Made of bricks fired on site and southern lumber painted to resemble exotic wood, the 23 Room Madewood Plantation Home is one of the finest examples of Greek revival architecture in Louisiana. Set to face Bayou Lafourche, Colonel Thomas Pugh built his manor home amid a 10,000 acre plantation in 1840.
     The Madewood façade, covered in white stucco, is enhanced by six, two story Ionic columns, offering the proportions of a Greek temple. Resting among sprawling live oaks and decorated with spring’s showy azaleas, this mansion is one of the best plantation examples on the Great Mississippi River Road.
     A splendid example of a sugar grower’s home, Madewood is one of a string of mansions that line each side of the Mississippi River. This 70 mile byway, extending from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, follows a river you seldom see. Seen as a study of man against nature, portions of the levee system date back to the early 1700s. So different 160 years ago, Mark Twain described the region as a broad river lying between two rows of showy homes, becoming a spacious street.
     Madewood, a National Historic Landmark and bed and breakfast in Napoleonville, was purchased by the Marshall family in 1964. A major renovation was completed in 1978, tours show off this lovely grounds and home. The grounds also include a carriage house, the Pugh family cemetery, Elmfield cottage and slave quarters. The residence is open for tours every day except for major holidays.