Oakley Plantation House - St. Francisville, LA
N 30° 47.794 W 091° 18.455
15R E 661921 N 3408281
Also known as Oakley Plantation House or Audubon Memorial State Park. John James Audubon painted and tutored here during the early 1820's.
Waymark Code: WM7AJY
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 09/27/2009
Views: 7
Very nice State of Louisiana operated park facility. The grounds and house and all outbuidings are very well maintained. Very nice welcome and visitor center, also has good history. The tour takes about an hour, and all 3 floors are opened. The grounds feature nature walkways through the area. The gardens and immediate big house grounds are well kept. There is a good bit of history found online, but here is the Register application statement, that I found hereOAKLEY PLANTATION HOUSE IS LOCATED IN THE AUDUBON MEMORIAL STATE
PARK IN WEST FELICIANA PARISH. CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOUSE WAS STARTED IN
1799 ON A SPANISH LAND GRANT BY RUFFIN GRAY, A SUCCESSFUL PLANTER FROM
NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI. GRAY DIED BEFORE THE HOUSE WAS COMPLETED. HIS WIDOW
LUCY ALSTON FINISHED THE HOUSE AND REMARRIED JAMES PIRRIE OF SCOTLAND.
PIRRIE THUS INHERITED OAKLEY AND THE TWO GRAY CHILDREN, RUFFIN JR. AND MARY
ANN.
TO THIS MARRIAGE A DAUGHTER ELIZA, WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 6, 1805 AT
OAKLEY. THIS WAS THE YOUNG LADY WHO INDIRECTLY INTRODUCED THE ASPIRING
ARTIST AND NATURALIST JOHN JAMES AUDUBON TO THE BEAUTIFUL FELICIANAS. IN THE
SPRING IT WAS CUSTOMARY FOR THE PLANTERS FROM SURROUNDING PARISHES TO
BRING THEIR FAMILIES TO NEW ORLEANS FOR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PURPOSES. IT
WAS ON SUCH AN OCCASION IN THE SPRING OF 1821, THAT MRS. JAMES PIRRIE MET
AUDUBON. AT THIS TIME AUDUBON WAS IN DESPERATE CIRCUMSTANCES AS HE WAS
HARD PUT TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING FOR HIMSELF AND HIS THIRTEEN YEAR OLD, PUPIL
ASSISTANT, JOHN MASON, BY GIVING DRAWING LESSONS WHILE WORKING ON HIS
MONUMENTAL BIRDS OF AMERICA.
MRS. PIRRIE PERCEIVED THAT AUDUBON WAS OF A CULTURED BACKGROUND,
BEING SKILLED IN DANCE AND LANGUAGE AS WELL AS ART. AND ACCORDINGLY
ENGAGED HIM TO JOURNEY TO OAKLEY AS A TUTOR TO MISS ELIZA.
THE ARRANGEMENT REQUIRED THAT AUDUBON SPEND HALF HIS TIME TEACHING
DRAWING TO MISS ELIZA. HE WAS OTHERWISE FREE TO ROAM THE WOODS AND WORK ON HIS PAINTINGS. FOR THIS AUDUBON WAS TO RECEIVE SIXTY DOLLARS A MONTH
PLUS ROOM AND BOARD FOR HIMSELF AND YOUNG MASON.
AUDUBON ARRIVED AT OAKLEY JUNE 18, 1821. OF HIS FIRST IMPRESSION HE
WROTE IN HIS JOURNAL: “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 DID NOT LAST LONG. ON OCTOBER THE 20th OF THE
SAME YEAR HE SET SAIL FOR NEW ORLEANS. ALTHOUGH HIS STAY LASTED ONLY FOUR
MONTHS, HE PAINTED THIRTY-TWO OF HIS FAMOUS BIRD PICTURES AND DEVELOPED A
LOVE FOR THE BEAUTIFUL WEST FELICIANA.
OAKLEY HOUSE CONTAINS MANY ANTIQUES OF THE 1790-1830 FEDERAL PERIOD
AS WELL AS EXAMPLES OF AUDUBON'S PAINTINGS. THE HOUSE AND GROUNDS RECEIVE
HEAVY VISITATION BY LOUISIANA RESIDENTS, OUT OF STATE VISITORS AND STUDENTS.
Street address: 4.5 mi. E of St. Francisville in Audubon Memorial State Park St. Francisville , LA USA 70775
County / Borough / Parish: West Feliciana
Year listed: 1973
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Periods of significance: 1750-1799, 1800-1824
Historic function: Domestic. Sub - Single Dwelling
Current function: Recreation And Culture. Sub - Museum
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2009 To: 12/31/2009
Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Privately owned?: Not Listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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