A Modern Day Slave Plantation Exists, and It's Thriving in the Heart of America. ... Change was brewing across America, but one place stood still, frozen in time: Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola.

Do plantation houses still exist?

Though some plantation homes remain private residences—most on far smaller properties—many were transformed into historic sites for tourists. But they're often romanticized as beautiful houses set among elegant gardens, disregarding the darker side of their history.

When did the last plantation close?

In 1997, several thousand black farmers joined a $2.5 billion lawsuit alleging discrimination by the agriculture agency—derided by some as the “last plantation”—between 1983 and 1997.