The History of Nottoway Plantation
Nottoway was completed in 1859 for John Hampden Randolph and his wife, Emily Jane Liddell Randolph, and it was home to their eleven children. The mansion boasts 53,000 square feet, and originally sat on 400 acres of highland and 620 acres of swamp. It was designed by renowned architect Henry Howard of New Orleans in Greek Revival and Italianate style.
Four years after their marriage, the couple moved to a cotton plantation in Louisiana known as Forest Home, located about five miles from what would become Nottoway Plantation. They already had two children, would have eight more at Forest Home, and their last child, a daughter, at Nottoway, for a total of 11 children.
Believing that a fortune could be made in sugar production, Randolph changed his crop from cotton to sugarcane. And, three years later, he mortgaged his home and 46 slaves to borrow money for construction of the first steam-operated sugar mill in Iberville Parish. Both strategies proved extremely successful, and within ten years of moving to Louisiana, Randolph was well on his way to becoming the successful sugar magnate he envisioned himself to be.
Four years after their marriage, the couple moved to a cotton plantation in Louisiana known as Forest Home, located about five miles from what would become Nottoway Plantation. They already had two children, would have eight more at Forest Home, and their last child, a daughter, at Nottoway, for a total of 11 children.
Believing that a fortune could be made in sugar production, Randolph changed his crop from cotton to sugarcane. And, three years later, he mortgaged his home and 46 slaves to borrow money for construction of the first steam-operated sugar mill in Iberville Parish. Both strategies proved extremely successful, and within ten years of moving to Louisiana, Randolph was well on his way to becoming the successful sugar magnate he envisioned himself to be.