Laura: Louisiana's Créole Heritage Site

08/23/2026

We were thrilled to welcome Dr. Dawn Chitty of the Afro-American Civil War Museum Memorial & Museum for a recent visit! Come hear the stories of 9 freedom fighters from Laura Plantation!

08/21/2026

The St. James Parish Economic Development Department is proud to host Vacherie Shopping Gathering!

Saturday, September 19th, 2026
12:00 noon - 4:00pm

Participating businesses:
Mon Amour Apparel and Gifts
St. Joseph and Felicity Plantations
Oak Alley Plantation Restaurant & Inn & Gift Shop
Laura: Louisiana's Créole Heritage Site

Pick up a stamp card at any participating business and leave it at your last stop for a chance to win prizes.

08/12/2026

Because the history of Laura Plantation belongs to everyone in St. James Parish !

08/04/2026

Guillaume Duparc, the founder of Laura Plantation, was at the center of two revolutions in North America. Two fights for freedom with very different outcomes.

07/24/2026

Nothing is quite so humbling as sharing our research with the descendants of the people who were enslaved here. Our dear friend Cathy has visited Laura a number of times.

Cathy is the great-great-granddaugher of Henriette Jean-Pierre and Flagy Duparc, owner of the plantation. A few years ago, she organized a family reunion in New Orleans and brought more than 100 members of her family for a visit. We closed Laura to the general public that day because it was important for them to experience the site and for us to be able to share their family history in a private, personal way.

Henriette's son Lucien Duparc was a founding member of the First Baptist Church of Vacherie. Yesterday, we were able to show Cathy that her great-grandfather's name is engraved on the cornerstone of the church, shown here in the photo and pointed out by Cathy. Later in the day, she visited the church that her ancestor helped found and where her family worshipped for generations.

07/16/2026

Following the Civil War, Laura's paternal first cousins (the children of her father's sister, Aimée Locoul) returned to their father's homeland in France. One of them, Françoise "F***y" de Lobel-Mahy, had married the French Consul in New Orleans, Count Paul d'Abzac. F***y's grand-daughter, Sophie M... (now deceased), was extremely generous to share family documents, photographs, and stories with Laura Plantation Company founders Norman and Sand Marmillion.

Not long before her death a few years ago, Sophie M... sent us a last, important gift. This mid-19th century cane back and seat Louisiana "chaise à bascule" (rocking chair) arrived safely in a large packing crate. Today, it sits once again in the nursery of the main house where her grandmother once lived as a child.

******

Suite à la Guerre de Sécession, les cousins germains de Laura, les enfants de sa tante Aimée, sont retournés en France, pays d'origine de leur père. Sa cousine Françoise "F***y" de Lobel-Mahy avait épousé le Consul de France à La Nouvelle-Orléans, le Comte Paul d'Abzac, dont la petite-fille, feue Sophie M... a très généreusement partagé des documents, des photos et des anecdotes familiales avec Norman et Sand Marmillion, fondateurs de la Laura Plantation Company.

Peu avant son décès il y a quelques années, Sophie M... nous a fait cadeau d'un dernier objet important. Cette "chaise à bascule" louisianaise du milieu du 19e siècle, caractérisée par son siège et dossier en cannage tressé, est arrivée en sécurité dans une énorme caisse en bois. Aujourd'hui, la chaise a retrouvé sa place dans la chambre d'enfants de la maison principale, là où sa grand-mère avait passé une partie de son enfance.

07/04/2026

Laura's closed today to allow our staff to spend time with family and friends.

It's a day of commemoration that allows us to reflect on the past 250 years of our country's history and the ongoing, often perilous road to freedom.

06/30/2026

06/26/2026

Did you know that most plantation families in Louisiana’s River Parishes spoke as their first language and then learned French as they began their formal education ?

It's logical if you think about it, because the children in the main house were brought up by Creole-speaking enslaved women who nursed them, cared for them, and told them stories like the West African folktales of Compair Lapin & Compair Bouki.

Many thanks to our friends at for this article in Louisiana Creole !

Mèsi in ta a nô zami-yé a lagazèt Jour jòrdi pou lartik-çila an
kréyol !

Ora Nouvèl-Òléan dan parwas Sin-Jak, vou kapab trouvé Labitasyon Laura obòr lalvé-la. In Labitasyon kréyol ki konsèrv in listwa ki konèkt dê jénérasyon, zetni, é lakiltir pou renn listwa aksèsib pou in gran piblik. Jou Jòrdi té parlé avèk Joseph Dunn, rèsponsab pou marketing, rèl...