Typical of the South of the USA is this manor house which can be found in the town of St. Francisville near the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The main plantation house, the “Great House”, was established in 1834 by Daniel Turnbull. The Turnbulls named the plantation after a play they had seen on their honeymoon. The great house is surrounded by 12 ha large gardens in English and French styles which were laid out and tended by Daniel Turnbull’s wife. She kept very extensive garden diaries which enabled a faithful restoration of the gardens. The Tunbulls bought more and more new land so that at its height, the plantation encompassed 1,400 ha. The plantation was mainly planted with cotton. In the strongest years of production, about 450 slaves worked at the plantation. In 1956, Catherine Fondren Underwood bought the plantation and returned the gardens and the main house to their original appearance in eight years of work. Today, the plantation is managed by the Office of State Parks and is a popular excursion destination. At Minimundus, the main building as well as 4 of the 13 still existing dependencies of the plantation can be seen.
