Fort St. Jean Baptiste is a testament to the resourcefulness of French explorers who first settled the backcountry of Louisiana in the early 1700s. About a quarter of a century after LaSalle first traveled down the Mississippi River and claimed all of the lands it...

The old courthouse was the fourth courthouse designed for the parish since its creation on April 10, 1805. On February 9, 1895, the Jury entered into an agreement with Mrs. Ellen Schuman, widow of Theodore Schuman, to lease her old hotel building to be used as a...

Oakland Plantation, part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, originally known as Bermuda, was begun by Jean Pierre Emmanuel Prudhomme on a tract of land granted to him by the Spanish government in 1789. He quickly built a fortune, vastly increasing his...

This 1800s Greek revival-style mansion represents the hieght of Southern prosperity and the "Cotton Kingdom." Built by the John T. McMurran family beginning in 1841, Melrose was, according to McMurran daughter-in-law Alice Austen, "very elegant; one of the handsomest...

Primarily because of its grand scale, the Lancaster County Historic Landmark Commission identified Melrose to "embody an architectural style and manner of antebellum plantation construction found to be exemplary...one of the finest examples in our region."

The Magnolia Plantation Complex, 18 acres of outbuildings, is open to the public and free to tour as a unit of Cane River Creole National Historical Park. The Park includes a blacksmith shop, plantation store, gin barn, eight cabins, and former slave hospital that at...

An amphitheater serves as a showplace for the ongoing musical traditions of North Louisiana. Bluegrass, country, gospel and folk concerts are some of the exciting events taking place onstage at Rebel State Historic Site. Non-profit groups are also invited to hold...

Fort Jesup is a reminder of a young nation's growing pains and a relic of Louisiana's rich international heritage. When the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803 failed to clearly define the western boundary of Louisiana, which was also the western border of the country...

The Robert Gentry Museum in Many is an eclectic admixture of curiosities from a "collector", as Mr. Gentry describes himself. Items range from the interesting to the absurd, from prehistoric Indian artifacts to Marilyn Monroe, from personal memorabilia of country and...

When some people think of Louisiana, they think of New Orleans and its Mardi Gras, or of Cajuns and their food, while others think of Louisiana’s famous politicians.  And when they think of Louisiana politicians, what comes to mind? Well, Winnfield of course! And...