The Lost History of Uncle Sam Plantation

Text

The Uncle Sam Plantation is a demolished plantation in Convent, Louisiana. The plantation was one of the most extensive sugar cane plantations in its time. Uncle Sam Plantation was originally known as Constancia Plantation prior to 1864. It was established after the War of 1812 by Colonel Joseph Constance, but it was acquired by Pierre Auguste Samuel Fagot of La Rochelle, France in 1829. When Fagot died, he left the plantation to his widow and was run by his son-in-law Lucien Malus. They both died in the 1870’s and the property went to Jules and Camille Jacobs, who had married the daughters of Malus.

The plantation had many buildings during its time including the main house, slave quarters, mills, and even a slave hospital. The entire property was around 1300 acres. The plantation store was also an integral part of the plantation operation along with sugar cane production and processing as it engaged in commerce with the plantation laborers as well as others in the community. The main house was gutted by a fire in 1849 but the outside was saved and rebuilt.

In 1940 the Mississippi River was encroaching the levee in the front yard of the plantation. The house was eventually demolished but some structures still stood. Today the brick foundations of a slave hospital, sugar mill, sugar house, and one unidentified house remain. The demolition caused much of its history to be lost but some can still be found today.