Last weekend’s Destrehan Plantation festival marked the end of a 44-year tradition that funded the historic house’s restoration, but the site’s growth and expansion signaled the time for a big change.
“We thought long and hard about it,” said Nancy Robert, executive director of the River Road Historical Society that manages the plantation and site. “It’s just the direction we need to go. As a nonprofit, we’re very grateful for the festival, which is what brought the plantation house back, but we just need to change our direction for future years.”
Robert said the nonprofit’s board of directors agreed the festival would have to change or be replaced by other smaller events because the parking area used by festival crafters and vendors will be lessened or taken up by bed and breakfast cottages being built or coming to the site.
Another two-day event or new events will be announced next year once the society better assesses the schedule for openings, she said. But Robert did say the society’s emphasis is on doing “a lot more for the community.”
“We’re always looking for innovative programs for the community,” she said. “We’ll concentrate on having several events during the year appealing to a broad group of people … several events through next year and years to follow. We’re looking forward to adding new things to our site. We look at this as a positive step that we’re growing and looking at how we can continue to operate and be around a long, long time.”
It’s change that Robert, in her 27 years with the society and plantation, welcomes as a necessary new direction for the historic site.
“We thank the community for their support all these years,” she said. “We’ve relied on the community for our volunteers throughout the years and part of the success of Destrehan Plantation.”
Robert also thanked the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office and parish government for assisting the plantation over the years.
“Saving Destrehan and the site is extremely important and, not only to save it, but to pass on the history of the facility,” she said. “Jean Noel Destrehan was a very important person in Louisiana history. We saved his house, but we tell the story of all the people of Destrehan Plantation.”
Amoco Oil Co. (now BP) donated the plantation and property to the River Road Historical Society in 1968. The festival soon followed and funded restoration of the house. Over the years, BP has since given them more property behind the plantation and helped with the expansion.
“Since we are a nonprofit, we’re doing this for the community and want the community to feel a part of this in preserving this historic house for many more years to come,” Robert said.
The change is partly due to a $1 million donation the nonprofit organization received last year from the Azby Fund, a New Orleans family foundation established by Herbert Harvey Jr.
The historical society received the first of four $250,000 payments this year.
These funds helped initiate the plantation’s Master Development Plan. It includes the new administrative center, a welcome center, two double bed and breakfast cottages, a children’s birthday party and small event rental facility, interactive educational activity center, a maintenance building and enhancing roadways, the parking area and signs.
Robert said they’re also completing the first year of the four-year plan that calls for six bed and breakfast cottages, a number that could reach eight by 2018.
“We’re dedicated to educational programs and historic preservation as a nonprofit, but want to expand our educational and community programs by doing several events throughout the year,” she said.
Robert also foresees the cottages bringing more people and tax dollars into the parish.
Also, she added they’ve moved into a new administrative center and construction has begun on their first cottage, which they anticipate completing by early next year. Also, the parish donated a small house known as the Bethlehem Hall, that will be relocated to the site and upgraded as a bed and breakfast cottage later this year. In 1994, the parish government acquired a piece of the property on Joe Louis Lane, including the house.
“We get people from all over the world any given day,” Robert said. “We’ve accomplished a lot. You see what the plantation looked like completely restored. We’re just really proud of what we’ve been able to do.”
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