The History Of Esperanza Plantation Esperanza Restaurant is named after Esperanza Plantation, which is situated in the Parish of St. Charles on the right bank of the Mississippi River about 27 miles above the City of New Orleans. The original plantation measured 25 arpents on the Mississippi River by a depth of about 80 arpents. It is bounded on the upper side by Fashion Plantation formerly owned by Richard Taylor, son of U.S. President Zachary Taylor and on the lower side by Ashton Plantation. It is located between the towns of Hahnville and Luling on the River Road (La. 18). The property was first owned by Michel Labranche and Alexandre Labranche prior to 1765, After Michel died in 1787, Alexandre sold his Interest to Madame Louise Fortier, the widow of Michel Labranche. Madame Fortier married Louis Habine in 1797. Madame Louise Fortier Habine further claimed the property from a Spanish Land Grant of 1797 which was later confirmed by a United States Land Grant in 1823. At her death in 1827, she was separated from her second husband, Louis Habine and her heirs were her children from Michel Labranche, her first husband. Her son, Jean Baptist Labranche, acquired the property and it was owned by him and his heirs, one of whom was Jean Louis Labranche who was Judge of the Parish Court in St. Charles Parish. In 1871 the plantation was purchased by Charles Lafitte, owner of Lafitte, Dufilho & Co. During this time (1871 to 1879) the plantation became known as Esperanza and although there are no records indicating the origin of the name, it was believed that the name was that of one of Lafitte's daughters or of a lady friend. The name Esperanza is of Spanish origin meaning hope and is a fairly common name for females in Spanish speaking countries. Esperanza was later owned by C.H. & John A. Wogan who founded the Labranche Plantation Company in 1894 and in 1901 it was sold to Theodule Schexnaydre and Stanislaus Hymel. A few years later Hymel acquired Schexnaydre's interest to the property. Esperanza was owned by the Hymel family until 1926 when it was acquired by James Webb, president of Madison Realty Co. The Hymel Family then re-acquired the upper portion of Esperanza Plantation in 1931 which they still own. Robert Milling of St. Charles Street Realty Co. acquired the lower portion of the plantation. In July 1937, Edward A. Dufresne, Sr. purchased the lower portion of Esperanza and moved on the property in January 1938 with his wife Irene. In October 1938, their only child, Edward A. Dufresne, Jr. was born and he and his family still live on the plantation. Sugar cane has been the principle crop grown on Esperanza Plantation since 1763. However, over the years other crops have been grown such as rice, corn, soy beans, citrus trees; and horses and cattle have been raised also. The original Esperanza Sugar House located on the property was demolished and sold in 1931. The original plantation house was constructed 'where the present levee is now located and in the 1920's a portion of this wood frame house was moved mid-way between the River Road and the Texas & Pacific Railroad. After being remodeled a few times over the next thirty years it was demolished and a new brick colonial style home was built in 1957 by Edward A. Dufresne, Sr. and is located between two rows of live oak trees on the upper end of the plantation. Presently Esperanza Plantation is owned by Esperanza Land Co. and has over 1,000 acres in cultivation with sugar cane as the main crop. Also located on the property on La. 3127 is Captain Terry's Esperanza Swamp Tours which provide an interesting and detailed visit into the swamps of Esperanza Plantation. Esperanza Restaurant is located in the center of Dufresne Business Park..... there is a drawing of the plantation home, not sure if it is the old or new house. http://www.esperanzarestaurant.com/esperanza_history.htm ************** Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)