This post is a review of Evergreen Plantation with info on tickets, tours, and online review analysis.
We'll also include details about the history of this location.
- Tour Highlights
- Visiting Hours and Tickets
- History of Evergreen
- Reviews of Evergreen
- Other New Orleans Plantations
GETTING HERE
Evergreen Plantation is located at 4677 Hwy. 18 (River Road) in Edgard, LA just about three miles downriver of the Veterans Memorial Bridge that spans the Mississippi River at Gramercy & Wallace Louisiana.
As you can see on the map, this historic site is also right down the road from Whitney Plantation.
Please check Plantation's website for detailed directions.
You can also contact them at evergreenplantation@gmail.com or call 985.497.3837
Kindly note that Evergreen is no longer open for tours. It is now only dedicated to research and education. We will let you know if they ever start tours again. Meanwhile, do check out other plantation tours of New Orleans.
TOURS
In order to see the plantation you MUST take a tour. You cannot walk the grounds freely.
However, the tours are quite good and you will learn information that gives context to the sites you will see.
In the 90-minute tour, you will visit the enclave of 22 still-intact slave cabins behind the main house.
Guides focus on the plantation’s reliance on slave labor and how, after emancipation, the dependence on free African-Americans was necessary to maintain the plantation.
You will also hear stories highlighting 250 years of family ownership and hear about the architecture of Evergreen Plantation’s buildings.
VISITING HOURS AND TICKETS
The gates are open starting at 10:30 a.m. and close at 2:15 p.m.
Tours are given
- Mondays- Saturdays (Closed Sundays)
- 11:30 am
- 2:00 pm
Closed for the following holidays
|
|
Tickets
Purchase your tickets AT the plantation. * CASH OR CHECK ONLY * Prices are:
- $20 Adults (18+)
- $6 Children (5-17 years old)
- Children under 5 are free
- Discount rates are available for students, the military, and seniors.
Groups of 10 or more must call and arrange a tour ahead of schedule. Discounted rates are available for groups.
NOTE: Evergreen Plantation is currently closed due to the pandemic, and we do not yet know when they will begin offering tours again. The prices above reflect the last known cost of tickets.
SHORT HISTORY OF EVERGREEN PLANTATION
While there is very limited documentation about Evergreen Plantation, it continues to draw a wide stretch of spectators.
Evergreen is uniquely different from other plantations in the surrounding area because of its 37 buildings.
Most plantations have lost many if not all of their quarters outside of the main house due to several different natural disasters and wars.
However Evergreen still features many of its original structures in a remarkable state at that.
Click here for a Virtual Tour of lovely photographs
The main house was constructed in 1790 and eventually remodeled in a Greek Revival style of which it remains to this day.
The site features two rows of oak trees that are over 200 years old which line the 22 original slave cabins that still remain on the site.
An original “garconnière” which young men who were visiting the plantation would utilize as sleeping quarters is also still intact on the grounds.
Each building excluding 8 is of antebellum, neoclassical architectural style.
In 1832, Pierre C Becnel completely remodeled the home adding Doric columns and two fanlight doorways at the top and bottom of a double stairway that is a distinctive attribute of the property.
The 1860 census lists Lezin Becnel and his brother owners of the plantation, who at the time owned 103 slaves. Today Evergreen Plantation continues to operate as a privately owned sugar cane plantation.
All 37 buildings remain listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the site itself is the only intact plantation in the south.
Recently, the 2011 hit movie "Django Unchained" filmed scenes here.
The film is about a slave (Jamie Foxx) who is brutalized by his 'owner' (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and then goes about seeking revenge.
One of the most popular scenes in the film was shot on the front spiraling steps of Evergreen.
REVIEWS OF EVERGREEN PLANTATION
Evergreen Plantation sports 4 ½ stars on TripAdvisor and 4 stars on Yelp. Couples lead the pack of user reviews followed close behind by families.
While there are many reviews that note the house is much smaller than it appears on the outside and only takes about 10 minutes to tour, the grounds surrounding the house seem to be the real seller.
Unlike other plantations, users have the unique experience of seeing the slave cabins in their original state.
The guides are reviewed as very friendly and helpful during the hour-and-a-half tour. It has been commonly reported that the tour involves a lot of walking which older people should keep in mind.
For other plantation visits in and around New Orleans, please see our post, Best New Orleans Plantations.
