Houmas House Plantation

One of the most visited Antebellum Plantation Homes near New Orleans is the Houmas House Plantation. Not only do tourists come by the busloads, but locals may make the drive to spend a couple of hours on the grounds, followed by lunch in nearby restaurants, before returning home. Houmas is a home with the architectural style that most people envision when they think of the old plantations. It was used as the filming location for the film "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charolette," starring Bette Davis.

Located in the small river community of Darrow, LA, it sits on a few acres on the Mississippi River, much smaller than the 20,000 acres that it once had. The present Houmas House was built in 1840 by Col. John Smith Preston, on land originally owned by the Houmas Indians, hence the name.

Records seem to show that Maurice Conway and Alexandre Latil purchased the land from the Indians. It was Latil who built the first structure, in the late 18th century, while Louisiana was a Spanish territory. Somehow Daniel Clark came to own the property, then sold it in 1812, to Revolutionary War General Wade Hampton of South Carolina.

General Hampton's daughter, Caroline, married John Smith Preston, and together they acquired ownership of the property. In 1840 they built the present mansion, known today as Houmas House. The original structure still stands, and is connected to the main house at the rear.

In 1858 they sold the house and 12,000 acres to Irishman John Burnside, one of the nations leading sugar producers, and to this day, the home is sometimes referred to as the "Burnside House."