Oakland Plantation Reviews

Beautiful historical site! It’s part of National Park - Cane River Trail, the park rangers extremely knowledgeable & helpful! I took the tour ( free) and it was great!!! Lots of very interesting historical facts. I highly recommend.

Although the main building was closed, I enjoyed this peaceful and beautiful off season visit. A volunteer came and told us more about the main house and the bottle garden. She was very knowledgeable. The grounds are well maintained.

The house at Oakland Plantation is not a Tara type of plantation mansion, but is certainly worth visiting. Exploring the grounds, outbuildings ,old store, overseer's home, and main house gives one a great sense of the lifestyles and history of the people who lived and worked there.Today the grounds are peaceful with the sounds of birdsong and of the wind rustling the leaves of ancient trees. If you use your imagination, you can almost hear the coo of the pigeons from the pigeoniers or the clank of bottles as they were put into place in the front garden or the sound of weary workers returning form the fields. There is no cost. You can pick up a map of the complex and take a self-guided tour of the outbuildings. Guided tours of the main home are not to be missed. They are also free but only offered at specified times,

After a night in Natchitoches, my party decided to stop at a couple of plantations. Unfortunately the main house was closed due to a roof change, but the grounds were accessible. Once we got to the store, we were met by a Park Ranger who gave us quite an overview of the property. It was very interesting!

The Oakland Plantation is nit to far from the Melrose Plantation so if you have the time, try and fit them both into your itinerary. The Big House was open to the public for a free guided tour by a National Park ranger who was very knowledgeable about the family and its artifacts. The grounds include original overseers house, the mule house, outhouses, and 200 year old live oaks. I recommend you take your tour during cooler months for a leisurely and lovely trip. Children were in the group I joined and they too enjoyed the history, the story, and the sites.

Oakland Plantation, originally known as the Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prud'homme Plantation, also known as Bermuda, is one of the nation's best and most intact examples of a French Creole cotton plantation complex. Located on Highway 494, 12 miles south of Natchitoches, it is part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park. Built in 1821, Oakland was one of the first plantations to grow cotton on a large scale, cultivated and harvested by slaves. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2001. Though Oakland contains a fine example of a raised Creole plantation Main House, even more important are the 27 historic outbuildings still standing on the property. This rare wealth of buildings allows visitors to more completely understand life on a plantation in the 1800s. Prior to the Civil War, large plantations often were more like small villages than farms. Though plantations focused on producing cash crops such as cotton, rice, sugar cane and tobacco, it was necessary to grow food crops and raise poultry and livestock to support their large populations. Oakland has many remaining outbuildings that were used in food production, including a corn crib, a cattle corral, dipping vat, hen house, fattening pen, turkey shed, mule barn, several chicken coops and two pigeonniers. Oakland's carpenter's shop is still intact. So is the doctor's office and a plantation store that was opened after the Civil War to cater to the newly freed African Americans, sharecroppers and tenant farmers. It also doubled as a rural post office for almost 100 years. The plantation is open for self-guided tours from 8 to 4 daily while guided tours are offered at 1 p.m. daily.

It was interspersed. I wish we had the opportunity to go inside but there were no tours. Found it very interesting seeing all the buildings and their history. Take the time to go thru it.

First of all, you can do a self tour at Oakland for free, so it's especially worth your time. The map guides you pick up at the pavilion will explain what all the structures are and their history. Their is a lot of history on the grounds and very scenic with all the old trees. The main house was closed for refurbishment and had scaffolding around it, so that was disappointing, but still worth the visit. The old bottle garden was cool too!

Let's face it. Slavery was not only peculiar, it was downright strange and backward. Slavery was abolished as early as 1347 in Poland and yet today here in the USA in 2019 we are still dealing with slavery and its aftereffects. Tenant farming, share cropping, voting restrictions, prejudice. That said, the US Rangers who are the docents of Oakland Plantation and other similar National Parks must remain neutral. It was what it was. There is no glossing over the facts. At the same time the very knowledgeable Ranger did not dwell on the "Bad Old Times". The walkthrough one of the slave cabins that later became the home of a tenant farmer and his family was short, the tour of the Main House was very complete. Visitors could ask about pre1860 conditions and the Ranger answered every one dispassionately. It was what it was. There are steps up to 2 buildings that might make entry difficult, although there was a small elevator at the rear door of the Main House; visitors would have to ask if it is working. The paths are paved with rubber mats and there is a nice picnic and restroom building. Besides the Jefferson Davis House in Biloxi, this is only the second preBellum we've visited. I would recommend the tour. And I look forward to learning what the next stage in healing the scars left by slavery will be. A good place to think about that.

good and great and amazing and awesome and fun and beautiful and amazing and favorite and great and happy

Found the tour of the house a wee bit lacking actually. Bedrooms roped off ( i realize perhaps to preserve but it is a guided tour) off and really for price not any value for me spent most time in artifact museum room which is not my thing. That being said the outside tours that posted a start time and where free where very informative found the one on the slave cabins AWESOME. Lovely property and grounds nice restaurant and very helpful cheerful staff in the gift shop.

Even if the main house was closed the visit was very interesting specially thinks to the wonderful guide. We learned a lot about the war, the work in a plantation and the story of the family.

A beautiful place with so much history! We spent hours there because there is so much to see! It looks as though the family is out and you're inside while they're gone! Beautiful furniture, family photos, antiques that I've never seen and all in such pristine condition! What makes some plantations so interesting is when they have a place that has stayed in the family so you see items that have been in the home for generations! This is one of those unique situations. Interesting history and the family still lives nearby while the National Park Service now gives tours here....all for free! A must see!

This place was amazing! The grounds where maintained beautifully. The Bottle Garden was wonderful and had the sweet aroma of roses and lilacs. The 200 year old trees well worth the drive.

We really enjoyed our free tour on a Sunday afternoon lead by a Knowledagable gal with the National Parks. The rest of the reviews says it all. Kids would enjoy also.

Having been to the plantations around NewOrleans this one was in disrepair who ever owned it before let it get run down!Very interesting but far from the best! Worth a visit but don't expect luxury

We loved this visit. The grounds were neat and retained the historic value, I am sorry we missed the free guided tour as i think that would have been really informative and we would have been able to go into the main house.

If you are looking for a place to take your kids for an educational field trip this is a great choice. The tours are free and you can walk around the grounds as you like. It is a very authentic plantation.

I loved this plantation. We had a great tour guide, "Thom". He was very knowledgeable and engaging. It was obvious how much he enjoys his job. I am not a person that enjoys learning history. I definitely enjoyed this tour.

This is a very interesting plantation and free of charge!
There are volunteers that run tours and they know a lot about the history of this plantation.
The family lived here until the 90's and it's great to see the "modern" touches - the kitchen is fabulous!
Well worth a visit.

This is a part of the National Parks so there was not an admission charge. You are able to do a self-guided tour of the grounds. We took a ranger led tour of the house which was both interesting and informative. Check the hours before you go if you are interested in the tour. I would definitely go if you are in the area.

Beautiful grounds, restored to mid-1900's when it was still being used as a farm, which I found fascinating. The location is sprawling, lots of huge shade trees kept us cool despite the June heat. If you time your visit right there are site tours, we missed those but the cell phone tour (call the toll-free number and push the button that corresponds to your location) was very nice.

The best - do not miss- part of our visit was the tour of the main house. The main house can only be visited by tour, several throughout the day. Our guide was Jean Carter, she was fabulous! She knows several of the family members who grew up in (and donated) the residence. We had a great time as she shared the history of the family and the site.

Definitely worth the visit!

I've been on several plantation tours, but this is first of the creole style and of a home so recently lived in. I loved walking through the main house in which furnishings represent many generation from early examples belonging to the founding family to the 1950's kitchen (the first time a kitchen was attached to the main house). It was cool to learn about the family and see photographs of them throughout the generations--dress & uniforms from the different eras and wars. It felt accessible. The main house is kept locked and only accessible during a free guided tour. I felt rushed through. I would have preferred to ask more questions. As it was, our guide skipped a few rooms because another tour was starting about 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. That said, he was a wealth of knowledge.

This plantation is run by the National Park Service. Meghan our guide was very well informed about the history of the Oakland Plantation. The house was lived in by descendants of the original owners until 1998. The park service bought the thing furniture and all so the furniture you see aren't just period pieces but pieces that the Prud'homme family actually owned. Very interesting the different upgrades made to the home to kind of modernize it over the years.

I missed the organized tour but you can freely walk the grounds of this historic plantation. Not only is this free to the public but I think it is much more authentic than the river road plantations near New Orleans. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the grounds. I ran out of time but I want to return in the future and spend more time

this is a National Bicentennial Farm, meaning the same families have lived there for over 200 years. The plantation that is not over the top ritsy and everything in the main house, as well as other buildings is authentic from the times. Where the tour starts, there is a store that was used by the slaves and people in the area which is really neat. I would highly recomment doing this tour and it's absolutely free. The tour guide was a young volunteer teenage girl and she was cute, sweet, informative and had some fun stories to tell. You can also do a Audio Self Tour. Open daily even on Sundays. You can also picnie there as they have picnic tables and benches.

Many wonderful restored and preserved structures on grounds and Park Rangers are very informative. Learned a lot while here.

The Cane River is a waterway that runs along side many plantations--many, even perhaps most, are really run down.  The National Park service bought two area plantations (Oakland and Magnolia). Each was owned by its resident family for over 200 years and was mostly intact with its ancillary buildings in addition to its main house.  This heritage and available complex turns out to be unusual.  We spent about 2 hours enjoying Oakland and highly recommend it.  We did a self-guided tour, but the national park staff, especially Ranger Barbara Justice, and docents were wonderful augmenting signage.  They have a very good Jr. Ranger booklet.  We highly recommend it.  See the inside of the plantation house with amazing artifacts, the gardens, the barns, the outhouses, the slave quarters, the store, and so much more.  Free. Be careful to check hours of operation. There are guided tours, but not when we got there.

Beautiful plantation grounds, dependency and main house! Run by Natl Park Service. Plantation store also features gift shop with some unique gifts (including handmade placemat/towel made with different colored Louisiana cottons!). Power was out in main house due to recent storms- but touring the main house by yourself with sunlight, shadows, and the smell of aged cypress was an unforgettable experience! Take a walk out to the overseers cabin to enjoy some solitude and pro-tip: download GPS maps prior to trip as service is spotty.

Although I missed touring the main house, this was a very interesting bit of history. The best part was talking to the rangers at the store who provided great history and information. I would recommend going in the morning when it is cool as there is a lot of walking throughout. Also, be sure and take some water with you!

This is a must stop and see. We were in town on a girls trip and saw three Plantations. They were all great. Loved seeing how people use to live. This place should be on your place to see. Its free since it is owned by the park. Its not that far out of town.

This is one of the most completely intact plantations remaining in the south. You can walk the various buildings and explore on your own. To really get the most from your visit, plan to be there when a guide can take you though the house. We were lucky to be there when a very informative guide was present. While the "official" tour was a couple of hours away, this gentleman took a group of us on an impromptu tour. Had this not happened, we would have missed a true gem.

Walking the grounds and taking the tour, you really learn how both the elite and the enslaved lived and entertained themselves.

I was most impressed to learn that only one family ever lived on this plantation - and they did so until the late 1980's.

Many thanks to the National Parks system for obtaining, restoring and maintaining this historic site.

Don't miss Oakland Plantation in Natchitoches, LA. It was in the same family from the time of its inception in 1821 until it was given to the National Park Service approximately 20 years ago. When we visited, our guide was one of the 8th generation whose grandparents were the last residents of the plantation. She was a wonderful guide and is there about once a month. The plantation was sought by the Park Service because it was so complete, with an overseer's cottage, slave quarters, plantation store, etc. It is a must see, and try to make time for Melrose Plantation as well which is close by.

Another must-see, the history of this plantation is given to you with the beautiful, the good and the bad parts of it's history. Helps you understand a lot about the old South.

Joann was our NPS Ranger and Guide. She was wonderful. The plantation presents history from several time periods. Great place for kids to roam when traveling. Plenty of room to explore and it's free!

If this is how the National Park Service respects history, they should be seriously embarrassed. There was one ranger around who walked in the exact opposite direction as we approached. Buildings appeared to be in sad disrepair. Parks Canada would never allow modern equipment to be parked in plain site when I worked at a Canadian historic site. A flyer was posted explaining that the grounds, especially the formal garden, were in disrepair due to budget restraints. If that was the case, they should have just shut the site down to save the embarrassment. Save yourself the time and just go to Melrose Plantation. It is a lovely drive out here though.

This plantation was easy to find. The parking lot is located on the back of the property. There is a large pavilion with restrooms, picnic tables and brochures. Walking the property, each structure has a phone number to call for an Audio Self Tour. The buildings have only been restored NOT rebuilt. We were taken on a tour of the main house and store by Miss Jessica, the Park Ranger. She was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. This tour is FREE and the history and beauty of this smaller plantation is priceless!

Oakland Plantation is operated by the National Park Service. It contains multiple buildings, including a plantation store which operated until 1983.

We toured the grounds as well as the main house. The tour was free and the ranger who led the main house tour was very informative. We were told that this is the most intact plantation left in Louisiana with a lot of the original outbuildings still standing. It is not the biggest or fanciest plantation but gives a glance into history and how things were done. The tour of the grounds and outbuildings were self guided but the main house tour was only at designated times and you could not do a self guided tour. We enjoyed spending a couple of hours looking around. Gnats and mosquitoes were beginning to be a problem, so go prepared. Beautiful old oak trees and period furniture.

Very informative guides (tours start at 12:30 pm). Many buildings to tour including main house. Surrounded by large oak trees (many beehives in trees; if allergic, make sure you have Epi Pen!! Got my first bee sting at age 40 after one got caught in my hair). This was my favorite of all 3 plantations in area we saw!

We enjoyed our visit around this NPS location. The structures are well restored, especially knowing what terrible condition they were in based on a photo book in the store. The store had lots of neat display items and a small gift shop. The overseer's house and the tenant house were both quite interesting to see. We were not able to go into the main house because the entry area was roped off at the porch. Even though the grounds and smaller structures were great, we were disappointed to not see the main house. The main house tour is at 10 and the tenant house tour is at 1. We weren't there for either time. Still, it was worth our visit.

My colleagues and I took a Sunday drove from Leesville to the Oakland Plantation because we wanted to see what was called Greenbriar in the 1959 movie "The Horse Soldiers." Even as Civil War buffs, we found the tour guide's talk full of social historical facts that we hadn't known. As soon as the tour concluded, my colleague, who is a college history professor, exclaimed, "Gee, I can't wait to see 'The Horse Soldiers' again!"

We stopped by here on the way to the more famous Melrose Plantation and we're really glad we did. The fascinating thing about the tour you'll receive at the main house (and tours are FREE, which is a plus, as tours at Melrose are 10 bucks a person), is that you get to see a palimpsest of stages in the plantation's life. Some of the rooms are preserved pretty much as they were in previous centuries, whereas others, such as the kitchen, have been updated. The history and artifacts in this place are really interesting. Worth the visit.

We had a great tour inside and outside the house. They have many out buildings. So neat to get a glimpse of how things used to be on a large farm.