Reviving a Timeless Plantation Legacy
Building With Passion and Detailed Research on Pre-Civil War Architecture
Preserving History, One Brick at a Time
- Historical Accuracy: Faithful replication of historical construction.
- Personal Journey: A Service-Connected Disabled Vietnam Veteran and his wife’s dedication to history.
- Hurricane Recovery: Rebuilt from Mary Barton's home estate on the Mississppi River destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.
- Cultural Significance: Highlighting a pivotal historical location in Southern American history.
From Recovery to Historical Discovery
In early 2011, Lewis underwent open-heart surgery and, in 2013, contracted sepsis, which led to a 10-day intravenous morphine treatment. While still recovering, Lewis traveled to Louisiana to explore the levees of the Mississippi River and tour pre-Civil War plantations. During this week-long journey, he studied the architecture and engineering of over 30 plantations. Upon returning, the Barton's purchased 15 acres of land shaded by Hammock Live Oak trees, where 17 Oaks Plantation now stands.
A Labor of Love
The name, 17 Oaks Plantation, is inspired by the 17 oak columns encircling the plantation home, each measuring 16 inches square and standing 16 feet tall. Starting in May 2013, while still recovering from his surgery, Lewis took on the task of clearing the land himself. He set up a tent on the property and, using a chainsaw and backhoe, began to clear a space nestled among the hammocks for their home. Initially, he could only work in two to three-hour intervals before resting in his tent for three to four hours, and then resuming work. He maintained this routine seven days a week for over a year. Now, having shed thirty pounds and freed from prescription medications, he can work nine to ten hours a day without needing to rest.
Countess Athena & Godfather's Twins
Countess Athena & Godfather's Twins is the first book of a four-book series. This book series illustrates eighty years of Sicilian family life — their love and devotion, traditions, commitment and loyalty, royal families merging, wealth, survival, and crime. All these factors had an influence on the world, both in America and abroad.
The author began to research and document five generations of historical events. In an effort to learn what happened to Duke Vito and Duchess Marie Cornino twenty years ago, along with their eight grandchildren who were four of the five sets of twins, and the great-grandchildren of Countess Athena Marie Castellammare; and Duke Don Vito Cornino, the godfather of Palermo, Sicily.
Braron Tony Zibelli, his wife Countess Florence Zibelli, along with seven other family members and their security, domestic, and medical staff, as well as their two pilots, were last seen in Zurich, Switzerland in August 2001, while doing some banking business. They mysteriously disappeared and no one has seen or heard from them since. Rumors have spread that they were in a plane crash; others say they were in a shipwreck; and still others have said they are on a private island in the South Pacific. . . another theory is they were kidnapped by the Russian Mafia.
New book titled "Godfather's Twins Don Vito & Mafia Kennedy's" coming soon!
