Images of Iberville -- On Plantations (Page 5 of 6)

Images of Iberville Parish: Place Embodied in Art
Sponsored by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and the Iberville Parish Chamber of Commerce.

Johnnie Canova
Illustrator
Plaquemine, La.

The text on this page is the transcript of an oral interview. The interview has been edited and transcribed by the interviewer.

On Plantations (Page 5 of 6)

Belle Grove
From Overdyke

Belle Grove was built in 1857, which was just prior to the Civil War. It was built around the same time as a plantation home called Nottoway was being built. Belle Grove was built by a guy named John Andrews. Nottoway was built by a guy named John Hampton Randolph. Both of these guys were from Virginia. They were having a friendly competition with each other to build the largest home in the area.

Belle Grove
Rendering by Johnnie Canova

Belle Grove has been recorded as having 75 rooms. There was one source that I looked at that said the actual count might have been closer to 60. But even at that it still outdoes Nottoway, because Nottoway only had 50 rooms in its construction. Nottoway is considered one of the South's largest homes still standing, but if Belle Grove would still be here then Belle Grove would have been larger than Nottoway.

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