Butler Greenwood Plantation Bed & Breakfast

Peace, Quiet & Privacy in Louisiana's English Plantation Country. On the historic River Road between New Orleans, LA, and Natchez, MS.

Tour one of the area's most historic antebellum plantation homes, still in the original family.

B & B in eight private romantic cottages with plenty of historic charm scattered around peaceful plantation grounds, all with private baths, Jacuzzis, kitchens, porches or decks ... 1796 brick Old Kitchen with exposed beams and skylights ... 19th-century Cook's Cottage with fireplace and porch swing ... Gazebo with 9-foot-tall antique stained glass church windows ... spacious gingerbread-trimmed Pond House overlooking the pond ... Treehouse at the edge of a steep wooded ravine with wonderful three-level deck and fireplace ... three-story shingled Dovecote with fireplace and a deck overlooking the ravine ...two-bedroom Pool Pavilion with attached covered gazebo...Chase's Cottage right on the pond levee with picturesque steep-pitched tin roof.

All of our cottages have full private baths, full kitchens, nice porches or decks overlooking steep ravines or peaceful pond, cable TV, wireless internet, barbeque grills, queen or king-sized four-poster beds, heat/air and ceiling fans. All cottages have double Jacuzzis and five of the cottages have working fireplaces. Five of our cottages have two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
 

A veritable treasure-trove of family heirlooms and historic artifacts, Butler Greenwood has never been sold out of the original family and probably contains more original furnishings, clothing, silver and porcelains, portraits and other period objects than any other antebellum home open for touring in the state of Louisiana, made all the more interesting by the fact that the tours through the house are conducted by well-informed members of the original family.

Begun in the 1790's by members of the same family that still occupies it today, Butler Greenwood Plantation exemplifies the early cultural influences of this unique corner of Louisiana. The earliest settlers in the Feliciana parishes, like the family at Butler Greenwood, were Anglo-Saxons and came down from the East Coast soon after the American Revolution.  From the wilderness they carved great plantations on grants of land offered by the Spanish crown, for this area was not part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from France, instead remaining with Spanish West Florida until 1810. Front porch The area continues to exhibit strong evidence of English traditions and culture.   
 

One of only a few places to still see Spanish influence is the Old Kitchen at Butler Greenwood, with its arches and stepped facade of handmade brick; built in 1796, it was used as the main kitchen for the plantation into the 1960's, food being cooked first on an open hearth and later on a wood stove.  A typical early raised, rambling English cottage-style home, Butler Greenwood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Filled with priceless antiques throughout, it boasts the area's finest original formal Victorian parlor, with a 12-piece set of carved rosewood furniture still in the original scarlet upholstery, matching lambrequins at the windows and rare calla-lily drapery tiebacks holding back the lace curtains, floral Brussels carpet, marble mantel and a number of oil portraits of family members (the children in the house now are the 8th generation).

Surrounding the home are some fifty acres of landscaped grounds shaded by hundreds of ancient live oaks draped with Spanish moss and planted from acorns in the 1790s. The boxwood parterres of the antebellum formal gardens and the sunken gardens along the entrance drive are filled with ancient camellias and azaleas of staggering size, as well as sweet olive, magnolia fuscata and other 19th-century plantings.  Like all early gardens, this one was so thoughtfully planned that there is nearly always something blooming, nearly always a nice fragrance in the air. Cast-iron urns and benches date from the 1850s, as does the charming Victorian summer house, which has recently been restored. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of unspoiled woodlands, Butler Greenwood has a huge population of birds and wildlife, including herons on the pond, white-tailed deer, fox, bobcats, and chipmunks.

Tours

The historic main plantation house is still a full-time family home and has never been sold out of the family, giving visitors an unparalleled opportunity to appreciate life as it was in the 19th century.  The home contains more original family heirlooms than just about any other tour house in Louisiana.  Tours are conducted by members of the original family, adding to the warmth and realism of the experience.

• Open for tours daily 9 to 5.
• Tour cost is $5 per person.
• Groups are welcome.
• For groups interested in combining historic tours with book reviews, special advance arrangements are required.

We do host small, quiet weddings on our lovely grounds and gardens or in the cottages for guests who are staying here. We permit only about 15 guests at most; we simply do not have the facilities for more.

Wedding portraits for non-guests with their own photographer: $25.
Weddings on grounds or in cottages for guests: $100.

Pleasant rocking on the front porch. "There are certain places on this planet that are healing places, both for the body and the spirit, and this is one of them." ... Oregon

"True Southern hospitality." ... England

"Surely God has blessed you with a rich heritage; thank you for sharing it. In this fast-changing and disposable world, we all need the assurance of continuity." ... Virginia

"If only for a single day, we had a glorious time. You and your hospitality have forever put St. Francisville on our map." ... Netherlands

"I came for business in St. Francisville, but met with extreme pleasure." ... New Orleans

"It has been wonderful to spend our honeymoon in this beautiful paradise.We'll be back for an anniversary someday." ... Connecticut

"Thank you for the opportunity to relax, pamper ourselves and be quiet together, just what we needed to help us remember what our relationship is all about." ... New Orleans

"Love once begun is now renewed, and we will take the memories of love shared here with us when we go to meet the cosmos." ... Nashville

"This is a magical place." ... New York

"What a wonderful weekend! I feel totally refreshed!" ... Alabama

"We have had the pleasure of travelling all over the world and have not enjoyed any place more than this." ... Switzerland

"What a welcome change from dreary hotel rooms." ... Karachi

"A weekend so precious the memories will never be lost, in this place full of history and awesome beauty. Do we have to go home?" ... Australia

Now a year-round tourist destination area, St. Francisville was the commercial hub for the rich surrounding cotton and indigo plantations of the antebellum period, and today many of the 19th-century structures in the downtown Historic District are filled with quaint little shops and restaurants.

In the countryside, there are a number of restored plantations and gardens open for tours: Rosedown and Audubon State Historic Sites, The Cottage, The Myrtles, Greenwood, Catalpa (by reservation) and Afton Villa Gardens.

There are also wonderful recreational opportunities here in the Tunica Hills: horseback riding, nature walks, birding, biking, hiking, golfing, fishing and hunting.  Guided bird walks with nationally recognized wildlife artist Murrell Butler can be arranged.  Maps are available upon check-in showing the locations of all of these attractions.

Want less exertion?  The local massage therapist makes house calls to our cottages.

Please view the following links to help make your visit to historic St. Francisville, Louisiana, a memorable one.

St Francisville Tourism Website   Visit our local Tourism Website listing all the attractions, events and tourist information. www.stfrancisville.us

The Feliciana Nature Society   The annual "Audubon Country BirdFest" is hosted by the Feliciana Nature Society. Visit for information on this year's festival and ongoing activities. www.audubonbirdfest.com

Audubon Pilgrimage Come join us for our annual spring pilgrimage, for three decades opening the doors to private historic homes and gardens, replicating the rustic skills of the rural folk, and showing off award-winning costumes from the 1820's when artist-naturalist John James Audubon painted so many of his bird studies right here in the St. Francisville area.  www.audubonpilgrimage.info

Much-loved homegrown Chef John Folse, famous around the world, has filmed several of his wonderful Louisiana cooking shows right here at Butler Greenwood Plantation with Anne Butler, and has featured the plantation and its history in his fabulous cookbook (Hot Beignets And Warm Boudoirs).....Visit

Butler Greenwood Plantation has also been featured in Southern Living, Southern Accents, The Magazine Antiques, Country Roads Magazine (which named it one of the best B&Bs in the region), and  Mary Fonseca's Weekend Getaways In Louisiana. www.members.cox.net/mryfon

Butler Greenwood Plantation is located about 2 1/2 miles north of St. Francisville on US Highway 61; turn directly into our driveway from the highway at the sign saying "Butler Greenwood Antebellum Home."

From New Orleans and points south, take I-10 to Baton Rouge (make sure NOT to cross the river and head west toward Texas), then I-110 out of the north end of Baton Rouge as far as it goes.  The last exit, Exit 8C, marked "Natchez-St. Francisville," will put you on US Highway 61 heading north to St. Francisville.

Coming from Lafayette, Texas or points west, cross the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge and follow directions above from I-110.

Coming from Natchez and points north, just follow US Highway 61 south and turn directly into our driveway a couple of miles north of St. Francisville.