|
|
French Creole Aillet House (circa 1830) |
|
|
Explore the Aillet House, an important preservation-in-progress that represents Louisiana's earliest French Creole architectural tradition. |
|
The interior of the Aillet House displays the dining room as it may have appeared when sugar planter Jean Dorville Landry lived in the home before the Civil War.
|
|
Inside the Aillet House part of the wall has been removed to reveal an early insulation treatment in South Louisiana homes from the 19th century - "bousillage" a mixture of Spanish moss and mud was part of the construction of many homes, including the c.1830 Aillet House.
|
|
Rear view of the Aillet House.
|
|
Re-enactors perform on the gallery of the c.1830 Aillet House.
|
|
22-foot sugar mill model |
|
|
See a 22' hand-crafted working model of a sugar mill that exhibits the process of making raw sugar from sugar cane. |
|
Allendale Plantation Cabin |
|
|
Discover the pre-Civil War Allendale cabin that tells the story of sugar plantation workers. |
|
The legacy of slavery and post-war plantation worker is interpreted in the c.1850 Allendale Cabin on the grounds of the West Baton Rouge Museum.
|
|
|
The interior of the Allendale Cabin shows early furnishings used typically by plantation workers after the Civil War. Sugar plantations continue to be an important part of the economy in West Baton Rouge Parish even today.
|
|
Open-hearth cooking
|
 |
Learn about the lifestyles of this special part of Plantation Country along the mighty Mississippi River |
Local artist Troy Hotard has painted a rendition of a Fonville Winans photograph showing the ferry crossing from Port Allen across the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge.
|
Reed Shotgun House, circa 1938
|
Interior of the Reed Shotgun House
|
The grounds of the West Baton Rouge Museum display some beautiful antique irises, typical of the variety grown by the lady of the sugar plantation big house generations ago. Today's irises are a bluer hybrid, and much more purple than the deep red of years gone by.
|
Many photographs from the Collection are on display at the West Baton Rouge Museum that depict the history and culture of the area. These are changed out periodically so each time a visitor comes to the Museum they can see more and more of these treasures from our Collection.
|
|
