Melrose Plantation, Louisiana

Step back into time...

Melrose Plantation Where:  Head South from Natchitoches on I-49; Exit 119  Price:  $10 for a tour of about an hour (as of June 2010) Open:  Daily, 12-4:00 PM, except for major holidays A Little About Melrose Plantation I love visiting Melrose Plantation; I've been there three times.  It consists of lovely, well-kept grounds, with several interesting buildings.  Of course, the star of the show is the majestic "big house."  This house actually was not the original main house.  That honor belongs to Yucca House, which stands in the back of the tour area.  I won't delve deeply into the historical aspects of the story of Marie Therese Coincoin, the original owner of Yucca House; check the link below for that.  A former slave, Ms. Coincoin became the mistress of her own plantation, and owned slaves. Later,  the plantation underwent a few changes of ownership.  The Henry family did much to make Melrose what it is today, adding onto the current main house, and bringing in additional buildings.   Mrs. Henry was hostess to several famous authors and artists.  One of the most famous artists associated with Melrose was not actually a guest.  Folk artist Clemintine Hunter was a cook and field hand.  She was inspired when she found some tubes of paint that an artist had discarded.   In an upper room of the hig house, you can see some of her original works.  Upstairs in African House, the walls are lined with murals that Clementine painted.  She created them while under the old oak tree that stands on the front lawn of Melrose.  The guides will tell you interesting stories of  her explanations of what she painted and why she painted certain things. There is a huge amount of information that I haven't written here.  Do see it for yourself.  It's easy to get lost in the enchantment of that place.  I wanted to just wander off alone and daydream about being an artist or a writer, invited by Mrs. Henry to stay at Melrose.  More *Melrose sits near the Cane River, which is not really a river, at least not now.  It's actually a horseshoe lake that was once a part of the Red River.  It was cut off when the Red changed course.  Real estate on the move! *The tour guides told us that one man came to Yucca House (when the Henry family was there) to stay for six weeks and ended up staying for over thirty years. *On my second tour, a descendant of Ms. Coincoin was one of our tour guides.  She gave a captivating portrayal of her famous ancestor.  *African House is a unique and interesting structure, said to be the only one of its age and type in North America. Melrose Plantation at CaneRiverHeritage.org