Albania Plantation House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Albania Plantation House
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 Location in Louisiana
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Jeanerette, Louisiana |
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| Area | 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) |
| Built | 1855 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000007 |
| Added to NRHP | January 26, 2001 |
Albania Plantation is a beautiful old plantation house located near Jeanerette, Louisiana. It sits right by the Bayou Teche, a slow-moving river. This historic home was once the center of a large sugar plantation. Today, it's a famous landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Albania Plantation: A Historic Home
Building a Sugar Empire
The main house was built between 1837 and 1842 by a man named Charles Alexandre Grevemberg. He owned a very successful sugar plantation that covered about 6,500 acres. This huge farm grew sugar cane, which was then processed into sugar.
After Charles Grevemberg passed away in 1851, his wife, Euphemie Fuselier, took over managing the plantation. She continued to run the sugar business successfully. Records from 1859–1860 show that Mrs. Grevemberg produced a large amount of sugar, about 475 hogsheads, which are big barrels of sugar.
New Owners and a Special Collection
In 1885, the property was bought by Samuel and Isaac Delgado. Isaac Delgado later gave the plantation to the City of New Orleans. The city then managed the sugar plantation through a special group called the Delgado-Albania Plantation Commission.
In 1957, the City of New Orleans sold the plantation house and some of the land. It was bought by Emily Cyr Bridges. Miss Emily, as she was known, loved old things and history. She worked hard to restore Albania Mansion to its former glory. She also opened it to the public to show off her amazing collection of old furniture and items from Southern plantations. She would travel around, looking for unique pieces to add to her collection.
Emily Cyr Bridges: A Unique Owner
Miss Emily was the daughter of Paul N. Cyr, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1931. During that time, there was a famous disagreement between her father and Governor Huey Long. Miss Emily shared her father's strong feelings about Huey Long. She even made a rule that his name was not allowed to be spoken at Albania Plantation!
Miss Emily was also a very adventurous woman. She was one of the first women to fly airplanes! During World War II, she flew patrol missions along the Louisiana coast as part of the Civil Air Patrol.
She loved to entertain guests on the wide porches of Albania. Later in her life, she became more private and rarely left her beloved home.
Albania Today
Today, Albania Plantation is owned by Hunt Slonem, a well-known artist from New York. He bought the house in 2005.
