Historic Places in Louisiana
These historic sites and attractions located around Louisiana offer a glimpse in to the past as you travel back in time.
Louisiana State Museum
There are a total of nine museums throughout the state in the Louisiana State Museum collection, but visitors to New Orleans should include the French Quarter Five to their list which includes The Cabildo, The Presbytere, 1850 House, Madame John's Legacy and the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint. These National Historic Landmarks are home to thousands of artefacts and art work that reflect Louisiana's historic and cultural legacy.
Preservation Hall
Visit Preservation Hall in New Orleans and listen to the sounds of traditional jazz played within the walls of the 1750s French Quarter building. Both veteran and younger musicians play at the hall continuing the effort to preserve and maintain the sounds of traditional jazz. Evening music begins at 8pm and admission is $15 p/person.
New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum is an unusual museum located in the Vieux Carre Historic District. The historic building houses an extensive collection of pharmaceutical items from a time when pharmacists compounded their own medicines without the structure or knowledge of modern medicine. From showcasing the history of America’s first licensed pharmacist, Louis J Dufilho Jr, to antique surgical instruments, hand blown apothecary jars filled with crude medicines, to perfumes and cosmetics, the museum preserves the history of pharmacy and healthcare in Louisiana.
St. Charles Streetcar Line
Take a ride on New Orleans’ oldest electric streetcar line. This route covers seven miles of the city with the majority of the track running in the centre on St. Charles Avenue. Riding the historic streetcar line shows off the gorgeous historic homes and buildings, and tree lined streets from the Garden District to Tulane and Loyola Universities. It is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world and has been in operation since 1835.
Houmas House
Take a tour of Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow where each visitor is thought of as a guest. The tours are kept small to small groups to properly display the beauty and intricacies of the plantation, originally named ‘The Sugar Palace’ during its antebellum days. Browse the gardens and enjoy an afternoon refreshment at the restaurant or Turtle Bar. Interesting fact - it was named after the native Houma people who originally occupied this area of Louisiana.
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe Pow Wow
Throughout the year in Marksville the Native American traditions that began more than 20,000 years ago and the culture of the Tunica-Biloxi tribe come to life with Pow Wow events. Tribal members are dressed in full regalia to dance and sing to the beat of drums, while crafts and Native American foods are also featured.
Biedenharn Museum and Gardens
If you are in Monroe you must visit the Biedenharn Museum and Gardens to travel back in time to the early 20th century and home of Joseph A Biedenharn - the first bottler of Coca-Cola. Tour the museum, house and beautiful gardens, which offers a large collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia including a replica soda fountain with a genuine soda jerk retelling the Biedenharn story.
Vermilionville Living History Museum
Vermilionville Living History Museum in Lafayette is a picturesque representation of a late 1700s-1800s village re-enacting how Acadians and Creoles created a new life in the Attakapas Region of the new Louisiana territory. The museum is across 23 acres filled with costumed artisans and musicians acting out the chores and activities of their daily lives.
Old State Capitol
The Old State Capitol is a 160-year-old National Historic Landmark located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge. A preserved treasure of architecture this Gothic Revival structure has withstood war, fire, scandal and bitter debates. In 1990 the building went under a major restoration project and is now the Museum of Political History. You can book a tour, visit The Ghost in The Castle theatrical presentation or just wander the museum for free.
Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gins
Head to the Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gins in Ferriday to discover how the cotton industry has developed since the 1700s and the modern processes found today. Explore the deep history of slavery, slave customs, secret music and the relationships with the plantation masters. Frogmore is a must see site with various tour options that take you through the cotton gin evolution, walks you through authentically furnished slave quarters, you can view a rare steam gin plus other plantation dependencies. And don't miss the Delta Music Tour which chronicles the history of the area via the authentic music that was played throughout the Delta.
Charpentier District, Lake Charles
The Charpentier Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places and covers more than 40 blocks of turn-of-the-century buildings of mixed styles with turrets, towers, gables, shingling, leaded glass and gingerbread accents on the porches and railings. The Charpentier (French for “carpenter”) District stands in homage to the carpenter architects who freely designed as they built, creating a unique Lake Charles style.
Natchitoches
Natchitoches, (Nack-a-tish) the original French colony in Louisiana, is the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. Established in 1714, Natchitoches retains its European flavour through its architecture, heritage and lifestyle. Natchitoches is also well known for the filming of the movie Steel Magnolias.
No Man's Land, Louisiana's Final Frontier
The Neutral Strip region, (a.k.a. No Man's Land) draws its name from the area's brief stint as an official buffer zone between Spain and the United States following the Louisiana Purchase. When the United States purchased the territory from France, Spain and the U.S. were in conflict over the boundary south of Natchitoches. In part, this confusion derived from the region's long history, even before Spanish rule during the 1790s and 1800s, as a contested area with unclear boundaries. This is the place where the pirate met the cowboy, and where Native Americans, French, Spanish, Africans, Creoles, Cajuns, and American pioneers from the South and West met to build communities and a culture like no other.
For more information on any of the above attractions email Louisiana@deep-south-usa.com.
