On July 15 representatives of the National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters went to
Houmas House Plantation, Darrow, Louisiana to present the Society’s plaque.
President General David Stringfellow, Treasurer General Joseph J. Smith Ill and member Nancy
Stringfellow made the presentation to Mf. Kevin Kelly, owner of Houmas House Plantation.
American Revolutionary War General Wade Hampton purchased the plantation in 1811. The plantation
was managed by John Smith Preston starting about 1825. John Smith Preston was married to Caroline
Hampton, the daughter of Wade Hampton. ln 1840 the Prestons built a new main house in front of the
old house – a mansion in the Greek Revival style surrounded by large Doric columns.
The more than 10,000-acre estate was purchased by John Burnside, a native of Belfast, Ireland, in 1857.
Burnside increased the acreage of the plantation to 12,000 acres within a few years. Unlike many of the
other Mississippi River plantations, Houmas House Plantation was not occupied by Union troops during
the Civil War because of John Burnside being a British citizen.
The plantation passed through several owners after John Burnside until being purchased by Dr. George
Crozat in 1940. His family owned the plantation until 2003 when ownership passed to the current owner,
Mr. Kevin Kelly.
Houmas House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It has been the location for
a number of films, television shows, and commercials. Perhaps the best known film featuring scenes at
Houmas House was Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte with Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland.
