The Houmas

The mansion presents Greek Revival design with 14 white Doric columns rising from the ground to support the roofline, alongside a Federal-style hipped roof with arched dormers and a central belvedere that crowns the two-and-a-half-story stucco-covered brick structure.

The property was purchased from the Houma Indians in 1774, with the earliest structures dating to around 1809, while the current main house was constructed around 1840 by John Smith Preston and his wife Caroline Hampton Preston during the height of Louisiana's sugar economy.

During the mid-19th century harvest season, the plantation served as a social center where the Preston family hosted extended gatherings featuring meals of Gulf seafood, wild game, fruits, and vegetables for up to 30 family members and guests at a time.

Visitors can tour the mansion, formal gardens, and historic outbuildings including six-sided brick garçonnières with distinctive ogee-shaped roofs, and the site offers restaurant facilities, event spaces, and overnight accommodations for those interested in experiencing the restored property firsthand.

During the Civil War, owner John Burnside prevented Union General Benjamin Butler from seizing the estate by claiming immunity as a British subject, making it one of the few major plantations to avoid occupation by federal troops during that period.