Winter Quarters State Historic Site

Winter Quarters State Historic Site stands today as a rare survivor of the ravages of the Civil War. The large, airy structure is the only one of its kind along the banks of scenic Lake St. Joseph to remain as a reflection of Louisiana's Antebellum cotton plantation. In 1805, Job Routh built a winter hunting lodge on a Spanish land grant located on the Mississippi River flood plain in what would become Tensas Parish. During the early 1830s, Routh's heirs added several more rooms and a gallery. Dr. Haller Nutt and his wife Julia (granddaughter of Job Routh) bought the property in 1850 and began the final phase of construction, which gives Winter Quarters Planatation is distinctive look. Surviving documents show that the plantation grew to over 2,000 acres, housed more than 300 slaves and included an extraordinary scope of operations including several cotton gins, a sawmill, barns, machine ships, a hospital, a smokehouse, boat docks, a milk house and various other supporting operations.