Last updated: September 4, 2024
Place
A Canopied Path
Christy Hoover
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez, LA
The allee, which means path in French, was crucial to the landscape of the Main House. Live Oaks (Quercus virginiana) were transplanted for both beauty and purpose. Transplanting trees is an enourmous undertaking and required a planted who had the money and labor for such a project.
According to the Prud'homme family, the live oaks, so named because they retain their leaves nearly year round, were transplanted from the Gulf Coast in the mid-1820s about five years afer the house construction. All the transplanting and care of the trees were likely done by enslaved gardeners.
The age of the trees at the time of their transplanting is unknown, however live oaks can grow almost thirty feet in their first ten years. Fully mature trees, while beautiful, served a greater practical purpose giving shade and drawing cool river breezes to the Main House.
Artist rendering showing how the Oak Allee draws the river breezes to the Main House.
According to the Prud'homme family, the live oaks, so named because they retain their leaves nearly year round, were transplanted from the Gulf Coast in the mid-1820s about five years afer the house construction. All the transplanting and care of the trees were likely done by enslaved gardeners.
The age of the trees at the time of their transplanting is unknown, however live oaks can grow almost thirty feet in their first ten years. Fully mature trees, while beautiful, served a greater practical purpose giving shade and drawing cool river breezes to the Main House.
Artist rendering showing how the Oak Allee draws the river breezes to the Main House.