HISTORY
Built before 1790 on a tract of land granted by the Spanish Governor of Louisiana,
the Ormond Plantation has survived into the late 20th Century with its unique
character and sometimes tragic history. In the early 1780's, Pierre d'Trepagnier
was awarded a tract of land by the Spanish Governer Don Bernardo deGalvez, in
recognition of Trepagnier's service in subduing the British at Natchez during the
American Revolution. The main building was completed shortly before 1790 and
occied by Mr. and Mrs. d'Trepagnier and their children. d'Trepagnier began
growing indigo, and then sugar cane, and the Plantation began to prosper.
The house is built in the "Louisiana Colonial" style for plantations, which is
modeled after the great sugar plantations of the West Indies. The house was
constructed using bricks between cypress studs ("Briquettes Entre Poteaux" -
Brick Between Posts) on the front and rear walls and a type of adobe filling on the
sidewalls. Round cemented brick columns sported the front porch, or gallery, with
wood columns on the second floor sporting the roof.
The home was often the scene for entertaining officials of the Louisiana and
Spanish Governments. In 1798, the first of the mysteries occurred. Pierre
d'Trepagnier was summoned from a family meal by a servant to meet a
gentlemen, sposedly dressed in clothes signifying a Spanish official. After a word
to his wife, Pierre d'Trepagnier left with the man and never returned. No trace of
d'Trepagnier was ever found.
On June 25, 1805, Col. Richard Butler, son and nephew of American Revolutionary
war heroes bought the plantation home and land from Mrs. d'Trepagnier. Butler
had served in the U.S. Army and had fallen in love with the South. He named his
new home "Ormond", after his ancestral home, the Castle Ormonde in Ireland. On
August 7, 1809, Butler became a business partner with Captain Samuel
McCutchon, a merchant and sailor, originally from Pennsylvania, when he sold to
McCutchon, one-third share in Ormond Plantation. On June 29, 1819, in a private
pact signed at the Plantation, Richard Butler turned over all of his holdings to
Samuel McCutchon, and moved to Bay St. Louis. Some say that Butler moved to
escape the Yellow Fever epidemic, but no true reason has been documented. If he
did move to escape the fever, he did not move far enough away. The Yellow Fever
hit Bay St. Louis and both Mr. and Mrs. Butler died from the disease in 1820.
Richard Butler was forty-three.
There is some disagreement as to when the two existing wings, or garconnieres,
were built. Some say that they were built around 1811 by Richard Butler. An equal
number believe that they were built in 1830 by Capt. McCutchon. It is these
garconnieres that give Ormond its distinctive look. The garconnieres are taller
than the main building, and of a design possibly from an Atlantic Seaboard
influence. Capt. McCutchon prospered both as a planter and merchantman and
Ormond was one of the beneficiaries of that prosperity. McCutchon filled his
home with furnishings from Great Britain, France and the Orient. During this time,
Capt. McCutchon's eldest son, Samuel B., married Adele d'Estrehan, the daughter
of the owner of neighboring Destrehan Plantation. Samuel B. and his brother
James William took over the Plantation on the death of Capt. McCutchon, and
continued its prosperity.
Like many other plantations of the South, Ormond fell on hard times following the
War Between the States. She changed hands twice before being sold at public
auction in 1874, and again in 1875.
Ormond was bought on December 1, 1898, by State Senator Basile LaPlace, Jr.,
son of the famous New Orleans pharmacist and land owner after whom the town
of LaPlace is named. LaPlace's stay was short and tragic. He had earned a name
for himself as a Justice of the Peace and then as a State Senator, and also by
successfully managing the LaPlace Station, the land that his father left him. He
used his wealth to buy Ormond, with hopes of profiting from its rice production.
But, as is typical in politics, LaPlace also made a few enemies. On October 11,
1899, Basile LaPlace, Jr., met an ugly death.
Local legend has it that LaPlace had made enemies with the Ku Klux Klan, also
known as the "White Caps". Sposedly he was called out into the night, and the
members set on him, riddling his body with bullets, and then hanging him in the
large oak tree which stands on River Road in front of the plantation home.
Ormond passed from LaPlace's widow to his mother and then to the Schexnaydre
family, all during the year 1900. The five Schexnaydre brothers (Joseph, Emilien,
Barthelemy, Albert, and Norbet) each held an undivided one-fifth share of the
property. The brothers drew straws to determine who would live in the House.
Emilien drew the lucky straw, and moved his family into Ormond. Emilien died in
1910, but his children continued to live and raise their families in the house. At one
time there were five families living under the roof of Ormond. The Schexnaydre's
held the property until 1926 when they turned it over to the Inter-Credit
Corporation.
The story of Ormond becomes hazy in the late 1920's and through the 30's. It
seems that a number of tenants occied the house and land. Reports tell of the
crumbling walls and ceilings, the sagging porch, and the general deterioration of
the house.
Fortunately for us, it was not too late to salvage Ormond. Thanks to its great
original construction, it was able to be restored and renovated by Mr. and Mrs.
Alfred Brown, owners of the Brown's Velvet Dairy in New Orleans. Beginning in
late 1943, the Browns undertook major restoration, and renovations, which
included enclosing the carriage ways and making the garconnieres an integral
part of the building. The Browns' family added modern conveniences, such as
indoor plumbing, gas and electricity.
After the death of Mrs. Brown, Mr. Brown sold Ormond to a real estate developer,
and moved back to New Orleans. Original plans of the developer, Johnson and
Loggins, included using the Manor house as the club house for a golf course. The
developer began making changes in the Manor house but stopped in 1971.
In 1974, Johnson and Loggins sold the Manor and 17 acres of land to Mrs. Betty R.
LeBlanc, then executive vice-president of Barq's Beverages, Inc., in New Orleans.
Through the late 1970's and early 1980's, Mrs. LeBlanc began restoring the Manor
house, which began suffering from the changes made by the developer. She had
hoped to finish restoring the home, but unfortunately cancer struck and quickly
took Mrs. LeBlanc in June, 1986, her dream unfinished.
Ormond is presently under the ownership and care of Irvin J. Carmouche who
continues the work of restoring Ormond today. Ormond is open to the public for
tours, weddings and various other festivities year-round, as well as a quiet bed
and breakfast stay.
ACTIVITY
Most common reported activity has been the observance of an unknown young
girl, approximately 11-12 years of age. She has most often been seen on or near
the staircase.
INVESTIGATION
Being quite a large house, we decided to go with 2 DVR setups, for a total of 8 IR
cameras, covering mostly the entire home. Our focus was, of course, the stairs
where the apparition of the young girl had been reported.
Throughout the night, no significant temperature or EMF changes were reported,
nor were any unusual audio captured. However, on several occasions, some of
our members heard strange noises throughout the house, unable to find their
source.
After a review of the video was complete, we notice a very interesting anomaly on
the staircase. As you will see in the video below, you can definitely see some sort
of light formation take place on the stairs, appearing as if something may be
desending from the staircase. We attempted to re-create this effect by walking
back and forth with flashlights, hoping to get the same light on camera. However,
all attempts yielded no duplication of what was initially captured.
In a seperate incident, a few seconds after Raymond passed in front of the
camera that faced the stairs, it briefly shook the shifted to the right. Raymond was
no where directly near the camera, nor did he snag the video line. We also
attempted to recreate this by even jumping and stomping around the camera,
trying to shake/move it. However the floor was very stable and the camera never
moved. Also, as you will see below, right after the camera shifts, a strange light
anomaly is observed.
Overall, the investigation was quite an interesting one, possibly producing some
legitimate evidence of activity! Special thanks to Mr. Carmouche for allowing us in
the home and we have already been invited to conduct a follow up investigation.
Stay tuned as we make our return trip to the Ormond Plantation in the near future!!
