1997, the National Park Service acquired the main buildings and surrounding land of Oakland. Since then, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park has progressed to advanced stages to preserve and conserve the buildings, furniture, oil paintings, textiles, and history of the home as it was at the end of the plantation era in the 1960s. The plantation includes interpretation of the history of free blacks and Creoles of color who lived and worked on the plantation for nearly 100 years after the American Civil War and Emancipation. They were all integral to the region's community life. The community has strongly associated the plantation with the Prud'homme family, many of whom still reside in the area today.
The original owners, Jean-Pierre Emanuel Prud'homme and his wife Marie Catherine Lambre Prud'homme, completed building Oakland in 1821. The family tradition claims that Oakland was one of the first plantations to grow cotton on a large scale. They also had farm animals (made evident by extant buildings such as the dipping vat, the turkey shed, the mule barn, two pigeonniers and several chicken coops) and other crops. The Prudhommes also owned and operated a store on the property, which was the site of the Bermuda US Post Office for many years. The farm flourished in the late 1800s. J. Alphonse Prudhomme I won the gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis for growing the highest-grade cotton in the South.
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