Oak Alley

[River Rat]

Oak Alley begins with the trees! In the early 1700's, a settler built a small house on the site of the present mansion. It was he who planted the twenty-eight double row of live oaks that reached from his house to the Mississippi River. This formal planting is a historic landscape design long recognized for its beauty. Jacques Roman, a wealthy Creole sugar planter and brother of twice Louisiana governor Andre Roman, acquired the property. He enlisted the architectural skills of his soon to be father-in-law, Joseph Pilie, to design the present mansion as a gift and dream home for his bride, young Lady Celine Pilie. By 1839, with 28 colossal colonnade columns, 7,500 sq.ft. of elegant living, 13 ft. of cool wrap around verandas and a spectacular view of the meandering river through the 28 gorgeous live oaks, his bride's social life became even more opulent! The riverboat captains referred to the estate as, "Alley of the Oaks", and this well deserved distinction evolved into the current "Oak Alley"! In 1848, Jacques succumb to TB and by 1866, unable to controll her incessant spending, Oak Alley was sold at auction to John Armstrong. Celina died shortly after. Several owners followed Armstrong, and by the 1920's, the house was in a state of deterioration. Andrew and Josephine Stewart purchased the property in 1925 and hired architect Richard Koch to conduct extensive restoration to the "Big House". Five years before her death in 1972, Josephine Stewart established the "Oak Alley Foundation" for the preservation of it's magnificent beauty, stately elegance and rich history! View and relish in the grandeur of the mid-1800's along the great river road, when Sugar was King!


When I visited Oak Alley, I quickly noticed no moss hanging from the oaks. I asked the tour hostess "why no moss?" She stated "it was spooky & ghostly" to the previous owner (forgot which one) so the trees are sprayed yearly to prevent the moss from growing.

[roceda]

I also was wondering what happend to the Spanish moss that used to be almost everywhere. I thought it may have been killed off by all the polution we have now. Thanks for the info. RR. Ron.