Built 1818 NRHP Reference # 79001073 Opened 1818 | Architectural style French Colonial Creole Designated NHLD January 3, 2001 Added to NRHP 29 August 1979 | |
 | ||
Nearest city Natchitoches, Louisiana Address 4386-, 4388 LA-494, Natchez, LA 71456, United States Similar Cane River Creole National, Cane River, Melrose Plantation, Fort St Jean Baptiste, Rebel State Historic S | ||
Oakland Plantation, originally known as the Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme Plantation, and also known as Bermuda, is a historic cotton plantation in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. It is one the nation's best and most intact examples of a French Creole cotton plantation complex It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001, and is now owned by the National Park Service as part of Cane River Creole National Historical Park.
Contents
Geography
The plantation is situated on a bend of the Cane River Lake, off Louisiana Highway 119 in the Bermuda community near Natchitoches.
The Oakland Plantation grounds and structures are within the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, in the NPS Cane River National Heritage Area, and is on the state's Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. It is a National Historic Landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Oakland Plantation is associated with Atahoe Plantation and Isle Brevelle. It is located near the also significant Magnolia Plantation and Melrose Plantation.
19th century
The original owners, Jean-Pierre Emanuel Prud'homme and his wife Marie Catherine Lambre Prud'homme, completed building the Oakland Plantation house in 1821. The family tradition claims that Oakland was one of the first plantations to grow cotton on a large scale, cultivated and harvested by slaves. They also had farm animals, that were served by extant buildings, such as the dipping vat, the turkey shed, the mule barn, two pigeonniers, and several chicken coops.
The Prudhommes also owned and operated a general store on the plantation, which also housed the Bermuda U.S. Post Office for many years. The farm flourished in the 19th century.
20th century
J. Alphonse Prudhomme won the gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis for growing the highest-grade cotton in the South. The plantation was also used in John Ford's 1959 movie The Horse Soldiers.
In 1997, the National Park Service acquired the main buildings and surrounding land of Oakland Plantation, forming the Cane River Creole National Historical Park. Park Service work has progressed to advanced stages in the preservation and conservation of the many outbuildings, and of the plantation house, including furnishing interiors with furniture, paintings, and textiles as it was in the 1860s at the end of the plantation era.
The park's program includes interpretation of the history of free blacks and Creoles who lived and worked on Oakland 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.