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Man Spends 16 Years Turning An Old Plantation Into A Memorial To Honor The Once Enslaved

January 5, 2015

John Cummings spent 16 years turning an old plantation in Louisiana into a slavery memorial. This year, the Whitney Plantation opened its doors to the public for the first time in its 262 year history, as the only plantation museum in Louisiana with a focus on slavery.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Through museum exhibits, memorial artwork and restored buildings and hundreds of first-person slave narratives, visitors to Whitney will gain a unique perspective on the lives of Louisiana's enslaved people.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Credit: Whitney Plantation

The wall of honor.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Commemorating the slaves that lived and worked on the Whitney Plantation.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

The Antioch Church.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Credit: Whitney Plantation

The Whitney Plantation, originally known as Habitation Haydel, is located less than an hour from New Orleans.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Ambroise Heidel (1702-ca.1770), the founder of this plantation, emigrated from Germany to Louisiana with his mother and siblings in 1721.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

After the Civil War (1867) the plantation was sold to Bradish Johnson of New York, who named the property after his grandson Harry Payne Whitney.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

As a site of memory and consciousness, the Whitney Plantation Museum is meant to pay homage to all slaves on the plantation itself and to all of those who lived elsewhere in the US South.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Historian Dr. Ibrahima Seck spent the last 10 years compiling the history of the grounds from public records of the times and any information on the related families. According to some, the slave narratives are "like reading Hemmingway short stories."

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Credit: Whitney Plantation

Here is John Cummings with Dr. Ibrahima Seck, and Dr. Ibrahima's son, John, on opening day.

Credit: Whitney Plantation

For more information, visit WhitneyPlantation.com.