The "Queen of the South"
Before you continue on this page of the Parlor, it is very important that you be aware of some facts.
Make no mistake: plantation mansions like Belle Grove and its now lost neighbor, Nottoway, were indeed built by the
slaves who worked on these plantations. Yes, John Andrews had Belle Grove built and hired Henry Howard as its
architect (this is also true of John Hampden Randolph and MANY other planters).
The Parlor believes it is important that if the history of a place and/or time period is going to be discussed in a
meaningful way, that discussion had better cover ALL of the history. And it is an historical fact that it was slaves
who actually constructed these mansions paid for with wealth earned off their backs. As you read the content of this
page of the Parlor, please do keep these facts in mind. Trying to play down or hide certain aspects of history
because it "makes us uncomfortable" or we don't want to acknowledge that people of the past were wrong is a mistake.
Those are two of the most important reasons for preserving history as it really was, not as some would prefer. If we
just dismiss those parts, we do end up making the same mistakes.
Above all, as you learn about these enormous plantation mansions of profoundly unfathomable proportions,
remember--it was the slaves who brought these architectural marvels to life. Without those slaves, Belle Grove and
others like her would never have been more than architectural drawings on paper.
Let's give credit where credit is due.
A Ghost Along the Mississippi
Belle Grove Plantation mansion in Iberville Parish, Louisiana was built in 1857 for John Andrews, who had come from Virginia, and sold to Henry Ware in 1868, was abandoned by the 1920s, and burned in 1952. By the end of the 1950s, it had been completely demolished. 1
Belle Grove Plantation Abandoned
Belle Grove was a sugar plantation in White Castle, Louisiana. Its history of owners seems to be more complex than it
appears, and untangling the genealogy of the families who owned and operated this plantation has been interesting as
well as filled with "wut?" moments here and there. Well, for me, anyway.
Like anything else about the history of the plantation and the long gone mansion built on it, it's hard to summarize
because each time you're sure about something, you learn something is different than it first appeared.
See, I thought credit cards were the real Antichrist, but then I got my first kidney stone and...
Anyway.
Other things are easier to summarize, such as the brief overview I've given of its history. However, there are a lot
of details in that history, a history that may or may not include James Gallier, the New Orleans architect whose home
played Lestat's New Orleans home in AMC's
Interview With the Vampire
series.
The Library of Congress link below also mentions James Gallier, born Gallagher (1798-1866). James Gallier was a noted
Irish-American architect in New Orleans in the 19th century. He is often credited with having designed Belle Grove,
although it would have been more likely that his son, who followed in his footsteps, would have designed Belle Grove.
Many sources credit Henry Howard as the architect of Belle Grove. Although long gone, Belle Grove was and is
considered to be the largest plantation mansion ever built in Louisiana, and even the South.
A Belle Grove Mystery
"Belle Grove" appears to have been a very popular name for antebellum plantations. Like John Hampden Randolph, who named his plantation Nottoway for the name of the county in Virginia his family was from, John Andrews was also from Virginia. And in Virginia were the following plantations: Belle Grove near Middletown, Virginia and Belle Grove Plantation in King George, Virginia.
Which brings us to this short article from one of the videos on YouTube about Belle Grove. The Belle Grove plantation
this page of the Parlor discusses is the one that was located in White Castle, Louisiana. However, the article states
a crevasse opened at a Belle Grove plantation in Kenner, Louisiana.
Google Maps informs the Parlor that Kenner is approximately 65 miles away from White Castle by car (and, no doubt,
depending on who's driving). White Castle is in Iberia Parish, whereas Kenner is in Jefferson Parish.
So, considering the fact that there are already three antebellum plantations named "Belle Grove", was/is there yet
another plantation of the same name in or around Kenner, Louisiana?
The Belle Grove Gallery
There are a few excellent videos that also show images of Belle Grove and summaries of its history. I've created a
playlist on the Parlor's YouTube channel of the handful I've been able to find.
There are not many photographs of Belle Grove Plantation available today. I have yet to find any photographs of its
interior when it was occupied. I've begun to collect good copies of images of Belle Grove, which I've colorized. Four
of them begin the gallery of Belle Grove images below. More will be added over time. Here are some images that have
survived over time...
Belle Grove ca 1930s
Belle Grove ca 1930s
Belle Grove ca 1930s
Belle Grove ca 1930s or 40s
I colorized the original black and white images above, as well as the sepia image that the animation at the top is
made from. There are more to come, as well as more information that has become available about Belle Grove in recent
years.
For now, if you look at the fourth image, you can see two men standing by the house. In this image, you get a much
better idea of how truly massive this house was. It isn't hard to see that it isn't described as the largest
plantation mansion ever built in Louisiana--or the South--for nothing.
Belle Grove Plantation on Second Life Marketplace
Belle Grove Plantation on Second Life Marketplace
Click the link above to see Belle Grove in 3D on Second Life Marketplace
Locked In Time
Belle Grove also appears to have been used as the fictional Shadow Grove on the cover of Locked In Time by Lois Duncan
Welcome to Fontevrault
Only Moor One Pirogue at a Time at the Newel Post, Please...
...or we will have a TRAFFIC. JAM.
Whaaaaaa...? The above animations are ones I created from historical photos of Belle Grove Plantation with the help of Lunapic. I wanted to show what the now flooded Fontevrault might have looked like as Mary Jane and Mona Mayfair made their way towards it in the night in Taltos ...
The ruins of Fontevrault Plantation are described in Taltos as sitting in up to three feet of water. 2
In The Witches' Companion , Fontevrault is said to compare closely with the long gone Belle Grove Plantation mansion in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. 3
It was not far from the now-destroyed Nottoway Plantation, which was also built for a planter from Virginia, John Hampden Randolph.
Image of Belle Grove from The Witches' Companion , p. 125 by Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.
Belle Grove as Fontevrault created with NightCafe From the Above Image In
The Witches' Companion
, p. 125 by Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.
Madewood Plantation, the "prototype" for Fontevrault, was also the plantation house used for the cover of Taltos on the Mass Market edition.
Madewood Plantation House on Wikipedia
Links
Belle Grove Plantation of Louisiana on Facebook
Friends of Belle Grove Plantation of Louisiana
Historic Marker Database Belle Grove Plantation
Belle Grove Plantation House Histree
The Largest Plantation Ever Built
Belle Grove Plantation White Castle, LA
Entergy Louisiana--Belle Grove Site
Belle Grove Plantation~Library of Congress
Belle Grove Plantation (Iberville Parish, Louisiana) on Wikipedia
Belle Grove Plantation~King George, VA
Belle Grove Plantation~Middletown, VA
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