The Majesty of the River Road

Ashland-Belle Helene

Darrow

Ashland plantation was originally named after Henry Clay's home in Kentucky. The grand Greek Revival house, completed in 1841, was presented by Duncan Farrar Kenner to his wife, Anne Guillemine Nanine Bringier.

Kenner became one of the leading sugar planters in Louisiana. He was also a noted horseman, gambler, lawyer, and politician. In 1865 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Europe by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to help gain the support of France and England. An advocate of scientific methods of farming, he also founded a sugar experimental station and the Sugar Planters Association.

John Reuss purchased Ashland in 1889and renamed the plantation Belle Helene in honor of his granddaughter, the late Helene Reuss (Mrs. W. C. Hayward, Sr.).

Built in monumental Greek Revival style, 28 three-foot-square, thirty-foot-high stuccoed brick columns support the upper gallery and a massive entablature. Surrounding the sixty-foot-square house are lower and upper twelve-foot-wide galleries.

Unoccupied and unattended from 1939 to 1946, the house suffered from the elements. In 1946, however, the Haywards began major restoration of the magnificent structure. Considerable damage was inflicted upon the home in 1959 by vandals who completely destroyed all eight Italian marble fireplaces. Ashland-Belle Helene was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on May 4,1979.

Malus-Beauregard House

Chalmette

During the 1830s this splendid Greek Revival house was built on the banks of the Mississippi River. In 1880, Judge Rene Beauregard, son of General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, bought the property and resided with his family in the mansion until 1904. These were happy years for the Beauregards. The general's grandchildren delighted in his visits and roamed the verdant grounds with him.

Eight huge Doric columns extend from the ground to the hipped, gabled roof in the front and the rear. An elegant wooden railing encircles both front and rear recessed galleries. Made of brick covered with cement, the house consists of two stories and an attic.

The rear of this magnificent home offers a breathtaking view of the river. The front of the home overlooks the site of the Battle of New Orleans, which took place on January 8, 1815. (The Americans, under the command of General Andrew Jackson, won a decisive victory against the British in the conflict.) Authentic cannons, reconstructed ramparts, and the Chalmette National Cemetery are visible from the front gallery.

Now a museum owned by the National Park Service, the house remains closed due to damage from Hurricane Katrina though repairs are