<P> In the low country of South Carolina, even before the American Revolution, planters in South Carolina typically owned hundreds of slaves . (In towns and cities, families held slaves to work as household servants). The 19th - century development of the Deep South for cotton cultivation depended on large tracts of land with much more acreage than was typical of the Chesapeake Bay area, and for labor, planters held dozens, or sometimes hundreds, of slaves . </P> <P> Antebellum architecture can be seen in many extant "plantation houses," the large residences of planters and their families . Over time in each region of the plantation south a regional architecture emerged inspired by those who settled the area . Most early plantation architecture was constructed to mitigate the hot subtropical climate and provide natural cooling . </P> <P> Some of earliest plantation architecture occurred in southern Louisiana by the French . Using styles and building concepts they had learned in the Caribbean, the French created many of the grand plantation homes around New Orleans . French Creole architecture began around 1699, and lasted well into the 1800s . In the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia, the Dogtrot style house was built with a large center breezeway running through the house to mitigate the subtropical heat . The wealthiest planters in colonial Virginia constructed their manor houses in the Georgian style, e.g. the mansion of Shirley Plantation . In the 19th century, Greek Revival architecture also became popular on some of the plantation homes of the deep south . </P> <P> Common plants and trees incorporated in the landscape of Southern plantation manors included Southern live oak and Southern magnolia . Both of these large trees are native to the Southern United States and were classic symbols of the old south . Southern live oaks, classically draped in Spanish moss, were planted along long paths or walkways leading to the plantation to create a grand, imposing, and majestic theme . Plantation landscapes were very well maintained and trimmed, usually, the landscape work was managed by the planter, with assistance from slaves or workers . Planters themselves also usually maintained a small flower or vegetable garden . Cash crops were not grown in these small garden plots, but rather garden plants and vegetables for enjoyment . </P>

Plantation owners in the south during the civil war