Historic postcard depicting Baton Rouge, the Louisiana State Capitol and Pentagon Barracks, c.1940s Courtesy of the Harris News Agency {photo2} Rear view of historic site {courtesy2}

Evergreen Plantation house Photograph from National Historic Landmarks collection

This itinerary focuses on the variety of buildings and landscapes from elaborate plantation houses and beautiful landscapes gardens, to piney wood log cabins, slave cabins, Civil War sites, industrial sites and major political monuments. Visitors can stroll historic Main Street towns such as Plaquemine and Ponchatoula. Some sites, such as Afton Villa Gardens, offer vistas of stunning botanical beauty. Several antebellum plantations are highlighted such as San Francisco, built in the Creole style, Oak Alley, one of the finest remaining Greek Revival plantation houses, and Evergreen a plantation complex with numerous outbuildings including a rare surviving row of slave cabins. Houses such as Catalpa reflect the typical late Victorian cottages built throughout Louisiana in the late 19th century. During the Civil War, Louisiana became a battleground between Union and Confederate forces. At Port Hudson Confederate forces endured the longest siege in American history; the Union forces included the First Louisiana Native Guards, primarily composed of free blacks from New Orleans. More recent military history is represented by the U.S.S. Kidd, a World War II destroyer now docked in Baton Rouge, across from the Old Louisiana State Capitol. The Old Louisiana Governor's Mansion and the Louisiana State Capitol reflect the influence of the state's most famous political son, Huey P. Long. Included in the itinerary are also examples of Louisiana's industrialization and growth seen at the Cinclaire Sugar Mill Historic District and the Colonial Sugars Historic District. Louisiana's religious history is also highlighted at churches such as St. John Baptist Church and St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church.

Interior spiral staircase of the Old Louisiana State Capitol Courtesy of Capitol Resource Conservation and Development Council

Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana offers numerous ways to discover the historic properties that played important roles in Louisiana's past. Each property features a brief description of the place's significance, color and historic photographs, and public accessibility information. At the bottom of each page the visitor will also find a navigation bar containing links to three essays that explain more about The River Road, the French Creole Architecture, and the Florida Parishes. These essays provide historical background, or "contexts," for many of the places included in the itinerary. The itinerary can be viewed online, or printed out if you plan to visit Southeastern Louisiana in person.

Created through a partnership between the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, the Capital Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council, Lagniappe Tours (Foundation for Historical Louisiana), the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), and the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana is an example of a new and exciting cooperative project. As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to revitalize communities by promoting public awareness of history and encouraging tourists to visit historic places throughout the nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries. Using places listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the itineraries help potential visitors plan their next trip by highlighting the amazing diversity of this country's historic places and supplying accessibility information for each featured site. In the Learn More section, the itineraries link to regional and local web sites that provide visitors with further information regarding cultural events, special activities, and lodging and dining possibilities.

The Capital RC&D Council and Lagniappe Tours are the sixth of more than 30 organizations working directly with the National Register of Historic Places to create travel itineraries. Additional itineraries will debut online in the future. The National Register of Historic Places, the Capital RC&D Council and Lagniappe Tours hope you enjoy this virtual travel itinerary of Southeastern Louisiana's historic resources. If you have any comments or questions, please just click on the provided e-mail address, "comments or questions" located at the bottom of each page.

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