Antebellum Homes on LA 182 - New Iberia, LA
N 30° 00.247 W 091° 48.960
15R E 614193 N 3319831
There are several well-known New Iberia landmark antebellum homes along LA 182/Main Street -- the old alignment of the Old Spanish Trail Auto Route.
Waymark Code: WMQZ92
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 04/18/2016
Views: 5
Drive this segment of LA 182 and marvel at all the Spanish moss-covered Live Oaks and the haunting visions of these antebellum mansions made possible by slave labor in the local sugarcane and rice fields.
The modern route of the US 90 passes through New Iberia a few blocks west but the old route goes through downtown on the LA SH 182.
Shadows on the Teche is the most famous of many antebellum historic homes in New Iberia along the old route of the OST.
From Drive the OST: (
visit link)
"Shadows-on-the-Teche, New Iberia: Just west of the Huey P. Long Bridge, the adventurous traveler can take a break from hectic US 90 and follow the old highway. However, the impatient driver may want to wait and exit at Raceland, 35 miles southwest of New Orleans, to pickup up the Old Spanish Trail Scenic Byway. This scenic road essentially follows the route of the Old Spanish Trail through Sugar Cane and Cajun Country all the way to Lafayette. The moss-draped byway provides numerous opportunities to tour museums and historic plantations and explore cypress swamps by boat.
Shadows-on-the Teche, right on the Old Spanish Trail in New Iberia, is a 1834 hybrid Georgian Revival and Creole “town” mansion built by sugar planter David Weeks. Nearly one hundred years later, with the mansion in a great state of decay, the builder’s great-grandson William Weeks Hall engaged in a project to return the grand home to its 19th century appearance. Docents on the tour tell colorful stories of Weeks Hall, an aesthete and a probable schizophrenic, and his celebrity guests.