Mr. Zeb Mayhew Jr.'s relationship with Oak Alley precedes his tenure as Director by decades. Great-nephew to Mrs. Josephine Stewart, he spent vacations at the plantation and considered Louisiana his second home, attending Tulane for his B.A and Graduate Studies.
Since 1976 when he first accepted the position of Director, Zeb has overseen the growth of the Foundation from a Mission Statement and no endowment to a fully developed Historic Site that welcomed its 5 Millionth visitor in 2014. Under his guidance the mansion has been restored and furnished; the Site listed on the U.S National Register of Historic Places and as a U.S National Historic Landmark, and more recently he established a Department dedicated to furthering research and interpretation. In addition to bringing sustainability and vision to the Foundation, Zeb has also sought ways to develop the River Region as a whole, looking beyond Oak Alley and searching for opportunities for the area to unite and celebrate our shared cultural resources, sites and landmarks, preserving and interpreting them for an ever-growing public.
His motto has always been:
“Hold Fast To That Which Is Good”