LaBranche Plantation Dependency House - St. Rose, LA (Hitler's Horse)

11244 River Rd.

St. Rose, LA 70887

29.951718,-90.312949

            Like many of you, I have always liked to travel. I never could quite understand how my father, over sixty-five years of age, has never left the state, nor has he had the desire to do so. There is just way too much out there to see and explore that is not in our own backyards. I’ve always been the one that enjoys the strange, off-the-wall roadside attractions such as the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” or the “Amazing Four Headed Pig”. You know that sort of stuff. Unfortunately, many of these places are humorously a let-down, as when you show up to find this swine specimen, you are treated with an obviously fake stuffed creature or something similar. Remember guys, all that glitters is not gold. Take this blog for example! I bet you were expecting a true monotone encyclopedia of sorts, not some crazy Cajun talking about the Biscuit Place and clubs for well-endowed men!
             As I was saying, taking road trips, you can definitely find some strange things. One such location is an extremely old house in Saint Rose with quite a pair of oddities. Not only does the LaBranche Plantation Dependency house a bathtub that was once owned by Zachery Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States but it is also the burial site of a horse said to have been owned by Hitler himself. Now, if that isn’t a reason to wake up the kids and pull over, I don’t know what is!

Holloway Cemetery - Deville, LA (A Ghost Hunter's Training Grounds)

Holloway Cemetery (Deville)

31.363852,-92.217554 

            Located off the backroads of Deville, Louisiana, the Holloway Cemetery (Hickory Grove Cemetery) is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, cemetery in the surrounding area, having graves dating back as old as the 1820's. The cemetery is quite large, yet the graves are spread out scarcely. The grounds are said to have once contained a missionary and the site of several hangings from the massive oak trees present, yet no verifiable documentation has been found of these ever existing.
            Years ago, this was one of the first cemeteries that we used as training grounds, so to speak. Starting out with your own group is difficult, as you cannot just jump right in and start investigating private homes and grand historical locations. You have to start somewhere, and for most groups, public cemeteries are prime places to start.

Susie Plantation - Centerville (The Grave & Ghost of Addie Harris)

Susie Plantation (Centerville/Garden City)

29.762908,-91.451877

            Between the small towns of Centerville and Garden City, along the winding Bayou Teche, lies quite the little hidden gem when it comes to haunted plantations. Susie Plantation was built and completed between 1848 and 1852 by Royal and Adeline Harris as a working sugar cane and rice plantation. In 1858, Royal would pass away, leaving the home to his wife who would remarry to John H. Darnall. In appearance, the home is your standard smaller plantation for the period; a two story home with large columns to the front and to the rear of the building.
            The conversation piece of this home is not what’s inside, but what lies on the property. Only several feet away from the home sits an above ground grave. The grave is the final resting place of Addie (Adeliza) E. Harris, daughter of the original plantation’s owner, who died in 1872. The cause of death is still uncertain, while some say she died during childbirth, others claim she fell to her death from the second floor of the home. What’s most interesting is that her tombstone is etched with this ominous epitaph:

"Weep Not For Me, I Am Not Dead, I Only Sleepth"