The Asphodel Plantation is a historic building and former plantation, completed in c.1830 and located about south of

Jackson, Louisiana Jackson is a town in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,842 at the 2010 U.S. census, down from 4,130 in 2000; the 2020 population estimates program determined Jackson had a population of 3,707. It is part of ...

, United States. It was built by Benjamin Kendrick, a cotton planter and slave owner. Both the house and the cemetery on the property were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on November 15, 1972.

History

The Asphodel Plantation was built as a cottage between 1820 until 1830, by Benjamin Kendrick (1779–1838) as a gift to his wife Caroline (née Pollard; ?–1833). The name "Asphodel" is a term derived from the liliaceous plant family; it was used in ancient Greece and by 18th century English and French poets to describe either daffodils (or

narcissus Narcissus may refer to: Biology * ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others People * Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character * Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor Commodus * Tiberiu ...

). During Kendrick's ownership of the property, enslaved African American labor was used on this plantation to grow cotton. In 1838, Asphodel Plantation was inherited by his daughter Isabella Kendrick Fluker (1816–1875) and her husband,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

David Jones Fluker. wit
three photos and two maps
With . During the siege of Port Hudson in 1863, in the midst of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, "a group of

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

soldiers set fire to Asphodel" but "the fire went out." The house was restored and renovated by the new owner John Fetzers and his sons, starting in 1949. It was purchased by Robert E. Couhig in July 1958.

Architecture

The architecture of Asphodel Plantation is

Greek Revival architecture The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style, complete with six doric columns in the front exterior. The front exterior of the building is symmetrical and has two front doors. The structure has 14 rooms.

Legacy

The house and cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places since November 15, 1972. Author

Lyle Saxon Lyle Saxon (18911946) was a writer and journalist who reported for ''The Times-Picayune'' in New Orleans, Louisiana. He directed the Federal Writers' Project Works Progress Administration (WPA) guide to Louisiana. Life Saxon was born on Septem ...

described Asphodel as the "jewel of Louisiana." When the plantation was being built,

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

came to Asphodel to paint portraits of Isabella Kendrick Fluker and two of her sons; the paintings are located in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and have the inscription, "painted at their beloved Asphodel". In '' South and West: From a Notebook'', Joan Didion writes that Ben Toledano's wife suggested she visit the Asphodel Plantation as well as the

Rosedown Plantation Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site is an historic home and former plantation located in St. Francisville, Louisiana, United States. Built in 1835 by the slaveholders Daniel and Martha Turnbull, it is one of the most documented and intact p ...

, the Oakley Plantation and

Stanton Hall Stanton Hall, also known as Belfast, is an Antebellum Classical Revival mansion at 401 High Street in Natchez, Mississippi. Built in the 1850s, it is one of the most opulent antebellum mansions to survive in the southeastern United States. It i ...

to understand the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

better.

History

Architecture

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading