.jpg)
This past weekend Terri and I decided to brave the heat and humidity and spend an afternoon touring the Acadian Village (Museum) in Lafayette. I have to admit that this has been a location that I have wanted to see for some time now. When Terri woke up Saturday morning and said that she wanted to go explore the location I was more than happy to oblige her.
Over the years we have both really enjoyed places where it seems like you have traveled back in time. While we lived in California we loved to visit places like the Southern California Railway Museum and Calico Ghost Town because they were perfectly preserved locations. We especially loved spending a day at the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield, because the grounds were essentially a perfectly preserved part of the city with historic structures. Likewise Terri has fond memories of spending time in Old Salem and Mary Lynn Richardson Park when she lived in North Carolina.
Likewise, the Acadian Village was a perfectly preserved piece of history. When you walk out on the grounds you are immediately struck by the pure beauty of the place. Terri and I both talked at length about why we thought that settlers chose this place to homestead. To be honest, I wouldn't mind living at this location myself, if the place came with a modern air conditioning system.
Don't kid yourself, it's damn hot down here.
All kidding aside, this truly is an oasis in the midst of the rather harsh areas that once surrounded it.
It is hard to imagine just how rough the early settlers of Louisiana really had it. I couldn't imagine the hardships they truly faced. That being said, it is great to know that there are places like this that give us a glimpse of a time long ago, but not truly forgotten.
From the Acadian Village website:
The early Acadian settlers lived a very simple life. They were peace-loving people who made the most with the available materials around them.
When they realized that corn could be grown successfully, it proved to be a blessing to their existence due to its varied uses. Corn could be made into hominy, grits, and cornmeal. The corn shucks were used to make dolls, mattresses, hats, and brooms. It was also used to smoke out mosquitoes. Dampened corn shucks were braided into rope and used for chair seats and hats. Cobs were used for stoppers and as kindling for fires.
Spinning wheels were used to spin threads from fibers and looms were used to weave the fibers into cloth. Hats, slippers, handbags, and baskets were woven from palmetto and corn shucks. Leather was tanned at home. Combs were made from cow horns.
Acadian Village was created to serve three purposes: to preserve a piece of early Acadian heritage, to raise funds to help offset government cuts to the program, and to provide employment for LARC clients.LARC's Acadian Village
The Village is located on the 32-acres of LARC. In the early 1970s, officials were looking for an opportunity to improve tourism in Lafayette, Louisiana. Dr. Norman Heard, Bob Lowe, and Glen Conrad are credited with the idea.
In order to recreate a typical 1800s Cajun village, the design team had to transform 10 acres of farmland into a shaded community with a bayou running through it.
The massive undertaking of construction, dredging of bayous, and home restoration were accomplished through local carpenters, businessmen, civic organizations, and community volunteers. Even the Army Reservists of the Lafayette area pitched in by building the general store. The result captured a specific moment in time. Perhaps the 1978 Village Director, Mrs. Marti Gutierrez, said it best in a Times Picayune article, “The old ways are worth keeping alive, worth handing down, worth remembering.”
Seven of the eleven buildings are authentic homes of the 19th century, donated by the families whose ancestors once occupied them. All homes show the passing of time and are remarkable examples of the ingenuity of the early Acadian home builders, complete with wooden pegs, mud walls, hand-hewn cypress timbers, and high-peaked roofs. Each was moved piece by piece and carefully restored.
No comments:
Post a Comment