ARDOYNE PLANTATION

It is one of the very few plantations to have remained in the family: Senator John Dalton Shaffer built it in 1894 and today Susan and Lee Shaffer live there. Ardoyne has also remained intact, both in its structure and furnishings. As you tour its many rooms, you will discover the wooden dolls that Grandma Shaffer skillfully carved into the "cypress knees" (root protrusions of the bald cypress tree that emerge flush with the water in the bayou) as works of art. Margaret "Granny" Shaffer was also quite good with a needle between her fingers: almost all of the quilts, draperies, etc. were sewn and embroidered by her with an amazing level of detail. Susan Shaffer is sure to mention the hand-printed tapestries in the lobby or the hand-painted staircase (a good way to save on carpet maintenance). Finally, it is Ardoyne's architecture that makes it unique. Considered the most accomplished example of the "Victorian Rural Gothic" style, the plantation can, from a certain angle, look like a Swiss chalet or a Bavarian bell tower, with its exaggeratedly sloping roofs, flat gray tiles and oblong windows. The house is built entirely of wood, and all the cypress and pine trees used come from the idyllic surrounding park where centuries-old oaks still stand. It is this smell of wood that will remain in memory once the threshold of the stained glass door is crossed.