Our Afternoon at Oak Alley Plantation
Being that I never explored much of Louisiana aside from New Orleans I wanted to make a trip somewhere out of town. Being a photographer, I’m always looking for interesting places to visit and document. During our searches, one thing kept popping up and that was plantation tours. Some of these place were really beautiful but being a plantation in the south I knew that beauty came with an ugly history. I was very apprehensive about going to a plantation due to how plantations were built and run off of the backs of slave labor. We decided we would go to Oak Ally Plantation, enjoy the grounds, learn about the history of the place and hope they didn’t create a false narrative about its history.
As you can see, the main thing that drew me to wanting to visit this plantation in particular was their remarkable Live Oak Tree Tunnel. This row of trees is said to be 200-250 years old. Upon arriving at the plantation it was apparent there were slave quarters still present. We initially walked around those quarters where they had information about the day to day life of the people held there against their will. These quarters were essentially uninsulated sheds with fireplaces in them. They had to provide healthcare for each using both West African and American practices. The slaves weren’t formally trained in medical care, but were taught by others. One of the signs said it was very possible they could die just from visiting the infirmary for something less deadly. There were artifacts around them such as shackles, punishment devices, clothes, beds, etc… One of the most striking photos was a device attached to a slaves neck as a punishment. It looks absolutely degrading.
These things are important to have in a place like this. They made the information very easy to see and had examples of the awfulness that occurred there. There is a problem with historical facts about these places becoming a false narrative. I’m glad that Oak Alley was very matter of fact with their presentation of facts. My wife and I spent a nice amount of time walking around the grounds then went into the house for their guided tour. Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take any photo inside the house itself. Our guide was really informative and explained some of the history of the slaves working inside the house. We were allowed to take a few photos on the gallery of the house. It’s essentially the wrap around balcony located on the second floor of the house.
As you can see the view is stunning. It was beginning to be late in the day and the sun was coming through the sides of the trees in a pleasing way. I would absolutely suggest going closer to sunset to experience it the same way. After leaving the house we had just about an hour till the place closed and the light was perfect at this point. We made our way back to the tree so I can take photos of my wife within among the trees.
This was definitely a good experience and I’m glad I put my apprehensions aside to visit this place. I’m glad that suffering of the slaves was addressed and wasn’t hidden or changed. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and worth the visit.