Travel
pre-Civil War times, and should they
desire (and pay for overnight lodging)
they may experience that themselves.
John Hampden Randolph was one
of the wealthiest planters from
Louisiana. He married Emily Jane
Liddell in 1837 and went on to have
eleven children. Randolph moved his
family to southern Louisiana in
1842 after purchasing a 1,650-acre
cotton plantation He soon converted
the land to sugar production and
constructed a steam-powered sugar
mill that tripled his earnings. Within
ten years, he had increased his
holdings to 7,116 acres.
Randolph owned 176 slaves making
him one of the largest slaveholders
in the South. In 1855, he purchased
an additional 1,000 acres for
building an impressive estate.
The Nottoway Plantation Greek
Revival/ Italianate Style mansion
was completed in 1859 at an
estimated cost of $80,000.
Slaves baked handmade bricks in
kilns used to construct the massive
structure. Over 40 carpenters, brick
masons, and plumbers labored on the
project while living in tents. The
finished development included
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