OAK ALLEY FOUNDATION GRADES K-5 Plantation Life Supplemental Materials for Oak Alley Plantation K-5

What is a “Big House”? The planter’s house. It was given its name because it was usually the largest building.

What is a Slave? What is a Plantation? A person who is owned by another person. Not free.

• A plantation was a very large farm that grew crops for sale such What is as cotton, tobacco or sugarcane. Sugarcane? • Plantations were owned by men and women called planters. They did not work in the fields, but instead owned slaves. • Oak Alley was a sugarcane plantation. Owned by a French Creole family, the Romans, it was a large estate with a “Big House”, barns, sugar mill and 1200 acres of land planted in sugarcane. A reed-like plant that holds syrupy juice which is turned into sugar.

1 PLANTATION LIFE: OAK ALLEY GRADES K-5

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THE ALLEY In front of the plantation’s “Big House” stands a row of Virginia Live Oaks. These trees are not only beautiful to look at, but the tunnel they make creates a cool breeze from the River to the House. While these trees are very old—approximately 300 years—the average age for a Live Oak is 600 years, making these only middle aged!

There are 28 trees, to match the 28 columns on the “Big House”.

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THE PLANTATION BELL Before cell phones and walkie talkies, messages were sent across the huge plantation by ringing the plantation bell. It could be rung in a variety of ways: quickly, with long tolls, or by longer pauses between each ring—and each combination had a different message. Some of the reasons the bell was rung were to signal work time, lunch time, or raise the alarm if there was an emergency.

It is so loud, a person 2 miles away at the end of the plantation could still hear it.

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THE “BIG HOUSE” Jacques and Celina Roman’s house was built by their slaves over 175 years ago. The Romans chose a popular style called “Greek Revival” which included very large columns around the entire house. Its thick, brick walls kept the house cool in the hot Louisiana weather, helped by shady porches, called “galleries”.

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SUGARCANE Sugarcane was the crop grown on Oak Alley Plantation. Slaves cut and processed the sugar every year, bringing the tall stalks to the sugarhouse where the juice was squeezed out into giant sugar Sugar kettle kettles. The slaves put the kettles over fires and cooked the juice until the moisture evaporated and the juice became thicker. They skimmed the thick sugar off the top and put it into a smaller kettle, repeating the process until syrup remained. This process was called a “Jamaican Train.”

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SLAVERY The Romans kept many slaves at Oak Alley Plantation. Most worked in the sugarcane fields: planting, weeding, and harvesting. They were called “field slaves”; their days were long and very tiring and they were not paid for their work.

Other slaves worked in the “Big House” cooking the Roman family’s meals, doing their laundry and cleaning. These were called “house slaves”.

A third group of slaves worked on the plantation, called “craftsmen.” These were men who were taught a specific task, such as making barrels for the sugar, making shoes, or working as a blacksmith.

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THE ROMANS Jacques and Celina Roman were the Planters at Oak Alley Plantation and owned the estate, animals and slaves.

The Romans were very wealthy. From the luxurious “Big House” Jacques Roman Celina Roman Jacques oversaw plantation operations, while Celina raised their children Louise, Octavie and Henri. Jacques and Celina brought in teachers to teach the children French and English, and the young Romans were never short of toys or amusements or visitors.

While the Romans lived at Oak Alley much of the time, they took many trips to New Orleans. There, the women bought clothes and things for the house, while Jacques ordered machinery and materials for the sugarhouse.

3 Color Oak Alley!

4 5 Discover Oak Alley!

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