Nottoway Plantation Restaurant & Inn

Subject: History

30970 Hwy. 405
White Castle, LA 70788

(225) 545-2730 | General Information
(225) 545-2730 ext. 2409 | Reservations
(225) 545-8632 | Fax

What you need to know!

General Public Hours and Admission Rates: Daily, 9:00am – 5:00pm; $10.00 Adults, $4.00 Children under 12 years old; Restaurant 11:00am – 3pm, 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

School Tour Hours and Admission Rates: Daily, 9:00am – 5:00pm; Group rates for 20 or more guests $8.00 Adults, $6.00 Students 14 – 17 years old, $3.50 Children under 14 years old

Student Chaperone Ratio Requested: 10:1
Advance Time Needed to Make Reservations: Three weeks
Advance deposit $100 required.
Number of Students per Visit: 120
Suggested Length of Time for Visit: One hour for tour plus one additional hour for restaurant meal
Handicapped Accessible: First floor of mansion, Randolph Hall Restaurant, and gift shop are handicapped accessible.
Grade Level Appropriate: 3rd – 12th
Lunch Facilities: Groups may picnic on the grounds. Groups are encouraged to make lunch reservations in the Randolph Hall Restaurant on site. Student lunch is around $10.00 per person.
Gift Shop: Partially
Bus parking available

Tell Us About It!

Nottoway Plantation is the epitome of antebellum elegance and conspicuous consumption. Nottoway was completed in 1859 and is among the largest surviving Civil War period plantations and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is situated in the heart of the Plantation Region on the west bank of the mighty Mississippi. Visitors can take in the riverfront view from the massive third floor veranda. The mansion reflects an unusual combination of Greek-Revival style architecture. The house was built with such rare innovations as indoor plumbing and hot and cold running water. The two floors are complete with some of the family’s original furniture. The cool basement has sugar industry displays and family documents recounting slavery on this 2,000-acre plantation. Confederate and Federal Troops saw battle action on the grounds.

What Can We See and Do There?

Louisiana was a patchwork of cultures and lifestyles during the second half of the 19th century. Nottoway Plantation is an outstanding example of the grand lifestyle associated with the aristocracy of the Deep South. Guided tours take visitors through elegant parlors, bedrooms, and work spaces describing the high-style life that only the most successful planter families could afford. Unlike the majority of south Louisiana residents, Nottoway was built and owned by Anglophiles. The basement exhibits are self-guided and worth seeing because the artifacts and documents attest to the number and the dependency of slave labor to run this plantation. Walks on the grounds offer fine views of the gardens and river. School groups are encouraged to make lunch reservations at Randolph Hall to augment the tour. With enough notice, the Executive Chef will do a cooking demonstration for students lunching in the dining room.

How Do We Get There?

From I-10 west towards Lafayette, after the bridge take the Plaquemine exit to LA Hwy. 1 south and travel 18 miles. The entrance to Nottoway is on the left side of LA Hwy. 1, the mansion faces River Road.

From I-10 east towards Baton Rouge take Exit 182 Donaldsonville/Sunshine Bridge. Turn left on Hwy. 22 and travel approximately .5 mile. Turn left on Hwy. 70 towards Sunshine Bridge. Stay in the right hand lane. Travel through Donaldsonville. towards LA Hwy. 1 north for about 12 miles to White Castle. Nottoway Plantation is two miles past White Castle on the right side of LA Hwy. 1.

Bad Weather! Now What Do We Do?

Tours are indoors and the building has climate control.

Louisiana State Educational Benchmarks and Standards

K-4th grades: H-1A-E1-2; H-1B-E1-2; H-1C-E1-4; G-1B-E1-4; G-1C-E2-5; G-1D-E2-4
5th-8th grades: H-1A-M1-3, 5; H-1B-M10-13; H-1D-M1-3, 5-6; G-1B-M1-4; G-1C-M2-6; G-1D-M2-4
9th-12th grades: H-1A-H1-2, 4, 6; H-1B-H4-5; G1-B-H1-4

What Can We Do In Class Before Our Field Trip?

Visit the plantation’s website for pictures of the Nottoway. Look at a map of south Louisiana and finger trace that part of the Mississippi River that went through the Plantation Region. Calculate the numeric relationship of a football field, (2.04 acres) to Nottoway Plantation, (2,000 acres).

S-T-R-E-T-C-H Out Your Field Trip Benefits

Visit Magnolia Mound Plantation (or the website), a colonial-period sugar plantation, and compare it to Nottoway Plantation, an antebellum plantation. What are the similarities and the differences? Hints: Similarities include cash crops and magnitude of slave labor used; Differences include Creole owners vs. Anglo owners, and 900 acres vs. 2,000 acres.