Valcour Aime

François-Gabriel "Valcour" Aimé (1798–1867) was a sugar planter, philanthropist, and pioneer in the large-scale refining of sugar. Known as the "Louis XIV of Louisiana," he was reputedly the wealthiest person in the South.

Aimé owned a plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana, called the St. James Refinery Plantation, but during the 20th century it became known as Le Petite Versailles due to its opulence. (It burned down about 1920.)

François-Gabriel was born in 1798 in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, to François-Gabriel Aimé II (1768-1799) and Marie Felicité Julie Fortier (1778-1806). He was called Valcour by his nurse as a baby and was known by that name for the rest of his life. His father died when he was two years old and his mother six years later. Aimé was placed in the charge of his maternal grandfather, Michel Fortier (1750-1819), who raised him.

In 1795, Étienne de Boré had succeeded in granulating sugar and making sugar cane a profitable commodity. Aimé inherited a plantation in St. Charles Parish, and a fortune of $100,000 in 1818; but he sold his portion of the plantation and bought several other plantations in St. James Parish, where he began the cultivation of sugar cane. By the 1830s, his plantation had grown to 10,000 acres and was the leading sugar producer in the world. Valcour Aimé kept a plantation diary from 1823 to 1854 documenting temperature, farming techniques, and various experiments with new varieties of cane and equipment. He is credited with perfecting the vacuum-pan method and was one of the only planters who refined sugar directly from cane juice on site. His innovative technique gave him a competitive edge, made him the richest man in Louisiana, and earned him the title "father of white sugar." His sugar was deemed as best in the world at the 1853 World's Fair in New York.

Valcour Aimé was viewed as the very model of a Louisiana grand seigneur. Aimé freely spent his wealth in helping the poor and giving donations to religious entities. He and his wife sent cart loads of provisions to those in need along the banks of the Mississippi; and in their house were two rooms dedicated exclusively to strangers, and these were never empty. He helped build Jefferson College in Convent, and when it experienced financial difficulties and was on the verge of total collapse, Valcour rescued the complex by purchasing it. Later, he gave the entire college to the Jesuits. Aimé donated to the St. James Catholic Church priceless treasures such as two four-feet-tall solid silver candle holders, an organ, statues of the apostles, and a communion rail. His most valuable gifts were the twelve paintings of the stations of the cross and the two large paintings which hang over the side altars, which he commissioned a famous Italian artist to paint.

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