Date of Award

5-1990

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The gardens of Afton Villa Plantation are a rare surviving example from the 1840-1860 period in Louisiana. The gardens are open to the public and are being maintained and enhanced by the present owners. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The history of the entire site of Afton Villa in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana is discussed, tracing the historical, cultural and design influences that affected the site's development, beginning with the original settlers in the late 1700's. The house and gardens known as Afton Villa, built in 1849 by wealthy planter David Barrow and his wife Susan, are of primarily Anglo-American design and were different from contemporary designs in French Louisiana. House and site design were influenced by the publications of Andrew Jackson Downing, as well as by contemporary designs in Louisiana and in the eastern United States. Landscape architect Theodore Landry worked with the owners to renovate the gardens from 1952-1956. Landry's collected papers provide insight into the process of restoration, and an understanding of the original gardens. The analysis of the gardens is discussed in four distinct periods: the Barrows through 1876; a succession of owners through 1952; the Landry renovation; and from the fire of 1963 to the present Trimble period.

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.8337

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