Stones of Poynton Manor – Thomas Stone

When we think of the men who gathered that hot July day in 1776 to put their signature on the foundational document of the Declaration of Independence, many notable men come to mind. But each of the fifty-six men who signed were equally putting their lives on the line, whether they were notable or not….

The Four-Sided Pentagon

  One of the first questions asked by any visitor to the Pentagon Barracks in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is, “Where is the fifth building?” There is a space for it, but there are only four, hefty-columned brick buildings in a pentagon arrangement with the fifth side open to the river.   This architectural anomaly, originally…

The Questionable End of Armant Plantation

The Armant Brothers were like other antebellum plantation owners along the Mississippi River. They loved a good bet. Endowed with the recent inheritance of their father, Jean Baptiste Armant’s plantation, in 1858, the Armant Brothers had money with which to gamble.  Their profitable 1150-acre sugarcane plantation was located on the Mississippi River between present-day Oak…

Bonfires on the Bayou – An Acadian Reunion

Rosalie shifted her weight on the stiff, barge seat next to her sister Nathalie as they floated slowly up the bayou.  The two grey-haired ladies were looking around each bend with anticipation as the boat made its way up Bayou Teche.  The sun had set on this beautiful fall evening and the live oaks and…

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Dressed in his formal evening attire complete with top hat and cane, Jasper Strong stepped out of the carriage and offered his hand to his wife Eliza Julia who was elaborately dressed in her evening gown.  It shimmered in the lamp light as she descended from the carriage. Tonight they were attending a performance in…

The Fort Builder

Second Lieutenent Jasper Strong stood nearby as the mid-summer sun blazed down on the dark, uniformed backs of the soldiers. They hauled bricks from the stockpile across the sandy, swampy ground to the site of the new fort being built at the Rigolets pass near New Orleans, Louisiana. The fort was one of a string…

Fugitive, Fighter, and Founder – Frederick Stump (Part 2)

Frederick Stump was on the run.  Tagged as an “Indian killer” and a fugitive in Pennsylvania, he eventually made his way down through the colonies to Georgia.  There he settled with his family in the back-country on the Savannah River north of Augusta, once again building a home, a grist and saw mill and establishing a…

The Grave of the “General”

My mother and my family gathered around the “General’s” gravestone – 11/03 As we barreled down the narrow logging trail through tree branches and sloshed in and out of mud holes in our big green van, we finally saw it.  The tall grey spire peaked out above the high grass in a sun-lit clearing.  According…

Of Plantations and Hurricanes

The air was thick and sultry around the plantation on this hot August day — usual weather for a south Louisiana summer. And this day in 1856 was no different. Aspasie Frere, a youthful lady of society, had just given birth three months earlier to her seventh child. At 34 she was feeling weak and…