Bocage Plantation

Bocage Plantation was established in January 1801, 5 years after Étienne de Boré proved that sugarcane cultivation could be profitable in southern Louisiana[3] and 2 years before the Louisiana Purchase. It was a wedding gift from St. James Parish planter Marius Pons Bringier to his eldest daughter, 14-year-old Francoise "Fanny" Bringier, on the occasion of her marriage to 34-year-old Parisian bon vivant Christophe Colomb.[4][5][6][7][1]

The original house, built in 1801 and destroyed by fire in or before 1837, was a "raised Creole house—brick on the first floor supporting a heavy-timber frame above".[8] At first, it was thought that this house was at the same site as, and the basis for, the current house, until, "during the process [of the 2008 restoration], the bases of four symmetrically placed chimneys[,] surrounded by charred remains and fragments of brick and broken glass [glass dating to 1800], were discovered buried about 40 feet behind the [current] house."[5][4][7][1]

Although sources vary as to the certainty of it, the design of the current, 1837, house has been attributed to James H. Dakin, who came to Louisiana in 1835, was employed by the Bringier family, and was skilled in Greek Revival architecture.[5] Distinctive features of the façade include the massive entablature, with pediment design on the parapet and denticulated cornice, supported across the entire front by square, giant order columns forming a double gallery.[9] The front staircase is not original; it was added during the 2008 restoration based on the oldest known picture/watercolor painting of Bocage done at the beginning of the 20th century over 100 years prior to the new staircase being added.[10][11] The upper gallery was used to film a scene in the movie "Twelve Years a Slave". The upper gallery opens into a large double parlor on the premier étage, where rooms open into each other, without halls, in the Creole style, with a cabinet-loggia at the rear. Giant twelve-feet-tall sliding doors separate the upper parlors when closed. The roof once served as a rainwater catch basin, with the fresh water shunted through pipes to a cistern on each side, in back of the house.[12][13][5][4][1]

After many years of neglect, the house was salvaged and restored in 1941 by Drs. E. G. Kohlsdorf and Anita Crozat (Mrs. Kohlsdorf).[7][10] An auction in 2007 sold various furnishings from the house and grounds.[14] In 2008 the house— was further restored using up to date engineering principles and all known history by its new owner, Dr. Marion Rundell—became a B&B which also offered public tours. The plantation was is severe disrepair in 2007 and the 2008 restoration was done to save the mansion from complete ruin.[5][15][1]

Bocage Plantation is located on Louisiana Highway 942, along the River Road, in Darrow, Ascension Parish, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, but on a meander that puts it north and west of the river.[16] The plantation is across the river from the parish seat of Donaldsonville, and about 25 miles southeast of Baton Rouge.

Bocage Plantation was used as a setting for "Shaw Farm" in the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave.[17]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ascension Parish, Louisiana

• Campbell, Cynthia V. (May 18, 2010). Insider's Guide to Baton Rouge. Globe Pequot. pp. 101–102. ISBN 9780762763368. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
• Martin, Gay N. (April 18, 2009). Louisiana Off the Beaten Path, 9th: A Guide to Unique Places (9th ed.). Globe Pequot. p. 119. ISBN 9780762756278. Retrieved April 16, 2014.

• Official Website