Crescent Plantation

	Crescent Plantation
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Along LA 602, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Tallulah, Louisiana
Coordinates	32°22′07″N 91°09′52″W / 32.36851°N 91.16436°W
Area	8.3 acres (3.4 ha)
Built	1832
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	84000144
Added to NRHP	October 18, 1984

Crescent Plantation is located on Walnut Bayou, Madison Parish, Tallulah, Louisiana. It was originally built in 1832 but a main section was constructed in 1855.^[2] The plantation was the home of doctor D.M. and Elizabeth DeMoss Dancy from 1855 until after the Civil War.

The Crescent Plantation was renamed The Ellis Place in 1902 when the patriarch of the Elder Family died and left ownership to Annie Clark Ellis. Ellis was a Black Woman. The Ellis Place housed, employed, and educated former slaves. She owned The Ellis Place until 1936, when her husband James (Eugene) Ellis was murdered by a violent mob of white people who then chased her and her children off of the land. The Ellis Place was then renamed to the former name, The Crescent Plantation.

The plantation was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 18, 1984.^[1]

History

A sawmill was erected and cypress was cut from the land and the main plantation house was built on the banks of the Walnut Bayou by Dancy slaves.

Houston, Texas businessman Gus Worham, that founded American General Corporation,^[3] went into real estate business with Sterling C. Evans, that had a long involvement with Texas A & M University. The two bought and sold distressed ranch properties and plantations in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Among these were the Little Eva Plantation in Chopin, Louisiana (near Natchitoches, Louisiana), where they raised (and exported to Russia) Santa Gertrudis cattle and hybrid pecans. They also acquired Randle Lake Plantation in Milam County, Texas, Bear Lake Plantation in Tallulah, Nine Bar Ranch in Cypress, Texas, and the U Bar Ranches in Medina County, Texas and Hidalgo County, New Mexico, as well as the Crescent Plantation.^[4]

Evans set his daughter Diana's husband up in a real estate development in Charlotte, North Carolina, and went into the grain elevator business with Lyndall's husband in Tallulah, and sold him Crescent Plantation.^[5]

Description

The name of the original builder in 1832 has been lost but from 1855 there is considerable information. The front of the two storied structure has eight doric columns with a wide balcony on each floor. Thomas F. Ward owned the plantation up to 1915, and after that as late as 1936, George W. Patterson.^[6]

In 1936 it was recorded that there had been some changes to the original design. The roof had been replaced with one of galvanized tin, a restroom had been added, a kitchen in the rear wing, as well as sheds and barns to house modern equipment.^[7]

Civil War

During the Civil War the plantation was reportedly saved from being "sacked and burned" because Mr. Dancy had a very sick female family member in the house and Union officers would refuse to burn the house with her in it.^[8]

Publications

Henry C. Dethloff wrote extensively about Gus Worham, Sterling C. Evans, Texas A&M, and Louisiana, to include;

Sterling C. Evans: Life, Learning, and Literature, and
Our Louisiana Legacy (an examination at how Louisiana culture has affected the nation), and archives of his publications can be found at the Sterling C. Evans Library at Texas A&M.

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
^ Crescent Plantation marker- Retrieved 2014-11-27
^ Jason M. Olson, "American General Corporation," Handbook of Texas Online [1], accessed November 28, 2014. Uploaded on June 9, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
^ Worham and Evans business ventures- Retrieved 2014-11-28
^ Dressman, Fran (1994). Gus Wortham: Portrait of a Leader. Texas A&M University Press. p. 252. ISBN 9780890965801. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
^ Oliver, Blanche (1936-10-24). "Crescent Plantation in Madison Parish in 1936". United States. Works Progress Administration of Louisiana. p. 4. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
^ Oliver, Blanche (June 24, 1936). "Crescent Plantation in Madison Parish in 1936". United States. Works Progress Administration of Louisiana. p. 5. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
^ Oliver, Blanche (June 24, 1936). "Crescent Plantation in Madison Parish in 1936". United States. Works Progress Administration of Louisiana. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.

External links

Media related to Crescent Plantation at Wikimedia Commons

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.

[2] Crescent Plantation marker- Retrieved 2014-11-27

[3] Jason M. Olson, "American General Corporation," Handbook of Texas Online [1], accessed November 28, 2014. Uploaded on June 9, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

[4] Worham and Evans business ventures- Retrieved 2014-11-28

[Gus_Wortham_and_Sterling_C._Evans-5] Dressman, Fran (1994). Gus Wortham: Portrait of a Leader. Texas A&M University Press. p. 252. ISBN 9780890965801. Retrieved November 28, 2014.

[Crescent_Plantation-6] Oliver, Blanche (1936-10-24). "Crescent Plantation in Madison Parish in 1936". United States. Works Progress Administration of Louisiana. p. 4. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.

[Crescent_House_modifications-7] Oliver, Blanche (June 24, 1936). "Crescent Plantation in Madison Parish in 1936". United States. Works Progress Administration of Louisiana. p. 5. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.

[The_saving_of_the_Crescent_Plantation-8] Oliver, Blanche (June 24, 1936). "Crescent Plantation in Madison Parish in 1936". United States. Works Progress Administration of Louisiana. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana
Lists by parish	Acadia Allen Ascension Assumption Avoyelles Beauregard Bienville Bossier Caddo Calcasieu Caldwell Cameron Catahoula Claiborne Concordia DeSoto East Baton Rouge East Carroll East Feliciana Evangeline Franklin Grant Iberia Iberville Jackson Jefferson Jefferson Davis La Salle Lafayette Lafourche Lincoln Livingston Madison Morehouse Natchitoches Orleans Ouachita Plaquemines Pointe Coupee Rapides Red River Richland Sabine St. Bernard St. Charles St. Helena St. James St. John the Baptist St. Landry St. Martin St. Mary St. Tammany Tangipahoa Tensas Terrebonne Union Vermilion Vernon Washington Webster West Baton Rouge West Carroll West Feliciana Winn
Other lists	National Historic Landmarks Bridges and Tunnels
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

v t e Municipalities and communities of Madison Parish, Louisiana, United States
Parish seat: Tallulah
Cities	Tallulah
Villages	Delta Mound Richmond
Unincorporated communities	Afton Waverly
Extinct settlements	Duckport Milliken's Bend
Louisiana portal United States portal