A Rich Heritage

The area south of Baton Rouge was a vast wilderness in the mid-1700s. The Spanish Governor of the territory needed settlers willing to tame the land and establish profitable communities for the King. In 1774, four German families arrived and were given land grants for that very purpose. The Kleinpeters were one of those families. Willow Grove was one of those land grants.

John and Amelia Sharp Kleinpeter were children of these original settlers. They married in 1811 and it is believed that they built the Creole Style home, called Willow Grove, around the year 1820.

In 1851, they passed the home to their son, George. He and his wife, Mary Ann, had to see the farm through the difficult years of the Civil War. The youngest of their twelve children, Robert, was born in 1872 and never left the farm. He and his wife, Carrie had two children, Mary Elizabeth who became a doctor and Robert Jr, who farmed the land for his lifetime. He and his wife, Faye, reared seven children who in turn taught their children to love the farm as they did. One of their sons, Greg and his wife Donna, raised their family in the home making the sixth generation to live there.

The family started a tradition of sharing the history and heritage of Willow Grove with the community in the 1980s when they opened the farm for field trips and birthday parties. During these events, many people from Baton Rouge enjoyed the peaceful country atmosphere with hay rides through the pastures, feeding cattle and riding past the lovely centuries-old Oak trees surrounding the family cemetery.

The Kleinpeter family partnered with developer Richard Carmouche to bring new life to the farm, while also preserving its rich heritage. The plantation home is now the signature historical treasure at the center of The Settlement at Willow Grove. Today, the Settlement at Willow Grove honors this heritage with a master planned community that both recognizes its history and amplifies its beauty for new generations of residents to enjoy.