Destrehan Plantation named state’s top attraction

Courtesy Photo

Destrehan Planatation was awarded a 2010 Travel and Tourism Louey Award.

Destrehan Plantation has been awarded a 2010 Travel and Tourism Industry Louey Award for Travel Attraction of the Year after completing several high-profile projects that set them apart from the competition.

The plantation beat out 24 other attractions, which were all judged by out-of-state judges.

“We are honored that Destrehan Plantation was chosen as the 2010 Louisiana Travel Attraction of the Year.  We have added programming and exhibits in our quest to become a Louisiana Cultural Heritage Tourism site. We thank all those who assisted us in achieving this goal,” said Nancy Robert, Executive Director.

One of the main projects that Destrehan Plantation completed during the judging time period included the “Herbert J. Harvey Jr. Legacy Room.” The room, which includes documents and artifacts from both the Historic New Orleans Collection and Destrehan Plantation, allows visitors to take a deeper look into the personal lives of the Destrehan ancestors.

The tour of the house was also modified to include more information on Destrehan descendants, thereby enticing the visitor’s interest to learn more through the exhibit, Robert said.

Another interesting project is the “Weaving House,” which was completed in November 2009. In the house, which has a weaving loom, demonstrations of weaving are shown on a rotating basis along with other demonstrations. Another added exhibit features traps and other artifacts which were used for fishing in the area, depicting the way of life in southeast Louisiana.

Another recent program sought input from students and allowed them to add to the interactive displays that are shown during annual fall and spring Heritage Day events. Students from the Wetland Watchers even showed various animals and live plants found in the wetland.

Around 7,000 school children visited the Heritage Day events during the 2009-2010 school year.

And of course, the plantation has focused a lot of it’s time on the 1811 slave revolt, which had its 200-year anniversary on Jan. 8. Plantation staff worked with Tulane University African American Studies in early 2010 to begin plans for researching the revolt and events are scheduled throughout the year.

“The unique history of Destrehan Plantation is one that cannot be equaled,” Robert said. “The River Road Historical Society has been in existence for 40 years with the mission of preservation and restoration of Destrehan Plantation and other historic sites along the River Road in Louisiana for the education and enjoyment of future generation.

“During the past year, great strides were made to complete that mission by all involved with the day-to-day operation of Destrehan Plantation.”