Edgard in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

The Kitchen

Whitney Plantation — The Story of Slavery

— Louisiana African American Heritage Trail —

The Kitchen Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 12, 2018

1. The Kitchen Marker

Inscription.
The kitchen was built by the early 1800s and is the oldest detached kitchen in Louisiana. The building has been restored, and the hearth was rebuilt in 2001. Pigeon holes are cut in either end of the gabled roof so that this loft could be used as another pigeonnier.

An enslaved cook prepared all the meals for the family in this kitchen. Originally there were two slave cabins near this site for domestic slaves like the cook, maids, and hand servants.

Erected by Whitney Plantation Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture.

Location. 30° 2.363′ N, 90° 39.013′ W. Marker is in Edgard, Louisiana, in St. John the Baptist Parish. It can be reached from State Highway 18 1½ miles east of St. John Parish Street (State Highway 3213). The marker and kitchen are adjacent to the plantation house on the Whitney Plantation grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5099 Louisiana Highway 18, Edgard LA 70049, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the River

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Parishes

and in Greater New Orleans.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

on the Gulf Coast,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Big House (within shouting distance of this marker); Robin's Blacksmith Shop (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Jail (about 300 feet away); The Slave Quarters (about 400 feet away); Allées Gwendolyn Midlo Hall (about 400 feet away); Golden Grove Plantation (approx. 1.7 miles away); Colonial Sugars Refinery (approx. 1.9 miles away); Saint Hubert Parish (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Edgard.

Also see . . . Whitney Plantation History (Whitney Plantation Museum).

Excerpt:
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 12, 2018

2. The Kitchen & Marker
The marker is mounted at eye level on the left side of the east doorway.
The majority of enslaved people who worked on the plantation were engaged in the cultivation of sugar. Many worked as field hands, carters, and ploughmen. Both men and women worked as field hands growing sugar, rice and other staple crops. Some with specialized skills as sugar makers worked inside the sugar mill leading crews of people who boiled cane juice to make crystallized sugar. Herdsmen tended hundreds of animals on the plantation including oxen, mules, horses, sheep, pigs, cows and chickens. Enslaved domestic workers, most of whom were women, worked inside the Haydel family home cleaning, cooking, and caring for children.

(Submitted on April 21, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 12, 2018

3. The Kitchen

View of the north side of the kitchen building, as seen from the plantation house. Four pigeon holes are visible across the gable end.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 21, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 20, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1. submitted on April 20, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on April 21, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.