|  Oakley Plantation House
Courtesy of the Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council Kitchen and servants house located behind the main house
Photograph from the National Register collection |
Arriving
at Oakley Plantation on June 18, 1821, the young aspiring naturalist
John James Audubon wrote: "The rich magnolias covered with fragrant
blossoms, the holly, the beech, the tall yellow poplar, the hilly ground
and even the red clay, all excited my admiration." Audubon's stay at
Oakley lasted only four months, but he painted 32 of his famous bird
pictures here and developed a love for the beautiful West Feliciana
Parish. Mrs. Lucy Pirrie brought the young Audubon to Oakley as a tutor
for her daughter, Eliza. The arrangement required that Audubon spend
half his time teaching drawing to Eliza, but he was otherwise free to
roam the woods and work on his naturalistic paintings. For this Audubon
was to receive 60 dollars a month plus room and board for himself and
his 13-year-old pupil assistant, John Mason. Audubon returned at a later
date to join his wife, then teaching there, and his son. He wrote,
"Numerous pupils desired lessons in music, French and drawing. . .the
dancing speculation fetched two thousand dollars; and with this capital
and my wife's savings I was now able to foresee a successful issue to my
great ornithological work." This work was later to become Audubon's
famous
Birds of America.Oakley Plantation House is located in
the Audubon Memorial State Park in West Feliciana Parish. Construction
on the house began in 1799, when Ruffin Gray, a successful planter from
Natachez, Mississippi, moved here on land purchased from the Spanish
authorities. Gray died before the house was completed, and his widow
Lucy Alston oversaw its completion. She later married James Pierre of
Scotland. Eliza, the daughter of James Pierre and Lucy, was born here in
1805, and it was her future education that introduced Audubon to the
Felicianas. Oakley's interior has been restored to the Federal period
style (1790-1830), reflecting its appearance when Audubon stayed here.
The three-story home expresses the colonial architecture adapted to the
geographical location. Oakley Plantation House contains 17 rooms, with
front and side entrances leading to the landscaped grounds, which are
shaded by oak and ancient crape myrtle trees.
Oakley Plantation
House, within Audubon Memorial Park, is located 41/2 miles southeast of
St. Francisville on State Hwy. 965., off US Hwy. 61. It is open
9:00am to 5:00pm daily, there is a fee for adults, but children under 13
and seniors are free. Call 225-635-3739 for more information or visit
the park's website.
Source: Internet