Native to the area, live oak trees thrived and by 1722, when the early Capuchin Fathers arrived at St. Jacques de Cabahanoce to establish the settlement of St. James Parish, the young trees had already attained a stature which hinted at the magnificence that was to be theirs. The quarter-mile canopy of giant live oak trees, believed to be nearly 300 years old, forms an impressive avenue leading to the classic Greek-revival style antebellum home. Built in 1839 by a wealthy French Creole sugar planter from New Orleans , the Plantation is famous for its spectacular live oaks leading to the home.