Living History Museum

Donate to the River Road Historical Society

Since 1968, the River Road Historical Society has supported historic preservation of buildings along the River Road in Louisiana and utilized the Destrehan Plantation site as a unique learning environment. As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary and beyond, we continue our mission through more exhibits, educational programs and special events for the public. We invite you to be a part of this endeavor by donating to this cause.

Uber and Lyft provide transportation to and from the plantation!

What our guests are saying about Destrehan Plantation...... Courtesy of Trip Advisor

It's a very good combination of history, slave life, plantation owner life, good view of the house and other buildings and slave quarters and a lot of great information. And it's one of the closest ones to New Orleans. Some plantations focus more on the slave life and some completely ignore it only focusing on the main house and its people and furnishings. We have visited many and found this one to be the best balance.

Established in 1787 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Destrehan Plantation remains the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley.

We invite you to travel from the French and Spanish Colonial periods, through the antebellum grandeur of the sugar barons, to the ravages of the Civil War and the rebirth of reconstruction. You will find yourself immersed in the rich history of Louisiana when French was the language, and the white gold of sugar drove the economy. Family stories of those free and enslaved set against the fabric of history will intrigue every visitor to the site.

The plantation’s history consists of many notable people and events. The plantation served as a home to Marie Celeste Robin de Logny and her husband Jean Noel Destrehan, the most successful sugar producer in St. Charles Parish and one of the driving forces in Louisiana Statehood. The plantation exhibits an original document signed by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison appointing Jean Noel to the Orleans Territorial Council responsible for creating Louisiana’s civil law of government.

Destrehan Plantation was the site where one of the three trials took place following the 1811 Slave Revolt, one of the largest slave revolts in U.S. History led by Charles Deslondes. During the Civil War, the Union Army seized the plantation and established the Rost Home Colony where newly freed slaves learned trades enabling them to transition into a life of freedom.

Located on the historic River Road, this antebellum home with its lush green grounds and moss draped Live Oaks watches over the banks of the Mississippi River just minutes away from New Orleans. In 2010 the site received a travel and tourism Louey Award naming it the 2010 Louisiana Attraction of the year.