Just outside St. Martinville, Louisiana, a narrow gravel road shaded by giant oaks and tall pines is known as Oak & Pine Alley — a living remnant of the early 1800s sugar plantation owned by Charles Durand. Once stretching nearly three miles from his grand house to Bayou Teche, this mile-long canopy of trees still stands as one of the most beautiful and storied rural roads in Louisiana.
The origins of Oak & Pine alley
Durand, a wealthy sugar planter, wanted a grand entrance that would impress guests traveling by boat along the bayou. So he planted long rows of oak and pine trees to line the road from his plantation to the landing. Today, trucks loaded with sugarcane still rumble down the dusty lane during harvest season — just as carriages once carried Durand’s family and guests to the exquisite plantation home.
But what makes Oak & Pine Alley famous is a story wrapped in legend — a glittering event remembered as the Golden Spiderweb Wedding.
The golden spiderweb wedding
“The story is that two of his daughters were getting married, and they sprinkled gold dust in the golden webs as the wedding party went down the alley,” said Chip Durand, owner of St. John Restaurant in St. Martinville and a great-great-great-grandson of Charles Durand.
Inside his restaurant, Chip points to a large black-and-white photograph of the 1952 reenactment of that legendary wedding. His mother, then eighteen, portrayed one of the brides, riding horseback beneath the same canopy of trees that shaded the original wedding procession.
family history and legend
In Baton Rouge, another descendant, Cliff Durand, keeps the family’s genealogy and believes the story to be true — if somewhat embellished over the years. “They sprinkled gold and silver dust in the dew,” he explained. “It must have been the story of the decade — no one had ever seen something like that.”
Cliff says Charles Durand died only months after the double wedding — a final flourish from a man remembered for grand gestures.
a living link to louisiana’s past
Two centuries later, Oak & Pine Alley remains a peaceful and photogenic landmark — a favorite stop for wedding portraits and family pictures. On Good Friday, local parishioners still walk beneath the oaks and pines for the Way of the Cross, following a path that continues to connect the present with Louisiana’s colorful and golden past.
Oak & Pine Alley featured on tv
getting there
Oak & Pine Alley is located two miles east of St. Martinville, Louisiana on Catahoula Hwy, Hwy 96. There is a roadside historic marker at the entrance to the tree-lined alley.
Pine Alley Dr, St Martinville, LA 70582
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