Former Large Cotton Plantation in Weyanoke LA

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Como Plantation, located near the mouth of Como Bayou, is the only plantation home in south Louisiana with an unobstructed view of the Mississippi River. Unlike other riverfront plantations in Louisiana, there is no levee between Como Plantation and the river. Como is also the only riverfront plantation house in the project area between Tunica Bayou and Iowa Bend. According to David King Gleason, Como Plantation was named after Lake Como in Italy. The original antebellum home burned sometime in the late nineteenth century and a replacement house was constructed about 1890. The original plat consisted of 1800 ac, but erosion from the Mississippi River and the subdividing of the original landholding has diminished the original property size.

Como Plantation was established on land originally granted by the British government to Henry Fairchild. Apparently Fairchild abandoned the property when the Spanish took over West Florida, because the land was granted by the Spanish government to William Hindlaw. It was claimed by the heirs of William Ratliff in the 1820s when the United States took over Louisiana and required formal survey of the land. Eventually, Ratliff's daughter, Ann E. Ratliff, inherited the property. In 1833, at age 20, Ann Ratliff married William L. Brandon of nearby Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

William Brandon was born in 1805 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, the son of Colonel Gerard Brandon, a native of Ireland who earned his land title by fighting for the British in the American Revolution. William Brandon graduated from Washington College in Virginia and attended Princeton College. In 1824, he returned to the family plantation in Mississippi, served as a member of the Mississippi legislature, and eventually fought in the Mexican American War. Joseph Karl Menn included William L. Brandon in his study, "The Large Slaveholders of Louisiana-1860". He reported that by 1860 Brandon owned $14,000 in real and $64,000 in personal property in Louisiana, including 63 slaves and 16 slave dwellings. The Brandons had three sons who survived to adulthood: William R. Brandon, Robert L. Brandon, and Lane W. Brandon. Ann Ratliff Brandon died in 1840, but her husband continued to take care of the Como Plantation tract, in addition to maintaining his own large landholdings in Mississippi. For example, William Brandon contracted with Donelson Jenkins to build a levee to protect portions of Como Plantation in 1855.

Although Brandon cultivated the land, he and his family still resided in Mississippi in 1855. At the time of the publication of both La Tourrette's 1845 Reference Map of the State of Louisiana and Persac's 1858 Norman's Chart of the Lower Mississippi River, William L. Brandon was still proprietor of Como Plantation.

Como Plantation flourished as a center of trade as well as working plantation. For many years it was also known as Brandon and that place name survives on current maps of the area. The community had a post office and after 1903 direct access to a railroad.

William L. Brandon resided on the family plantation, Arcole, in Mississippi until his death in 18902. After the Civil War, Lane Brandon took over and managed Como Plantation. He married Anna Semple in 1866 and they had four daughters: Mrs. Francina Brandon Barrow, Mrs. Sarah Brandon Buchanan, Miss Belle Brandon, and Mrs. Mary Brandon Wood. Continuing the family tradition of public service, Lane Brandon served as the West Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court in the 1880s.

The community called Brandon, already an important center for riverboat trade, became more important after 1903 when the Shreveport and Red River Railway Company put in the railroad and a small depot. This nearby railroad access provided residents with a direct route to New Orleans and increased the commercial value of the area. The railroad was eventually purchased by the Louisiana-Arkansas Railroad Company. The depot was converted into a kitchen for the Como Plantation house in the 1980s. By that time, the railroad right-of-way formed the northeast boundary of the property. Brandon also had a sawmill, a moss press, and a cotton gin.

Brandon, a community that was never incorporated (referred to in one text as a hamlet), and Como Plantation appear to be one and the same. It is unknown when the area was first referred to by the name Brandon, but it may be reasonable to assume it came about in the immediate post-Civil War era. At its height (shortly after the advent of the RR) 40 families are said to have lived in Brandon. In the post-Civil War era, when the operation of the plantation turned to sharecropping, the houses of former slaves became the houses of sharecroppers (and in some cases ex-slaves became sharecroppers on the same land they had worked as slaves). In addition to a RR spur and RR depot, Brandon had its own Post Office, store, and cotton gin, moss press and sawmill. The location of structures associated with Brandon are provided in sketches by Dr. William Seale who was personally familiar with the plantation in the years from 1949 to 1969.

Original primary documents from Brandon and Como Landing were hard to find. Fortunately, there are two interesting documents related to Brandon and Como Landing in the LSU Special Collections Archives. The first reference is identified as "Brandon family notebooks and account books 1852-1888" and the second "Anonymous short story, circa 1904".

The first document is a book of bills of lading for shipment of freight from Como Landing during the period September 1885 to October 1888. A review of these documents reveals an in-the-moment glimpse into the activity that must have, at times, been intense at Como landing and, more importantly, the extent of the larger community served by Como Landing.

This record covers three complete cotton harvest seasons and shows that cotton harvest ran from about mid-September through late January. Steamboats usually made one stop per week (normally on Sunday) during the season to pick up freight (mostly bales of cotton and sacks of cotton seed) for delivery to New Orleans. The weekly volume of cotton delivered to the steamboat marks the ebb and flow of the cotton picking season with peak season occurring mid-October to mid-November. During the season of 1885, 601 bales of cotton and 4,065 sacks of seed were shipped from Como Landing to market in New Orleans.

Cotton production statistics from 1860 show that the area close to the banks of the Mississippi River from roughly Natchez to above Baton Rouge was among the most productive cotton producing areas, producing about 45 bales of cotton per square mile. This equates to about .0704 bales per acre. At that rate of production it would require over 8500 acres under cultivation to produce 601 bales of cotton. At its peak, Como Plantation has approximately half its total 1800 acres under cultivation, it's easy to see that the landing at Como served a large area, well beyond the limits of Como Plantation.

Imagine the scene on a Sunday in early November 1885 as the steamship J. M. White, with Master James Muse at the helm, maneuvers into position at Como Landing. Fifty-five 500 pound bales of cotton representing the combined production from nine different producers, ginned and pressed at the facility at Brandon that week and bound for five different buyers in New Orleans, is man handled into place on the deck. Watching the activity from the balcony of Como Plantation house is Lane Brandon, his wife "Miss Anne" and Captain Muse - who was a favorite guest at Como. They are seated in deck chairs from the J.M. White - a gift from Captain Muse (visible in this 1968 photo of the house.

The bills of landing tell other stories as well - included on the September 21^st, 1885, bill is a note: "One valuable letter - Contents $5.00 Mrs. Bell Red Star shoe store - Canal St." On October 18th: "One valuable letter containing $10.00 to Mrs. R. Bell Red Star shoe store." On October 25th: "Bickhurn & Manvl / valuable letter contains 2 drafts $310.00 McVay". On November 15th: "F. N. Volkman no. 247 Decatur St. New Orleans. One valuable letter contents $21.00". On December 13th: "Miss John Gauche's sons. One valuable letter said to contain $30.00 Thirty Dollars". On December 26th: "Miss Sadie Brandon Hollins Station - one box to be forwarded by express Virginia". And so on … Clearly the steamship was a vital link in both business and every day aspects of personal life.

The anonymous short story about Como and Brandon is the tale of the "Betsy Ann", the last of the Mississippi Mail Packets, a proud tradition of steel-hulled steamboats that delivered the mail, passengers, and small freight along the river.

The story is set in 1904. Central to the story is the coming of the railroad (the nemesis of the river mail service) and the work being done by railroad surveyors around the area of Como Plantation. The story opens when railroad surveyors land at Como and ask "Where can we find Captain Brandon?" The answer from the keeper of the landing - "Well, sah, you all jist walk right up de road pas' de cotton gin, den across on de bridge and dah you is, right at de front gallery sah, yessah."

(It should be noted here that this and subsequent descriptions of the area around Como Plantation are accurate for the time.)

The story goes on to explain that Capt. Brandon graciously agrees to lodge eight men for ten days (presumably in the quarters by the store in Dr. Seale's sketch). Surveying work proceeds in the Tunica Hills behind Como.

The story concludes with the telling of the railroad paymaster's trip by carriage from Como to Bayou Sara to bring back the July payroll and how, unexpectedly, he encountered "Miss Frank" (Captain Brandon's daughter) just returned by railroad from shopping in New Orleans with the intention of catching the "Betsy Ann" for Como the next morning. The paymaster insisted she take his carriage and return that evening and that he would return with the payroll via the "Betsy Ann" in the morning.

As the carriage nears Como:

All ends well as one of the hijackers has previously been befriended by "Miss Frank" and calls the whole thing off (never knowing the payroll was not in the carriage).

The story concludes with a lament for "Betsy Ann":

Dr. William Seale: A First Hand Account of Como Plantation
From the time he was six years old, in 1949, until the death of Mrs. Mary Brandon Wood in 1969, Dr. Seale (historian, author, editor of White House History) spent every summer at Como Plantation.

Como
In the late 1940's, Dudley and Mary Lacy Peterson (Mary Lacy was the daughter of Mrs. Mary Brandon Wood, the matriarch of Como Plantation) and their young daughter, Lacy, moved into the house next door to where young William Seale and his family resided in Beaumont, Texas. William and Lacy became fast friends and at the end of the school term when Lacy was taken to Como to spend the summer with her grandmother, William went along. This arrangement continued throughout their school years and beyond. During his college and post-graduate days, William continued to return to Como for the month of August. He remembers clearly the physical details of Como House, the plantation, the people who lived there, and the stories they told. The things he remembers hearing about the early days came from Mrs. Wood (1884-1969) and other family members including Uncle Mack (Mrs. Wood's brother-in-law), who lived at Como and ran the farming operation until his death in 1959; Aunt Francine (an elderly lady usually confined to bed); Uncle Jim (Mrs. Wood's son); and Aunt Belle, who came and went - among others.

The Old House
Dr. Seale can remember hearing that the earlier house at Como was a single-story Creole Cottage with a surrounding porch and hipped roof located in the same location as the current house. He owns a punkah that came from that earlier house and says it's clear from the construction of the fan that it was attached to an inclined ceiling. Mary Brandon Wood recalled the old house was "pulled down" when she was a young girl. She was born in 1884 so a date of 1890 would be consistent with that story. Dr. Seale further supports the idea that the original house was torn down and did not burn as previously reported with the point that all of the furniture of the current Como House dated from a period much earlier than 1890 - suggesting the furniture came from the original house and that it is unlikely that it burned. Furthermore, 1890 is the year that William L. Brandon died and possession of Como Plantation passed to the next generation. It may well be that the present house was built along the "modern" tastes of that younger generation.

1935
He confirms a story that the alteration to the house occurred around 1935 and that it was the result of a visit to New Orleans by the matriarch of the house - being so taken with the neoclassical architecture she saw there. He also reaffirmed the fact that included in the alteration was the "pushing out" of the front wall of the house by about three feet. The purpose, although not certain, was simply to enlarge the parlor and the "company room"- the room across from the parlor where women guests would nap and freshen up. (Men were not allowed in this room.) He remembers in detail (as he does for every room in the house) how that room was furnished and decorated. In this room was a complete bedroom suite by Mallard. He said the extended bay on the West side of the house was also part of that renovation - in order to allow for a bathroom.

Dr. Seale distinctly remembers the arrangement of the various buildings at the rear of the house and provided a sketch from memory including the locations of the kitchen, and the store/post office.

The Store
The store was no longer doing business in 1949, but completely stocked with merchandise. Ona counter in the store was a pile of "plantation chips". These were metallic discs about the size of a poker chip embossed with the name Como Plantation and the monetary value of the chip. The store had served Como and Brandon under the typical arrangement whereby sharecroppers were paid partially or wholly in plantation chips.

Dr. Seale recalls from his visits that about 4 mile beyond the property gate, on the left side of the road, were 20-25 houses, original slave quarters and later tenant houses. He referred to this area as "the quarter". Reviewing his description of the "quarter", it's clear the houses were on the left side of the road between the bridge over the bayou and the present cattle guard and gate.

The J.M. White
Mrs. Wood recalled how busy the landing at Como was with cotton from the Como landing and from neighboring plantations being loaded onto steamboats bound for markets in New Orleans. She said they particularly looked forward to the arrival of the steamboat J.M. White, the captain would often come up to the house to visit. The family was gifted two deck chairs from the J. M. White and they occupied a place of honor on the porch on either side of the front door for many years. She recalled occasionally traveling by steamboat to New Orleans in high style. Mrs. Wood told a story from her childhood, when a sister asked her mother where their newborn sister came from, She answered, "She came on the J. M. White".

Decline
Dr. Seale remembers that, at the time of his first trip to Como (1949); about 30 families were living there working the land under a sharecropping arrangement under the direction of Uncle Mack. By the time of his last visit (about 1969) there were no sharecroppers living at Como. During that twenty year period, the primary cash crop grown at Como was cotton. When asked what the final death knell for the farming operations at the plantation was, Dr. Seale explained that a refinery had opened in Baton Rouge with employment opportunities better than that offered by sharecropping at Como. He described that the families who worked the land and the Woods had a difficult time when the working families left Como for jobs in Baton Rouge. While this certainly may be true as many of the working families and the Woods family members had grown up together, it is helpful to also understand the system of sharecropping.

Per "The African American Experience in Louisiana" historic context, there were three systems of wage labor emerged after the Civil War: wage labor, tenancy, and sharecropping. With wage labor, laborers earned set wages for their work. Some basic living essentials were provided per their contracts. In areas like West Feliciana Parish, where cotton was a major crop, tenancy and sharecropping were used more:

Tenant farmers provided their own tools, animals, and seed, and paid part of the crop's yield to the land owner as their rent. They too survived on credit versus wages. Wage laborers earned the greatest independence and potential for actually saving money while tenant farmers and sharecroppers were ultimately dependent on the landowners. Thus, while it was likely quite scary to leave the only, rural, life that they families who worked the land at Como had ever known, the opportunity to make their own money and be able to truly better their lives financially was a positive change for them.

History of West Feliciana Parish

The first European explorers to pass through the area were probably Hernando de Soto's men on their way to the Gulf of Mexico in 1542. This early Spanish claim to Louisiana was tenuous, as no Spanish settlers moved in to maintain the claim. The French proved to be more successful in establishing a claim to Louisiana. Traveling down the Mississippi River in 1682, French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, claimed Louisiana and named it for the French King, Louis XIV. In 1699, the brothers Pierre le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville, and Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, explored part of what would become the Feliciana Parishes and visited the Houma tribe. In order to maintain their claim to Louisiana, the French promoted settlement. In 1712, Louis XIV contracted with Antoine Crozat, and in 1717 with John Law, to establish trade and colonize Louisiana, but only sparse settlement resulted. The French managed to establish "Fort St. Reyne aux Tonicas" (Fort St. Reine) in 1729 near the present-day location of St. Francisville, but it lasted only for a brief period. In 1738,

French Capuchin friars established a chapel across the Mississippi River in what is now Pointe Coupee Parish, but regular flooding forced them to place their cemetery across the river near the site of Fort St. Reine. With the Treaty of Fontainbleau in 1762, Louisiana passed from French to Spanish control. Under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Santiago de Cuba, Spanish Capuchin friars moved to the area that is now St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish and built a monastery and a cemetery. While the Capuchin had a brief tenure in the area, the name St. Francisville survived from their occupation. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Spain relinquished to Great Britain the territory of West Florida: land north of Bayou Manchac and Lake Maurepas, east of the Mississippi River, and west of the Apalachicola River. The British immediately began efforts to settle the area by conferring land grants to British officers and soldiers. The amounts of land varied according to military rank, from 5,000 ac for field officers, to 300 ac for privates. Henry Fairchild, Herbert de Munster, and General Frederick Haldimand, among others, received grants located in the area between Tunica Bayou and Iowa Bend. In 1779, Spain declared war against Great Britain, which was engaged in a military struggle with the rebellious thirteen colonies. Due to its strategic location between Natchez and New Orleans, Spain reclaimed West Florida, including Feliciana. Upon recapturing the area, Don Bernardo de Galvez renamed part of the area Feliciana for his Creole wife. In order to maintain its control of the area, the Spanish encouraged settlement by giving out large land grants to loyal settlers. For example, the Spanish government granted the vacant Haldimand Tract to Carlos Trudeau, a land surveyor, whose widow sold the land a year later to Oliver Pollock. In 1800, the Treaty of San Ildefonso returned most of Louisiana to France, but shortly after the actual restoration in 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United States. West Florida, including Feliciana, was disputed by the United States and Great Britain, but held by Spain. In 1810, residents of West Florida, including leaders John Rhea, John H. Johnson, and William Barrow, rebelled against Spain, established the Republic of West Florida, adopted a constitution, and elected Fulwar Skipwith governor. St. Francisville was initially made the capital, but it was later moved to Baton Rouge. Later that same year, the United States claimed West Florida and took possession of Feliciana, which it held illegally until the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819 gave all of Florida to the United States.

Louisiana was admitted to the Union in 1812, although the Florida parishes (those that were the part of West Florida west of the Pearl River) were not added to the state for several months. The seat of Feliciana Parish was originally St. Francisville, but was later moved to Jackson. In 1824, the parish was divided into two parishes, East Feliciana and West Feliciana, and St. Francisville became the governmental seat for West Feliciana.

The town of Bayou Sara developed adjacent to the Mississippi River along the bayou of the same name, just below the bluffs where the Capuchins had established a monastery and where a British surveyor had marked the long abandoned Fort St. Reine in 1765. Originally established as a trading post by John H. Mills and Christopher Strong Stewart in 1790, Bayou Sara flourished as a port town. The town once served as the largest port between Memphis and New Orleans. Several fires during the first half of the nineteenth century only temporarily set back growth and trade in Bayou Sara, but frequent flooding also plagued the town. Eventually, St. Francisville eclipsed Bayou Sara as the center of commerce and trade and the town of Bayou Sara was unincorporated in 1926. St. Francisville was established along a bluff above Bayou Sara and the Mississippi River. John H. Johnson laid out the town in the early 1800s on John Mills' 1787 Spanish land grant and lots were first sold in 1807. The community erected a hotel two years later which, in 1810, served as the legislative chamber of the Republic of West Florida. By 1811, the town boasted its own newspaper and even sent a war correspondent to cover the War of 1812. St. Francisville had no regular mail service, however, and national and international news usually arrived on passing boats via other newspapers and travelers. In 1828, a St. Francisville to Woodville Mississippi railroad was proposed, but was not built for another fourteen years. The railroad provided planters in the city of Woodville, Mississippi with access to the Mississippi River for shipping cotton. The community of Tunica was located near the Mississippi River north of St. Francisville and Bayou Sara. In 1941, the community was made up of a cluster of houses and had a population of twenty-five.

West Feliciana Parish, having important access to the Mississippi River and one of the few railroads in the South, faced many difficulties during the Civil War. Shipping was curtailed, manpower reduced, and one of the critical battles for control of the Mississippi River was fought just across the parish line. Thompson Creek served as the southern boundary for West Feliciana Parish. Just across Thompson Creek, at a sharp bend in the river, the town of Port Hudson served as a shipping terminus for a railroad that linked the Mississippi River with Clinton, in East Feliciana Parish. The Confederate Army recognized the importance of controlling this area, and constructed a bastion at Port Hudson in August 1862. The Union Army sought to control the Mississippi River, and gained control of New Orleans and Baton Rouge early in the war. If the Union Army controlled Port Hudson and Vicksburg, they would control access to the mouth of the Red River and points west. The sharp bend in the Mississippi River has since changed, leaving Port Hudson several miles from the river. Union Admiral David G. Farragut and General Nathaniel P. Banks tried, but failed to starve the Confederate troops at Port Hudson. Banks and the Union Army assaulted Port Hudson from May to July 1863. The 6,500 Confederate soldiers, under the command of General Franklin Gardner, held back 30,000 Union soldiers for nearly two months; the Confederates at Port Hudson surrendered only after the surrender at Vicksburg. On July 4^th, 1863, according to historian Lawrence Hewitt, one of most significant features of the battle at Port Hudson was the first use of black soldiers in combat for the Union cause, which led to the eventual enlistment of nearly 180,000 black soldiers into the Union Army.

Agriculture and Commerce in West Feliciana Parish

West Feliciana Parish has historically relied on agriculture to encourage settlement and support its population. Proximity to the Mississippi River, extensive slaveholdings, and large plantations contributed to its prosperous economy during the antebellum period. Agriculture began to develop after the turn of the nineteenth century with the immigration of Anglo-Saxon settlers. Cotton was introduced into West Feliciana Parish in 1700, and by 1860 had become the most important cash crop for planters. The cotton gin was introduced to Old Natchez District (which included the Felicianas) in 1795, increasing the value of the crop to planters. Out of 233 West Feliciana plantations in 1850, 187 raised cotton.

During the three decades before the Civil War, sugar cane came to be the second-most important cash crop in West Feliciana. William R. Barrow of Greenwood Plantation was one of the largest sugar cane producers, making 1,210 hogsheads of sugar in 1859-1860. Planters also raised a variety of crops for local consumption. In addition to the cash crops, corn, peas, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, hay, and oats were raised along with livestock such as cattle, hogs, horses, and mules. Bennet H. Barrow planted an orchard of a variety of fruit trees. Planters further supplemented their diet with wild game, turkey, chicken, and fish.

Steamboat service began on the Mississippi River in 1811, further increasing commercial traffic. Most planters used steamboats to transport crops, especially cotton, to market. Bayou Sara increased in importance as a commercial trade center for plantations in Feliciana, but decreased when the railroad came to St. Francisville.

The West Feliciana Railroad was chartered in 1831, but took several years to build and cost $25,000 per mile. It bypassed Bayou Sara, but linked St. Francisville to Woodville, Mississippi with 27 mi of standard gage track. The railroad increased the access of the upland planters to the Mississippi River, adding to their prosperity. In 1892, the West Feliciana Railroad merged with the Illinois Central Railroad.

Como Plantation became the property of the four Brandon daughters after the deaths of their parents, Anna Semple Brandon and Lane W. Brandon. Shortly after the succession in 1918, the heirs sold the house and 1960 acres to Mary Brandon Wood, already a widow herself. Included in the transfer were the parts of Como known as "Bobstown" and "Motley." Perhaps because of the financial pressures of the Great Depression, Mary Brandon Wood sold the timber on 1000 ac of Como Plantation to Tunica Hardwood Company in 1937.

Mary Brandon Wood gave Como Plantation to her granddaughter, Lacy Brandon Peterson, in the 1960s. Although the donation included only the house and about 80 acres of surrounding property, it was contested by other family members. The courts upheld the donation to the granddaughter, but Lacy Brandon Peterson Christenson died in the early 1970s, causing Como Plantation ownership to revert to her father, Dudley Peterson. Dudley Peterson sold the property to Kenneth C. Scullin of East Baton Rouge Parish, who in turn sold it to Camille Cazedessus and Kenneth W. Kennon in 1973.

Cazedessus and Kennon sold Como to H.V. Farrar, Inc. in 1982. Unique Properties and Como Plantation, Inc. also owned the plantation in the 1980s, but were forced to return the property to the Bank of St. Francisville. A couple from New York, Beekman Devereaux (Toby) Beavers and Terri

McDermott Beavers, purchased Como Plantation in 1989. In 1996, the property passed from the Beavers to Erma Wilson Reeves, and in 2001, Como Plantation was purchased by Como-Cole Plantation, LLC.

Site Description

Situated on a bluff at the edge of the Tunica Hills of West Feliciana Parish overlooking a scenic bend of the Mississippi River, Como Plantation is the only south Louisiana plantation house that retains its original relationship with the river. It does not have a modern flood protection levee between it and the river. Built in 1890, the house is a two-story wood frame building on brick piers with a front gable roof. The footprint of the structure is a square central massing with porches projecting over the front (south) and rear (north). At either side (east and west) are two two-story polygonal bays. Over the years, alterations have been made to the building with the earliest probably occurring c. 1935 when the style of the front porch of the house was altered for stylistic reasons. The original columns were replaced with Neo-Classical fluted columns and the full-length second-floor gallery was replaced with a central second-floor Juliette balcony. In 1984, additional alterations were made by a previous owner including the rebuilding of a two-story bay on the west elevation and the beginnings of an attempt to rebuild the electrical system of the house. In the 1990's, the rear double galleries collapsed. In addition to the house, there are three other buildings: a chapel, a commissary, and an outhouse; two structures: a cistern base and cattle dipping vat; and seven non-historic buildings.

Consisting of 117 acres of the original 1800-acre plantation (the balance having been lost to successions, sales, and extensive erosion from the river) the current site includes 11 extant buildings and 4 structures.

The Main House

The original (1890) configuration of the front elevation of the house was with a two-tiered, full facade porch, a common treatment in the south during the late Victorian period. The original entrance was almost an identical match to the extant balcony doorway and the 2^nd story rear entrance. The porch columns were chamfered and about 2/3 of the way up the column, there was a simple decorative detail of an unchamfered section of the column. The balustrades between each column were in a decorative gingerbread pattern.

The front elevation of the house today is defined by the pediment of the projecting gable roof with its central elliptical window supported by four slender fluted columns with Corinthian capitals. The (now) Neoclassical statement is furthered by the centrally located main entrance - a double 10-lite French door with a radially segmented glazed fanlight and a rectangular second-floor Juliette balcony with a simple iron railing and doorway (a single half-glass wood door with flanking half-glass sidelights with a three-part transom which is original to the house). The c. 1935 alterations are currently in poor condition.

On the 1^st floor, this central arrangement is flanked on either side by two full-height round-head openings containing two-over-four lite double-hung wood sash windows. At the 2^nd story level, the balcony is flanked by two two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows on either side. The window units of the 2^nd floor include operable louvered shutters. The balcony doorway and the 2" floor windows are surmounted with molding headers. The siding of the house is 6" un-profiled wood clapboard.

A view of the east elevation reveals the roof and chimneys. The roof is covered with hard asbestos shingles of a rectangular pattern. Two red brick chimneys are visible from this view - the front-most chimney is situated at the outer edge of the roof at the center of the east wall of the 1^st and 2^nd floor front rooms. Below the roof, the chimney is constructed within the wall and is unexposed. Above the roof, the square chimney extends to a height above the ridge and is tapered about 4' above the roof line. At its top, the chimney is flared over the top three courses of bricks. Two clay flue liners project from the top of the chimney. The second chimney is situated toward the rear and nearer the ridge of the roof. This chimney services the two rear rooms of the 1^st and 2^nd floors to the right of the central halls. Although shorter, this chimney is constructed as described above.

The eaves of the roof are relatively shallow. Fascia and soffits are in disrepair with significant fascia missing. Most prominent on this elevation is the two-story polygonal bay set toward the rear. This bay is centered on the east wall of the two rear rooms of the 1^st and 2^nd floors. This bay incorporates four one-over-one double-hung wood sash windows on all three faces and on both floors with two windows on the central face of both floors. The windows of the 1^st floor of the bay include operable louvered shutters. Forward of the bay, the two front rooms of the 1^st and 2^nd floor are each serviced by two evenly spaced two-over-two double hung wood sash windows flanking the chimney. The brick piers of the foundation and the foundation of the front-most chimney are visible from this perspective.

Historic photos reveal this elevation to have originally been a double gallery - a screened and shuttered sleeping porch over a screened porch. Also visible in this circa 1984 photo is a hip-roofed lattice enclosure that covered the cistern. In the gable end of the roof are two symmetrically located small six-over-six double-hung wood sash windows. At the 2^nd floor level, the doorway to the central hall is a four-paneled wood door with a square-head three-lite transom. Flanking this doorway to the left is a six-over-six double-hung wood sash window and to the right, a two-over-two double-hung wood sash window.

The central feature of the 1^st floor is the doorway to the central hall - a single half-glass wood door with flanking half-glass sidelights with a three-part glazed Italianate-styled transom (identical to the doorway of the balcony at the front). Flanking this doorway to the left (nearest), is a pair of five-lite French doors with a square-head glazed transom, and a full-height round-head opening containing a two-over-four vertically divided double-hung wood sash window (identical to the 1^st floor windows at the front). To the right of the central hall doorway is a two-over-two double-hung wood sash window and a second pair of French doors as described above. Patches in the siding of the 2^nd floor of this elevation together with the anomalous six-over-six window suggest there may have been changes to the openings over the years. All that remains of the original double gallery is a small 1^st floor deck at the center allowing access to the center hall.

The roof of the West Elevation is as previously described. There is a single red brick chimney located at the center of the roof constructed as previously described with four clay flue liners projecting from its top. Prominent on this elevation is a more or less centrally located two-story bay. This bay is described by an eyewitness to have been a rebuild of an original bay. This five-sided bay is constructed with two right angle projecting walls enclosed with narrow angled walls and an end wall. Narrow one-over-one double-hung wood sash windows are at both floors of the front right-angle projecting wall. Pairs of identical windows are at both floors of the outer wall. There are no windows in the rear right angle projecting wall. The roof of this bay is a very low pitch shed roof tied back to the outer edge of the roof of the central massing of the house covered with metal roofing.

On the central massing of the structure, at the 2^nd story level, forward of the bay is a single two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows located very near the aforementioned bay. To the rear of the bay at the 2^nd-floor level are two symmetrically positioned two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows. At the 1^st floor level, to the front of the bay, are two symmetrically located two-over-two double hung wood sash windows. To the rear of the bay are two symmetrically positioned two-over-two double hung wood sash windows. The two-over-two windows of the central massing of the house include operable louvered shutters.

The floor plan of the house is four-over-four rooms with front-to-back central hallways on both floors. On the first floor, the two rooms to the right of the central hall are accessed by doorways featuring stained four-panel wood doors (panels are stained a lighter color than the stiles and rails) with square head glazed transoms. The 1^st floor interior doors are raised panel doors with a simple machined profile on the inside edges of the stiles and rails. The stock door casings are ornamented with an elaborate back band molding at the outer edge of the casing. The two rooms to the right of the 1^st floor central hall are connected by a wide pair of stained pocket doors located in the center of the dividing wall. These doors and the door frame are as described for the single 1^st-floor doorways.

The front room (presumably the parlor) includes a brick fireplace and hearth with no mantel located at the center of the east wall and flanked by two symmetrically positioned two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows. The front (south) wall of this room features two full height two-over-four double-hung wood sash windows as described on the front elevation. The dividing wall between these two rooms is covered with ship-lap. All interior walls that are currently exposed ship lap were originally covered with cheesecloth and wallpaper. The other three walls of this room are open to the studs and the ceiling is open to the joists. It is assumed that the wall that the west wall of this room had to be partially rebuilt at some point, likely when the earlier owner was updating the electrical systems.

The rear-most room (presumably the dining room) features a brick fireplace with a stained wood mantelpiece in the Eastlake style centered on the west wall. The east wall of this room is comprised almost entirely of the aforementioned polygonal bay. The rear (north) wall of this room features a full-height arched-top two-over-four double hung wood sash window as described on the front elevation at the northeast corner and a double five-lite French door with square head glazed transom at the northwest corner. The detailed finish work of this room is noteworthy. The room features a short wainscot of stained vertical boards above a wide stained molding-capped baseboard. The wainscot is also topped with an elaborate wainscot cap molding. The bay is elaborately finished with an arched opening flanked by supporting pilasters ornamented with molding. The finish work includes raised panels above the windows of the bay. The ceiling of this room is covered with stained edge-beaded boards and features elaborate multi-colored stencil work. The stencil design includes a stylized border with elaborated corners and a centrally located medallion.

The two rooms to the left of the hall (presumably bedrooms) are accessed from the central hall by doorways identical to those of the right side. These two rooms share a double fireplace located centrally in their dividing wall. The bay on the west elevation is centered between these two rooms. Access to the bay is from the front room by a painted four-panel wood door with a square-head glazed transom. The west wall of this room features two two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows and the doorway for access to the aforementioned bay. The south wall features two two-over-four arched-top double-hung wood sash windows as described with the front elevation. The walls are open to the studs and the ceiling is open to the joists. The fireplace features a stained wood mantelpiece in the Eastlake style. The chimney is exposed red brick. The window and door trim of this room are painted white.

The walls of the polygonal bay are open to the studs revealing the exterior sheathing to be plywood. Likewise, the floor and ceiling are covered with plywood. Windows of the bay are as previously described. Based on the firsthand account that this was rebuilt, the materials seen certainly support that.

The rear (north) wall of the rear room on the left of the central hall features a double five-lite French door with square head glazed transom at the northwest corner and a two-over-two double hung wood sash window at the northeast corner. The west wall of this room features two symmetrically spaced two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows. The walls are covered with ship-lap and the ceilings are covered with bead board. The fireplace features a stained wood mantelpiece in the Eastlake style and the chimney is finished with plaster. The baseboards and door trim are painted white.

The 1^st-floor center hall features a waist-high wainscot of stained vertical boards (identical to that described in the dining room except taller). The walls of the 1^st floor center hall are covered with ship-lap and the ceiling is open to the joists. The center hall features a single-flight staircase for access to the 2^nd floor. This stained wood staircase features turned newel posts and balusters. The floors throughout the house are 4" pine tongue and groove flooring.

On the second floor, the floor plan is identical to that of the 1^st floor with fireplaces sharing the same chimney as those below and doorways and partition walls located in the same positions. The walls of the 2^nd floor center hall are covered with bead board and the ceilings are covered with plywood. The doorways at the north and south ends of the hallway are as described on the exterior. These doors and their trim are painted white. The four doors from the hallway to the rooms are four-panel wood doors with flat panels and applied molding with square-head three-lite transoms. Door casings are ornamented with back band molding identical to that of the 1^st floor. The center hallway also features a single-flight staircase for access to the attic with construction and finish identical to that previously described in the 1^st floor center hall. The finish of the 2^nd-floor hallway includes stained baseboards - some with molding caps and some without. The front room to the right of the center hall features a fireplace with a stained wood mantelpiece centered on the east wall flanked by two symmetrically placed two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows. The chimney is brick-covered with finished plaster. The south wall of this room features two symmetrically placed two-over-two double hung wood sash windows. The north wall is covered with plywood while the remaining walls are open to the studs with rigid foam insulation in the stud cavities. It is unknown what happened to these walls as only the interior sides have these alterations - the exterior walls have the original materials. One could assume this wall had some sort of water damage, but this wall is entirely new materials in the same location as the original wall. The ceiling is covered with plywood.

The rear room to the right of the center hall features the bay as previously described on the east wall and a fireplace centered on the west wall. The fireplace is exposed brick. An unattached stained wooden mantelpiece is near the fireplace. The walls of this room are open to the studs and the ceiling is covered with plywood. In the area of the bay, the flooring has been removed. The north wall of this room features a single six-over-six double-hung wood sash window.

The front room to the left of the 2^nd-floor central hall features a fireplace centered on the north wall. This is a double fireplace, sharing the same chimney with the room to the rear. This fireplace features a stained wood mantelpiece in the Eastlake style. The chimney is exposed red brick. Unlike on the 1^st floor, a doorway to the left of the fireplace connects these two rooms. That door is a four-panel door as described in the 2^nd-floor hallway without a transom. A portion of the casing is missing from this doorway. As is the case with the 1^st-floor room below, access to the bay is from this room. An opening without a door serves that purpose in this room. The west wall of this room features a single two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows and the South wall features two symmetrically placed two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows. The walls and ceiling of this room are covered with painted beadboard. Baseboards (without molding cap) are painted white.

As with the 1^st floor, the walls of the bay are open to the studs exposing plywood exterior sheathing, supporting the information about this bay being rebuilt to match the original one. The floor is covered with plywood and the ceiling is open to the joists. The window arrangement of the bay is as previously described from the exterior.

The rear room to the left of the 2^nd-floor center hall features a fireplace centered on the south wall with a stained wood mantelpiece in the Eastlake style. The chimney is finished with plaster. To the right of the fireplace is the doorway as previously described. The walls and ceiling of this room are covered with painted beadboard. The west wall features two symmetrically positioned two-over-two double hung wood sash windows. The north wall features a single two-over-two double hung wood sash window. The baseboards (some missing) of this room are painted white and feature elaborate cap molding.

The attic is unfinished, has no floors, and exposed rafters. The roof sheathing is visible is the roof sheathing and appears to be salvaged wood. The elliptical window at the front gable and two short six-over-six double-hung wood sash windows at the rear provide light to the space.

Over the years alterations have been made to the structure. The earliest probably occurred about 1935 when the style of the house was "modernized" from its Victorian beginnings to the then more popular Neoclassical style (reportedly as the result of a trip to New Orleans where the matriarch of the house was enamored with that style among the houses of St. Charles Ave). This alteration changed the appearance of the front elevation of the house from its Victorian origins to Neoclassical by removal of the double portico and the installation of four slender fluted wood columns with Corinthian capitals. In addition, a new main entrance - the double French door with fanlight we see today and, peculiarly, the front wall of the house was extended by about 3' onto the portico. This change altered the proportional original design of the house as the four columns replaced six evenly spaced columns.

In 1989, a previous owner began his attempt to rehabilitate the building by re-constructing an existing but badly decayed bay on the west elevation (according to an eyewitness) and opening many of the interior walls and ceilings for access to replace the electrical system. In the 1990s the rear porch collapsed.

Outhouse

Although doubtlessly repaired many times over the years, the outhouse is believed to be original to the house (predates 1890, perhaps c. 1860 based on oral history). It is a square wood frame structure with a corrugated metal shed roof. Its exterior walls are unpainted wood clapboard with vertical corner boards. It has a single door of joined vertical boards with iron strap hinges is right of center on the east wall. The interior is unfinished with the exception of several courses of painted boards on the wall at the back of the toilet seat, which tops the wooden enclosure of the open pit.

Commissary

The commissary is original to the plantation (predates 1890, perhaps c. 1860 based on oral history). It has been moved from its original location closer to the main house to sit nearer to the former train tracks behind Como. The structure is wood frame on brick piers set into a slight incline. The roof is side-gabled with an extension covering the full-width front porch. The roof is covered with corrugated metal. The siding is wood clapboard.

The front elevation includes a central unit of tripled six-over-six double-hung wood sash windows with head at door height and sill very near the floor. These windows are flanked by wood four-panel doors. Access to the porch is by a wide set of central wood stairs and by wood stairs at either end. The outer edge of the porch roof is supported by four simple square wood posts.

The east elevation includes a central single six-over-six double-hung wood sash window with operable louvered shutters.

The rear elevation includes a 15-lite non-historic French door set left of center and a six-over-six double hung wood sash window to the right. A wood porch and stairs serve for access to the door.

The west elevation includes two six-over-six double-hung wood sash windows with operable wood shutters. Centered in the gable end is a rectangular wood louvered vent.

Chapel -- Circa 1920

The Chapel is a one-story wood frame building on brick piers. The roof is front-gabled and covered with corrugated metal. Rafter tails are exposed. At the north end of the ridge of the roof is a steeple, a well-proportioned square wooden structure with wood louvered openings on all four sides and a hipped corrugated metal roof surmounted by a wooden cross. The exterior walls are board and batten and the gable ends are covered with clapboard. The openings include two-over-two double-hung wood sash windows presented singly and in pairs and doors constructed of joined vertical boards.

The front elevation includes a double-door entrance set to the right with access by a set of concrete steps and a double window at the left.

The west elevation includes four windows as previously described. The windows are evenly spaced. The window at the south end is shorter than the other three but set at the same head height.

The South elevation of the Chapel contains two single doors at the left and right and a single six-over-six double-hung wood sash window at the center. Centered in the gable end is a rectangular wood louvered vent.

The east elevation mirrors the west elevation.

The interior walls are covered with chamfered wide vertical boards. The ceiling is open exposing the rafters and the underside of the roofing. The floors are pine tongue and groove flooring. The interior furnishings are two sides of wooden pews and a raised gallery at the south end with a central pulpit.

There is a disguised port-a-potty next to the chapel that is surrounded by a wooden structure to look like an outhouse.

Cistern

The cistern is original to the house. Originally open at the top and enclosed with a lattice shed enclosure; the cistern was capped with a brick-and-mortar dome at some point.

Cattle Dipping Vat

This concrete structure dates to the early 20^th Century when operations at Como Plantation turned primarily to cattle. Filled with water and chemicals to kill fleas and ticks, cattle would be driven in one side and out the other in order to kill these pests prior to the cattle being loaded onto cattle cars for transport to market.

Kitchen - This building was constructed in 1977 using reclaimed materials from a barn from another property.

Bath House - This building was constructed in 1977.

Laundry - This building was constructed in 1981.

Storage Shed - This building was constructed in 1980.

Library - This building was the last remaining tenant house of the original plantation. It was moved to its present location to relocate it from the flood plain. The building has been altered by the addition of a wrap-around porch, which changed the building's form from a shingle shotgun-style house.

Blacksmith Shop - This structure was constructed in 1983 as part of a film set.

Gate House - This building was moved onto location in 1993.

Barn - This is a modern structure (2 metal storage containers) moved onto location as part of a movie production in 1983 and relocated to their current location in 2015.

Bridge - This structure was built in 2008.

Approach to Main House (2017)

Approach to Main House (2017)

Front Facade of Main House (2017)

East elevation of Main House (2017)

Rear (North) elevation of Main House (2017)

Northwest corner of Main House (2017)

Northwest corner of Main House (2017)

Center hall of 1^st floor of Main House (2017)

Center hall of 1^st floor of Main House (2017)

Southeast room, 1^st floor of Main House (2017)

Northeast room, 1^st floor of Main House (2017)

Mantel detail, Northeast room, 1^st floor of Main House (2017)

Ceiling detail, Northeast room, 1^st floor of Main House (2017)

Ceiling detail, Northeast room, 1^st floor of Main House (2017)