Rosedown Plantation

I've been researching a travel book, "Romantic Getaways of the South" for a looooooong time. Well, maybe it is actually going to get finished. One of the destinations included in the book is St. Francisville, LA. It is near to where I live, but it is a very romantic, southern destination.

Rosedown Plantation is one of the places that holds so mamy memories for me. I first wrote about it when I was 13 years old and won a Louisiana History award for the project and research. My mother took me to the home and we walked around the gardens and the building taking in the history. I remember the statues in the gardens were missing a finger or a nose, yet no one knew how it happened.

Many years later, I married the grandson of a local doctor. My father in law told me stories of how when he was a little boy, Rosedown was a run down mansion where two elderly sisters lived. When they took ill, my husband's grandfather was the doctor who took care of them. My FIL would go along with his slingshot and run rampant through the overgrown gardens, using the statues for target practice.
A few years ago, the State of Louisiana purchased Rosedown from its current owner. Many things had disappeared, including those statues and most of the furnishings. When it reopened to the public, volunteers were needed for decorating. My mother studied Interior Decorating, so we helped during the Christmas season that year.

Mom and I decorated in the old style, by using natural objects found on the property for Christmas decorations. We also decorated the Butler's Pantry, printing out recipes on parchment paper and aging them.

I went for a tour a few weeks ago, and the tour guide told the visitors about how all the furnishings are original to the home and that these recipes were found in the attic. I just laughed all the way home that day.