|
a.
|
Note: At the time of his death, he owned a plantation on Bayou Vermilion inVermilion Parish
ROSE HILL PLANTATION
In keeping with the theme of our study this year I would like to beginmy introduction to "Rose Hill" by quoting from the Abbeville Meridionalof March 7, 1891, the following written by it's editor and publisher,Mr. E. L. Addison: (quote)
Southwest Louisiana is the least understood and the most grosslymisrepresented of any section of country in the Union. As it is situatedon the Gulf of Mexico, and in close proximity to the greatest river onthe continent, most people conclude that it is a low, wet, swampy region-- a succession of deep jungles, tangled swamps, marshes, lakes,sloughs, and cane and cypress breaks throughout it's entire extent;whereas, healthier by far than the northwest -- fanned by the seabreezes, it is the land of enchanting scenery, of beautiful bayous andglassy lakes and bays. splendid prairies, noble forests and pleasantskies, the land of flowers, of beauty and of health.
In point of climate and soil, Southwest Louisiana yields precedenceto no area in the Americas; as to the character of her people, theirhospitality is proverbial. Yet despite this inviting state of thingsthere are many splendid acres unoccupied -- many rich, exhaustlessfields uncultivated. It is seen with regret that thousands ofimmigrants whose best interests lie in this direction are turning theirfaces toward the arid and unproductive regions of Western Kansas, Texasand Nebraska. It is one of my principle objects to exhibit theattractiveness of Southwest Louisiana as a place of permanent residence.Few sections of the United States, indeed, can offer such inducementsto settlers as this prairie region. Healthier by far.than the prairiesof the Northwest, well watered, with no scarcity of wood; and theextra-ordinary rapidity with which natural hedges can be grown forfences, while the exuberantly fertile soil produces both sugar cane andcotton in profusion, well may this country be styled by its enthusiasticinhabitants the "Eden of Louisiana". (end of quote)
And the editor of the Chicago Tribune after visiting Southwest Louisianain the late nineteenth century wrote: (quote)
"If by some supreme effort of nature, Southwest Louisiana, withit's soil, climate and production, could be taken up and transportednorth, to the latitude of Illinois and Indiana, and be set down in thepathway of Eastern and Western travel, it would create a commotion thatwould throw the discovery of gold. in California in the shade at thetime of its greatest excitement. The people would rush to it incountless, thousands. Every man would be intent on securing a few acresof these wonderfully productive and profitable sugar places. Theselands, if in Illinois, would bring from $300 - $500 per acre.
The temperature of this region is more even than it is either eastor west of here. The climate is especially beneficial to those troubledwith lung, nasal and throat diseases. The summers are not so hot andsultry as they are in the western states but are much longer. Thewinters are delightful. Although there is a greater rainfall in winterthan in summer, and it is sometimes chilly, damp and disagreeable fortwo or three days at a time, it soon changes when the wind changes tothe south, and is so warm and pleasant that for weeks at a time they donot light fires in the sitting rooms and men work in the open air irtheir shirt sleeves. It is therefore safe to claim with confidence thatSouthwest Louisiana possesses a climate superior to any other portion ofthe gulf coast. Take it all year round the climate is unsurpassed onthis green earth. (En of quote)
In this particular area of the Vermilion River's banks, the soilwas described as a dark, rich mold with a large proportion of sand from8 to 12 inches deep which made it easily cultivated and extremely wellsuited to growing sugar cane and cotton, however the yield of cotton vasnot quite as large per acre as in the higher areas of the parish. Sosugar cane was the preferred crop, and in an article I found which waspublished in the late nineteenth century concerning the sugar industry,I quote:
It takes a mint of money to run a sugar plantation. There is a vastbody of land to buy, a sugar house costing from $40,000 to $60,000 tobuild, quarters for the negroes,, etc. Then comes the cost of planting,cultivation and manufacture, all of which has to be borne by theplanter, without a cent of returns until he markets his crop. There arenumerous instances where men have purchased plantations on credit andpaid for them in a year or two, and there are instances where a singledisaster has swept away the accumulation of years. The greatest dangersattendant upon the business of sugar planting are mostly to plantersnear the Mississippi River where crops are ruined by floods. This theplanters in Southwest Louisiana usually escape. Land in this area can bepurchased for from 75cents to $1-50 per acre. An acre of good land willproduce from 15 to 25 tons of cane and the cane will sell from $3 to $5per ton, according to the demand. The greatest problem our area has hais transportation. The improvement of passage of the Vermilion Riverwould be worth a great deal to this country. In fact, it is much needed;and were it located somewhere up in New England or Pennsylvania it wouldhave been improved years ago. But the time, doubtless, is not fardistant when the streams of the south will receive the attention thatthe importance of they and the country actually demand. When it is knownthe valuable lands, rich as can be found anywhere, lying inactive inthis country for lack of facilities to develop them and to market theirproducts after being developed, then may the south expect what she somuch needs. (end of quote)
On the strip of land we're interested in the first known occupantswere the Attakapas, and we have found many arrowheads through the years,especially near the river in the low areas where the soil was neverdisturbed by either cultivation or for construction of any kind. Butwhen the French settled this area the land -eas claimed for France, andlater was acquired by the American government in the LouisianaPurchase.
I asked a historian an attorney, just what transition, if any, tookplace between the original occupants, the Indians, and the government.He said "None" -- The French, and then the Spanish, just moved in andtook over the land. There was never any agreement or transaction thewhite man simply took over.
So the first recorded owners of what was later to become Rose HillPlantation were two veterans of the War of 1812 who were given tracts ofland adjoining each other in 1833 as a bonus, much as our governmentlater gave veterans a cash bonus after fighting in World War I and WorldWar II. Veterans then were given a choice of where they wanted tosettle and then given acreage according to rank. These were called"Spanish Grants" although by this time the land actually belonged to theAmerican government.
These two veterans were Thomas Fletcher whose acreage was to thenorth of the river, and Bernard McDermott whose acreage was this southend. A map is recorded showing tracts #43 and #44 along the VermilionRiver, comprising slightly over 1000 acres.
Some time later, whether by sale or inheritance, we're not sure asthere was no recorded transaction, the whole 1000 acres were acquired byAdam Griffin. But in 1848 Rose Hill Plantation was sold (by Mr.Griffin) to D. C. Rose and Thomas Winston. I thought it might beinteresting to read the description of this sale taken from Court Houserecords - just as it was:
Bill of Sale for Rose Hill Plantation
27 slaves: Charles, 40 years, lame - and wife Eve, 35
2 sons - Robert 10 (disfigured by burn on face), Reuben, 5
Mary, mullatress, age 35 and sickly, with 5 children,
Rosette 13, Rhody 8, Gilbert 6, Essix 4, Mary- infant
Mason,- negro woman, 35 with 2 children
Bill 10 and Georgina 4
Hannah, a griffe, aged 25 with 1 child - Sarah 9
Tom, negro man, 35 and Jane, his wife, a griffe, 25 with 1 child. -Fanny 4
Henry, negro man. 24 and Esther, his wife, a griffe, 18 yrs andnear-sighted
Sam, negro man, 24 - William, negro-man, 28
Johnson, a griffe, 30 - John, negro man, 26
Sandy, negro man, 24 - Emanuel, a griffe, 16
Joe, a griffe, 13
All slaves legal1y owned by law.
6 American mules, 3 Spanish mules, 8 American horses, 2 Creole horsesand Spanish mules running wild on the prairie.
2 ox carts, ploughs, harnesses, axes, hoes, spades, yokes, farming toolsand implements and a new cypress skiff and 1000 acres of land.
All the above for the sum of $30,800.
I looked up the definition of Griffe - they are the offspring of anegro and a mulatto woman or a person of negro and Indian blood.
At this point the name "Rose Hill" had come up in the records andthe question of how it got it's name arose. Because members of the Rosefamily were involved we were inclined to assume the name might have comefrom them, but older -people who remember the place well, including Mrs.Jewell Sirmon, say it got the name from the Cherokee Hedge Fence whichcompletely surrounded the plantation. The Cherokee hedge is evergreenwith a single white rose which blooms almost continuously. Thewild-flower dictionary says the rose is sweet-smelling but I don'tremember ever smelling one even though they are still fairly abundantin- the area. At that time the thick hedge was used extensively forfencing areas off and for boundry fences - even cattle cannot penetrateit. So according to these sources, we have had to assume that Rose Hillgot it's name from the "wild rose".
The-plantation belonged to the Rose and Winston families, jointly,for nearly 50 years. It was a cotton plantation at this time. There wasa cotton gin in Aleville by now and the cotton was brought there bywagon. The road from Rose Hill to Abbeville-then was a crooked, boggy1ane - almost impassable during rain.y seasons, even by wagons andbuggies. This road still exists and has the beautiful single, wild rose,the Cherokee hedge, on both sides for long stretches. It's a beautifuldrive, especially during the spring. Some parts of it are almost coveredover head by vines and trees. This road started in Abbeville from thesite of a grocery store on the corner of what is now Guegnon Street-andSixth Street. The store, as some of you will remember, was the LedetStore. The road came on down by what is now the Lutgring farm and thenwound on through the woods to Rose Hill Plantation.
In 1895 heirs of the Rose and Winston families sold the plantationto Mr. 0. M. Nilson who on December 23rd of that year formed the RoseHill Planting and Refinery Co., Inc. Rose Hill was to be converted to asugar cane Plantation. The Jesuit fathers had introduced sugar cane toLouisiana from Santo Domingo in the late eighteenth century, but formany years the only sugar produced from the cane was a brownish, milkyliquid suitable for rum making. Then in the early nineteenth century,Etienne de Bore', experimenting on his plantation near New Orleans,succeeded in refining sugar by boiling the cane juice until it reachedthe granulation point. From then on the sugar industry had becomeimportant to Louisiana and more and more land was converted to sugarcane fields. Sugar cane is described in encyclopedias as a giant grassthat, thrives in a warm, moist climate. So our area was particularlysuited to sugar cane. An ad appeared in the October 6, 1887 Meridionalconcerning cane which I found interesting. (quote)
The Arabian Sugar Cane was brought to this state from the WorldsFair at Vienna. It won't injure your land. The production is enormous.The cane grows from 8 to 12 feet high and from 2 to 3 inches indiameter. A sample package of seeds will be sent postpaid by mail withdirections for planting and special terms to agents on receipt of 50cents.
Signed, W. S. Tipton
Cleveland, Tennessee
And so in 1895 the charter for the new corporation was drawn up andMr. O. M. Nilson was Chairman of the Board -- Board members were: OscarNilson (his son), R. J. Putnam, Secretary and J. Henry Putnam, Manager.Capital Stock was $100,000 and the refinery was built. A huge loadingderrick was built to unload the barges of sugar cane that came down theriver. Cane was taken from the barges, loaded onto small rail cartsdrawn by mules and drawn along a track to the crushers of the mill. Atrain right-of-way was obtained and tracks were laid from the line whichran from New Iberia to
Abbeville, to Rose Hill. This track joined the line from about whereBelle Place is now and ran across country to the plantation, so thencane was brought to the refinery by barge and rail. The same huge craneunloaded the rail cars when they reached Rose Hill. A small locomotivewas purchased to do the rail hauling and a shed was built to house itduring the off-season. So the plantation owned it's own locomotive, railcars, switches and turnabouts, as they were called. In the meantime thelarge house for the manager and his family had been built over-lookingthe river. A commissary, small church, school house, boarding 'house,black-smith shop, machine shop, and eventually about 50 small framehouses were built to house the families who lived on the plantation yearround. The field workers were mostly negro families.
George Plowden, who was born in 1888 - 86 years old and with aremarkable memory, remembers working at Rose Hill from the time he wasseven years old until he married -- a period of 19 years. His folkslived and worked on the Eldredge farm which adjoined Rose HillPlantation, and in 1895, when the building started, held walk to theplantation every morning to work. His job at first was to clean andstack old brick which was used in the construction of the mill. All thefacilities mentioned were built during George's stay at Rose Hill and hewas very helpful in helping us re-construct the whole lay-out of the oldplantation as he could remember approximately where every building was.The frame houses for the families were all white-washed and were builtin neat rows on either side of the road and along the edge of the woods.The commissary took care of all their reeds - groceries, medicine,hardware, piece goods, a little bit of everything. The workers were paidoff in tokens with the name of the place engraved on them, rather thanwith money and these were redeemable only at the commissary in exchangefor supplies. The large boarding house particularly intrigued George ashe remembers the huge amounts of food consumed each day. It was used tohouse all the extra help hired during the cutting and grinding season -he said they came from everywhere -white and black -- and worked for 75cents a day, which is what George earned the whole time he worked atRose Hill.
He remembers helping butcher 200 or 300 pound cows for the boardinghouse kitchen and that would last just a day or two. He also helped takeup and clean vegetables from the huge vegetable patches in tremendousquantities to feed the "hands" as he called them. This boarding housewas kept open and run only during busy seasons. The rest of the timethe regular work on the plantation was carried on by the tenants andtheir families.
Another impressive thing, as George remembers, was a large belllocated directly behind the big house, on a high tower, and tended by anold colored man whose job it was to feed the mules, of which, there weremany. This bell was rung at 4 a.m. -everybody on the plantation got up,dressed and ate breakfast and was ready to start work in the fields atday-break; both men and women. It was rung again at noon for lunch andthen at 1 p.m. At sundown the bell rang again signifying the end of theday's work.
So the plantation was set up and the refinery put into operation. Itall sounds like a well planned, well organized enterprise. Some of thedefendants of the J. Henry Putnam family remember hearing the oldermembers of the family talk about the good times at Rose Hill. Theyespecially talked about large parties where a crowd of young peoplewould get together in Abbeville and come down the river on a barge witha band playing all the way and dock in front of the big house. Theywould dance all day and into the night as the barge was towed back tothe city wharf in Abbeville. Also sugar-house parties were enjoyedduring the grinding season and the young people looked forward to thoseget-togethers. Another story they remember was the annual contest heldon the plantation to see which of the blacks was the strongest. Allcontestants would line up and receive a 100 pound weight to strap on hisback.
The one who could walk a two mile stretch in the shortest time won acertain sum of money which was raised by the spectators. Bets wereplaced on favorites and it must have, been an exciting thing for the onewho won because they recall that all the black men wanted to enter therace.
It all sounds like happy times for all concerned but theyapparently were short-lived "happy times". As was pointed out earlier inone of the quoted articles, with that much of an investment it was hardto make a go of it and Rose Hill Plantation was having financialdifficulties.
As a child Mrs. Sirmon remembers hearing her father and his friendswho were farmers, discussing Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, who had beenelected president in 1885. Sugar cane farmers had been prosperous untilthis time, but during his administration, Cleveland removed the tarifffrom the sugar coming from Cuba after which you could buy sugar cheaperthan you could raise it. This, it seems broke a lot of large sugar canefarmers and she well remembers the panic among them.
And so we find that in 1899 Rose Hill Planting and Refinery Co.,Inc. went broke. The plantation had to be taken over by the New Orleansbanks who financed the venture.
At that time The Rose Hill Sugar Co. was formed and financed byseveral business men in New Orleans and the E. C. Marshall family cameto Rose Hill where Mr. Marshall was the over-seer of the plantation andMr. Joe B. Chaffe also from New Orleans came to manage the business. TheMarshall family consisted of Annie the wife and seven children - John,Mattie, Sue, Leena, Alice, Cullie and Joe. They, along with Mr. Chaffe(when he was here) occupied the big house overlooking the river. Theytoo enjoyed gay parties and river trips. Members of the family who areliving remember how they loved the big house and the Sugar house duringgrinding season. They remember there was always something exciting-going on on the plantation. One thing in particular they talk of is thebig fan that was suspended from the dining room ceiling and operated bya little colored boy while the family had their meals.
The Marshall children hail a governess, Miss Brooks, who lived in.And Miss Rosa Winston Leguenet (sp?) was the school teacher in thelittle school on the plantation.
About this time the boat, The Joe B. Chaffe, was acquired in MorganCity by Mr. Morgan Hebert, Mr. Henry Broussard and Mr. Thomas P.Fleming. It was named honor of Mr. Chaffe who was a good friend of thethree captains and used to carry all the supplies needed on theplantation, most of which came to Abbeville by rail and to pick up thebarreled sugar from the mill. The sugar produced by the Mill was called"Yellow clarified sugar"which had to be refined in New Orleans. It wasput on the boat, carried to Abbeville, unloaded at the dock behind therailroad depot and loaded on a train to New Orleans. The Joe B. Chaffeplayed a very important role in the Rose Hill operation -- it was alsothe party boat of the area on -week-ends and off-season as has beenbrought out in Mrs. Kirkseick's report on boats along the VermilionBayou.
Mark Broussard, who was reared on a neighboring farm, remembersRose Hill Plantation as a small boy about this time. He too commented onthe beautifully kept, white-washed buildings in neat rows. But whatparticularly impressed him was watching the fields being plowed andprepared for planting. There would be 6 or 8 mule teams abreast of eachother -- working together. Equipment was well kept and the mules werein tip-top shape. He remembers watching these teams working togetherfor hours and how impressed he was with the whole operation.
Something that might be of interest to everybody concerns one ofthe inhabitants of Rose Hill during the Marshall's era --
One of the men who had an interest in the business at this time,Captain Kingsberry, from, New Orleans, had a 21 year old grandson wholived in New Roads and needed a job. His grandfather found work for himas the Chemists helper in the refinery and he moved in with the Marshallfamily. His name was Howard K. Smith. He later married a young girl,also from, New Roads, and brought her to live in the big house. Duringher pregnancy for the Howard K. Smith we all know - in 1905, six yearsafter the Marshalls came to live on Rose Hill, Mrs. Marshall's nightgown caught fire while standing in front of a fireplace and she wasburned to death. Shortly after this accident the young Smith couple leftRose Hill and moved to New Orleans where the famous commentator wasborn.
This was 1905 when Mrs. Marshall died. Luna Marshall Giraultremembers she was eleven years old when she was eleven years old whenher mother was burned and life for the Marshall children at Rose Hillchanged. Mr. Marshall married Miss Brooks, the children's governess,sometime later after which most of the children went away to live withrelatives and go to school. The older boys stayed for a while butapparently were not interested in the sugar plantation and ended upliving and working in town.
Mr. Marshall remained at Rose Hill until 1912. About this time thebig house burned to the ground and was rebuilt much smaller and lesselaborate.
The next over-seer, Mr. Wally Kuehling was moved into the house totake over the operation and his brother, Mr. Robert Kuehling, wasengaged as his assistant and to run the commissary. The plantation againfaced financial difficulties and part of the land was sold to recoverloses. Refineries had been built in Erath and Abbeville and Rose Hill'srefinery slowed down considerably. Under this management the plantation-was operated until 1921-- equipment deteriorated and buildings werevacated. And one night in 1921 fire broke ought in the refinery; flamescould be seen for miles around -- and by morning nothing was left butgrim reminders of a magnificent past.
On January 19, 1922 Mr. Alfred Baudoin bought the land, refineryruins, equipment and all buildings left standing and made his home atRose Hill. This was shortly after World War I ended and scrap metal wasat a premium. All machinery and equipment was dismantled and sold. Thebuildings and houses were torn down with the exception of the familyhome, which he lived in, and two tenant houses. The lumber and nailswere sold for building material -- which at that time was also at apremium. Nails were hammered straight and sold by the bucket full,bricks were salvaged, cleaned and re-used for building. In fact thebrick building that is now Ledet's Grocery Store on the corner ofRailroad Ave. and State Street, was built entirely of old brick from therefinery. It was originally a bakery and most of you will remember it-as DeMary's Bakery. Barge loads of lumber and other building supplieswere hauled away for the next few years.
Instead of cane, now the fields were cultivated and converted torice fields and the Mutual Rice Co. came into being in 1925. Smallparcels of the land were sold to rice farmers between 1925 and 1932 whenMr. Vernon Dubois' family acquired the portion where the refinery andheart of the plantation had been. They too were and still are ricefarmers. The original 1000 acre tract now belongs to several families --all rice farmers -- Dubois Vollmers, Domingues, Schrievers.
We were able to purchase this strip bordering on the river in 1956from the Dubois family and have enjoyed the quiet, peaceful atmospherethat prevail now. We can only dream of the hustle and bustle of thoseearly years and of the good, happy life that went on those many yearsago on these foundations that we're still uncovering trying toreconstruct in our minds. It has been especially interesting to me, inpreparing this brief history of rose Hill Plantation, to talk to some ofthe people who still remember those happy times that were.
It was with a sad heart we watched the old home sitting somajestically on it's perch overlooking the bend in the river being torndown till just the two fireplace chimneys were left standing. Even theywere eventually torn down - for what reason we never knew.
Lorraine Sirmon
|
