♪♪ >>> FOR NEARLY A CENTURY LOUISIANA'S MAIN ECONOMIC ENGINES WERE SUGARCANE AND COTTON.

WHAT BEGAN IN THE 1750s CONTINUED TO THE CIVIL WAR AS THE STATE PRODUCED OVER 95% OF THE SUGAR IN THE UNITED STATES AND ALMOST ONE-THIRD OF ALL COTTON EXPORTED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

THE RICH MISSISSIPPI AND RED RIVER VALLEY LANDS WERE PERFECT FOR GROWING THESE LUCRATIVE CROPS.

ALSO GROWING WAS A CRITICAL NEED FOR LABOR.

IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY UNTIL THE ONSET OF THE CIVIL WAR, THE SLAVE LABOR FORCE GREW TO ALMOST 50% OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION.

ALONG LOUISIANA'S COUNTRYSIDE, ONE COULD FIND EXTENSIVE PLANTATIONS WITH ORNATE MANSIONS, SLAVE CABINS, LUSH GARDENS, AND HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF PROFITABLE LAND.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IN RURAL LOUISIANA WAS A WEALTHY PLANTER OR SLAVE.

IN THE PRAIRIES OF THE SOUTHWEST AND PINEY WOODS AND HILLS OF NORTH LOUISIANA, RURAL WHITES AND FREE BLACKS WERE A MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION.

THEY LIVED ON SMALL FARMS AND PRODUCED CROPS TO MEET THEIR FAMILIES' NEEDS AND SOLD ANY SURPLUS TO NEIGHBORING TOWNS AND CITIES.

HOWEVER, AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, LOUISIANA WAS DEVASTATED.

SUGAR AND COTTON INDUSTRIES WORTH MILLIONS AND PRICELESS LAND NOW WORTHLESS, HOMES AND BARNS DESTROYED.

YET, TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS, THESE SAME EVENTS ENDED CENTURIES OF BRUTAL SLAVERY.

IT WAS A MOMENT OF TRIUMPH, OF HOPE, FOR HALF OF THE POPULATION OF LOUISIANA.

BUT, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS FOR MANY IN RURAL AREAS WERE HARSH.

THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE WAS DIFFICULT, FOR BLACK AND WHITE.

SMALL FARMERS SUDDENLY FOUND THEMSELVES WITHOUT ANY LAND HOLDINGS, AND FORMER SLAVES OWNED NO PROPERTY.

>> WHEN FREEDOM CAME, AND YOU'RE TOLD “I'M FREE,” A LOT OF THOSE PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

AND IT WAS A TIME OF TRANSITION BECAUSE NOW THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR CLOTHING, THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR FOOD, THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE QUARTERS THEY LIVE IN.

>> AND IT MEANT THAT WHITES HAD TO PAY THEIR LABOR.

CASH WAS SCARCE, AND WHAT EMERGED WAS A SYSTEM FOR SHARECROPPING.

LABORERS WORKED THE LAND FOR A PERCENTAGE OF THE CROP.

MANY RECEIVED SCRIP, OR PLANTATION MONEY, THAT COULD ONLY BE SPENT AT THE PLANTATION STORE.

THE DIFFICULT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF POSTWAR LOUISIANA CONTINUED FOR DECADES.

>> I THINK IT STARTS TO CHANGE AFTER WORLD WAR II AND SIMPLY BECAUSE THE UNITED STATES STARTED TO CHANGE.

THE 20th CENTURY DIDN'T COME TO LOUISIANA UNTIL 1946.

AND BECAUSE MOST AREAS OF LOUISIANA DIDN'T HAVE ELECTRICITY UNTIL THE LATE '40s AND '50s.

AND THERE WERE STILL MANY AREAS THAT WERE STILL DEPENDENT UPON THE CISTERNS AND OUTHOUSES.

>> TODAY, AS A REMINDER OF WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE FOR THE LABORING CLASS IN EARLIER TIMES, STANDS THE LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY RURAL LIFE MUSEUM.

ONCE A 600-ACRE TRACT OF LAND PURCHASED AT A SHERIFF'S SALE OVER A CENTURY AGO, THE MODEST WINDRUSH PLANTATION WAS HOME FOR THE BURDEN FAMILY.

WILLIAM PIKE AND OLLIE STEELE BURDEN HAD THREE CHILDREN.

WHEN WILLIAM DIED AT A YOUNG AGE, OLLIE AND THE CHILDREN, WITH HELP FROM FARM HANDS, WERE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THEIR LIFESTYLE AND DEVELOP THE LAND.

THE FIRST BORN, IONE EASTER BURDEN, AS AN ADULT DEVOTED MUCH OF HER LIFE TO LSU WHERE SHE RECEIVED A BACHELOR'S IN ENGLISH AND ULTIMATELY BECAME DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.

HER BROTHER WILLIAM PIKE JR.

ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY, BUT IN THE SPRING OF 1917 ENTERED THE GREAT WAR, WORLD WAR I, WHERE HE BECAME A PILOT.

THE YOUNGEST CHILD OF PIKE SENIOR AND OLLIE, OLLIE BRICE STEELE BURDEN, BETTER KNOWN AS STEELE, LOVED THE NATURAL WORLD AND WAS A GIFTED LANDSCAPE DESIGNER.

ALONG WITH THE LUSH GARDENS OF WINDRUSH, MANY OF THE LIVE OAKS AND MAGNOLIAS STILL ENJOYED ON LSU CAMPUS TODAY WERE PLANTED BY STEELE BURDEN.

OF THE THREE CHILDREN, NONE HAD CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN.

WHEN ALL WERE IN THEIR 60s, THEY WERE FACED WITH THE DILEMMA OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE PROPERTY.

IN 1966, IONE, PIKE, AND STEELE BURDEN BEGAN THE PROCESS OF DONATING THEIR HOMELAND TO LSU.

>> IT WAS STEELE BURDEN WHO HAD THIS IDEA.

WHY DON'T WE JUST LEAVE IT A GREEN SPACE?

WHY DON'T WE DO SOMETHING TO PROTECT IT?

WHY DON'T WE DO IT IN HONOR OF OUR PARENTS, WHO REALLY STRIVED TO KEEP THIS PROPERTY TOGETHER?

AND, SO THEY ALL AGREED TO THAT.

>> IT WAS DURING HIS TIME WORKING AT LSU THAT STEELE BURDEN NOTICED A COLLECTION OF 19th CENTURY FOLK OBJECTS AND FARM TOOLS STORED IN THE UNIVERSITY'S RODEO STADIUM.

HE OFFERED TO MOVE THE ARTIFACTS TO HIS GARDEN STUDIO AT WINDRUSH.

AND, EVENTUALLY WITH FUNDING FROM THE UNIVERSITY FOR A METAL BUILDING, HE COMBINED THAT COLLECTION WITH HIS OWN AND IN 1970 BEGAN THE LSU RURAL LIFE MUSEUM.

BURDEN BROUGHT IN KEY LSU ADVISORS, LEWIS ANZOLONE, CHANCELLOR CECIL TAYLOR, AND DUB KENNEDY TO HELP WITH HIS DREAM PROJECT.

WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM JOHNNY COX, FRED KNIFFEN, MILTON NEWTON, AND ROBERT NEWMAN, BURDEN'S VISION FOR THE PROPERTY WOULD SOON FLOURISH.

HE REALIZED EARLY IN HIS LIFE THAT THE HISTORY OF PLANTATION WORKERS, BOTH FREE AND SLAVE, AND YEOMAN FARMERS WAS BASICALLY FORGOTTEN.

WITH SOME OF HIS OWN MONEY AND HELP FROM HIS SISTER IONE, BURDEN WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO WINDRUSH THE FORMER SLAVE CABINS FROM NEARBY WELHAM PLANTATION, WHERE THEY WERE SLATED FOR DESTRUCTION.

HE EMPLOYED HIS CLOSE FRIEND W. H. BROWN TO COORDINATE THE MOVE AND RESTORATION OF THE BUILDINGS.

ALERAHAN FOX, ALPHUS HATCHEY, ARNESTEAD VAUGHER, DAVER NAHOLUS, AND WILLIAM RIOGETY WERE THE FIVE SLAVES NAMED IN THE 1850 CENSUS AT WILHAM PLANTATION.

THERE WERE 63 IN ALL LISTED THAT YEAR, RANGING FROM A BLIND 75-YEAR-OLD TO A 1-YEAR-OLD BABY.

THESE CABINS WOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR HOMES.

THE RED CURTAINS HUNG FROM THE WINDOWS AND DOORWAYS WERE BELIEVED TO WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS.

THE MORTIS AND TENON CYPRESS CABINS WERE BUILT BETWEEN 1830 AND 1840.

>> THE SLAVE CABINS WERE BUILT IN VARYING DEGREES OF COMFORT.

IT DEPENDED UPON WHAT THE OWNER FELT WAS THE BEST FOR HIS OR HER SLAVES.

>> WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE TWO CABINS, THEY WERE SEPARATED BY A TWO-SIDED FIREPLACE WALL.

SO FAIRLY INEXPENSIVE CONSTRUCTION, DUPLEXES BEING EASIER AND CHEAPER TO BUILD THAN AN INDIVIDUAL HOUSE FOR EVERY SLAVE FAMILY.

>> THESE HOUSES, AFTER SLAVERY, WENT AWAY AND BECAME LIKE SHARECROPPER HOUSING.

THEY STILL HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THEM, AND THEY WOULD TEND TO PUT BOARDS ACROSS THE EXPOSED BEAMS IN THE CEILING.

THEY'D PUT THE QUILTS AND STUFF ON TOP OF THEM, AND YOU COULD SLEEP A LOT OF PEOPLE.

THIS LITTLE HOUSE HERE COULD HAVE HAD SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT PEOPLE LIVING IN IT.

>> THE INTERESTING POINT OF THE SOUTH IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE BLACK POPULATION THAT LIVES IN THE SOUTH LIVED PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PLACE THAT THEIR FOREFATHERS LIVED AS SLAVES ON THE PLANTATION.

>> BUILT IN 1835, THE OVERSEER'S HOUSE IS CLASSICAL REVIVAL STYLE, WITH EACH OF THE FOUR ROOMS HAVING ITS OWN FIREPLACE.

THE ORIGINAL WALLS WERE OF BOUSILLAGE CONSTRUCTION, A FAMILIAR BUILDING TECHNIQUE IN LOUISIANA PRIOR TO THE 1840s.

>> I WOULD THINK THAT MORE TIME WAS SPENT OUT HERE ON THE FRONT PORCH THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE STRUCTURE.

YOU WOULD GO INSIDE TO SLEEP, YOU MAY GO INSIDE TO EAT, BUT THIS IS GOING TO BE THE MOST COMFORTABLE PLACE ON A STRUCTURE LIKE THIS.

YOU HAVE SHADE AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING AND IF YOU'RE AN OVERSEER YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THE PLANTATION.

>> THE OVERSEER WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SLAVES, LAND, LIVESTOCK, AND EQUIPMENT.

FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR, SHARECROPPERS AND THEIR OVERSEERS CONTINUED TO SUPERVISE LABORERS ON THE PLANTATION.

THIS HOUSE, LIKE MANY HERE, WAS LIVED IN WELL INTO THE 20th CENTURY.

>> REMINDS ME OF BEING HOME, ON WELHAM PLANTATION, WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED.

IT WAS NO DIFFERENT THAN THIS.

JUST LIKE THIS, THAT'S THE WAY I GREW UP.

AND THAT WAS BACK - I WAS BORN IN 1938.

SO THAT'S HOW FAR BACK IT WAS.

AND YOU SEE THOSE BOWLS OVER THERE?

THAT'S WHAT WE USED TO USE TO PUT WATER IN FOR THE HORSES AND THE CATTLE TO DRINK WATER OUT OF.

YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE PASTURE.

>> SO THIS IS IT RIGHT HERE?

WHICH ONE?

>> THAT'S IT.

>> OH, THAT'S IT.

OH, LOOK HOW DRESSED UP IT IS.

>> YEAH, GOT IT ALL DRESSED UP.

MY OLD HOME.

THE ONLY HEAT THEY HAD WERE FIREPLACES WITH CHIMNEYS.

AND THOSE HOUSES DIDN'T HAVE ANY INSULATION AT ALL.

ONE THING MY DADDY SAID, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT, THE FIRE GOES OUT.

WE NOT GONNA SLEEP WITH THE FIREPLACES ON.

SO WE'D GET UNDER THOSE QUILTS, AND SOMETIMES WHEN IT GET COLD, YOU PUT TWO OF THOSE QUILTS ON YOU.

MY DADDY WAS A PRODUCE FARMER.

WE USED TO RENT 40 ACRES AND PLANT BELL PEPPERS IN THE SUMMER AND SHALLOTS IN THE WINTER.

>> MY GRANDPARENTS BROUGHT UP TEN CHILDREN IN THIS HOUSE.

THERE WAS AN OUTSIDE KITCHEN.

I REMEMBER THE STOVE WAS A CAST IRON, BLACK POT-BELLY STOVE THAT YOU HAD TO PUT COALS IN, AND YOU HAD TO GET THE STOVE ACTUALLY GOING BEFORE YOU COULD PUT THE POTS ON.

AND THE POTS WERE CAST IRON, MADE THE BEST JAMBALAYAS, THE BEST GUMBOS.

WHEN THEY WERE LIVING HERE, THEY HAD THE USUAL WASHSTAND WITH THE BOWL AND THE PITCHER AND SO FORTH.

BUT AS I BECAME OLDER, THEY WERE ONE OF THE FIRST ON THE LANE TO GET A BATHROOM.

AND EVERYONE WAS EXCITED BECAUSE WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A BATHROOM NEARBY.

WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO USE THE OUTHOUSES ANY LONGER.

THEY HAD A LAVATORY WITH ONE FAUCET BECAUSE ALL WE HAD WAS COLD WATER.

WE HAD TO BRING THE HOT WATER IN FROM THE KITCHEN, ESPECIALLY IF WE WERE GOING TO BATHE.

MY GRANDPARENTS HAD A GARDEN, MY PARENTS HAD A GARDEN, THE NEIGHBORS HAD GARDENS.

ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE QUARTERS, IN THE CABINS, WE ALL HAD GARDENS.

THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP WAS LOCATED ALMOST NEXT TO THIS HOUSE.

OF COURSE, MY GRANDFATHER WORKED IN THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP AS WELL AS BEING AN OVERSEER, WOULD HAVE TO FIX THE CANE CARTS.

MAYBE A WHEEL HAD FALLEN OFF OR SOME OTHER FARM IMPLEMENT HAD TO BE REPAIRED.

>> A BLACKSMITH CRAFTED AND REPAIRED THE TOOLS NEEDED FOR 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURY FARMING.

THEY WERE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY SKILLED WORKMEN ON THE PLANTATION.

THE BLACKSMITH SHOP AT RURAL LIFE WAS CONSTRUCTED AROUND 1840 AND ALSO CAME FROM WELHAM PLANTATION.

THE BUILDING FEATURES MORTISE AND TENON CONSTRUCTION.

THE FORGE IN THIS SHOP WAS COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL FOUND AT NEW HOPE PLANTATION IN ASCENSION PARISH.

BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR SLAVES WORSHIPED IN SECRET OR UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THEIR OWNERS.

AFTER THE WAR, THE CHURCH WAS OFTEN LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF THE QUARTERS WHERE SINGING AND PREACHING COULD BE HEARD BY ALL.

AND, BLACK MINISTERS PROVIDED HOPE FOR THE FUTURE AND HELD THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.

>> AS A GROUP, NOW THEY CAN SURVIVE THE POLITICAL CHAOS THAT WAS GOING ON DURING RECONSTRUCTION.

AND THAT GROUP BECOMES A SOCIAL FOUNDATION, A RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION, AND A POLITICAL FOUNDATION WITHIN THEIR LIVES.

>> THE FORMER SLAVES FROM WELHAM PLANTATION STARTED THE COLLEGE GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH AT COLLEGE POINT, LOUISIANA, WHERE MANY OF THEIR DESCENDANTS ATTENDED UNTIL THE 1970S.

AS A CONGREGATION, THE PARISHIONERS DONATED THE CHURCH TO THE RURAL LIFE MUSEUM.

>> IF YOU LOOK TO MY RIGHT ON THE SECOND BENCH, THAT'S WHERE I MOSTLY SET AT.

MY MOM SAT WITH ME, AND I WASN'T VERY FAR FROM THE PULPIT IF I WAS NEEDED.

MY BIGGER BROTHER SAT UP FRONT, ONE OF MY BROTHERS EVEN SAT ON THE PULPIT, HE WAS A DEACON, SISTERS AND AUNTIES SAT ON THIS SIDE MOSTLY.

THIS IS WHAT GAVE US THE STRENGTH TO KEEP GOING.

THAT WE WOULD COME IN, HEAR MY FATHER BELT OUT A WONDERFUL SERMON, AND IT JUST MEANS SO MUCH TO THIS PART OF LOUISIANA.

COMING HERE GAVE US FAITH THAT THINGS ARE GONNA GET BETTER, TO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH, AND BELIEVE THAT THE LORD WILL MAKE A WAY SOMEHOW.

THAT CAME FROM HERE.

>> WHAT I'M DOING HERE IS SHOWING YOU WHERE YOUR GRANDFATHER AND YOUR GREAT GRANDFATHER COME FROM AND HIS SIBLINGS.

THESE ARE THE TYPE OF PLACES THAT THEY HAD TO STAY IN.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS NO COMPARISON TO THE ROOM YOU HAVE AT HOME RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY MADE IT THROUGH.

THEY SURVIVED BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO SURVIVE, NOT HAVING A WHOLE LOT.

I KNOW WE CAN DO EVEN BETTER BECAUSE OF ALL THAT THE LORD HAS BLESSED US WITH.

I'M NEVER TO FORGET THAT MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS WERE ACTUALLY SLAVES SO WE HAVE RELATIVES THAT ARE GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE.

WE'VE COME FROM A LONG WAY OF PARENTS, OF SHARECROPPERS, NOW TO BE OWNERS NOW AND TO HAVE THINGS THAT BELONG TO YOU MEANS A LOT TO THE FAMILY.

>> YOU LIKE TO LIVE OUT HERE?

♪♪ ♪♪ >> AS STEELE BURDEN'S DREAM CHILD CONTINUED TO GROW, MORE BUILDINGS, MORE OBJECTS, AND MORE FAMILY STORIES BECAME PART OF THE COLLECTION.

>> THERE'S A LOT OF STORIES THAT YOU CAN READ INTO ANY STRUCTURE THAT YOU CAN WALK THROUGH, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE SAME.

THEY ALL ARE DIFFERENT AND ALL HAVE THEIR OWN STORY.

>> IT'S THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF NATURAL ARCHITECTURE FROM THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AND ALSO THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF MATERIAL CULTURE, ARTIFACTS OF FARMS, HOUSES, PLANTATIONS, AND PEOPLE'S ACTUAL ITEMS THEY GAVE US.

THEY HAVE A PROVENANCE.

THEY'RE NOT JUST THINGS, THEY'RE THINGS WITH A STORY AND A HISTORY.

>> ONCE LOCATED IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA IN AN AREA KNOWN AS “NO MAN'S LAND,” THE “DOG-TROT” HOUSE WAS COMPLETED IN THE 1870S BY YEOMAN FARMER THOMAS NEAL SR.

IT WAS CONTINUOUSLY OCCUPIED BY MEMBERS OF THE NEAL FAMILY UNTIL 1976.

FAMILY LORE OF TWO SHOOTING DEATHS IN THE HOUSE REFLECTS THE VIOLENT NATURE OF AREA.

>> GREAT GRANDPA WAS THE OUTLAW AND HE GOT KILLED.

GRANDPA HAD TO FINISH THE HOUSE.

>> WELL, THIS WAS ACTUALLY A SUBSTANTIAL HOUSE.

THIS IS HEART PINE.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OLD VIRGIN PINE, NOT SECOND CUT, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GIANT RED PINE TREES.

>> YOU WOULD HAVE TWO LITTLE CABINS THAT WERE SEPARATED WITH A BREEZEWAY, AND IT HAD A LOT TO DO WITH VENTILATION, SO IT ALLOWED EACH CABIN TO HAVE ITS OWN VENTILATION AND THEN OPEN IN THE MIDDLE FOR AIR TO BE ABLE TO PASS THROUGH IT.

>> NOW IN THE SUMMERTIME, YOU TEND TO FIND COTS, BEDS ALL OVER THE PORCHES, IN THE DOG TROT BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE IT WAS COOLEST.

>> GRANDMA AND GRANDPA, THEY LIVED IN THE HOUSE AND ALL THE CHILDREN WAS BORN HERE IN THIS HOUSE.

GRANDPA HAD A GOOD WELL OF WATER.

YOU'D GO THERE AND DRAW WATER, AND THAT WATER WAS JUST LIKE ICE WATER.

GRANDPA HAD 164 ACRES AND ALL THAT WAS IN FARMLAND.

>> LOCATED BEHIND THE NEAL DOG-TROT HOUSE IS THE STOKER BARN.

THIS PINE-LOG BARN WAS BUILT BY SLAVE LABOR IN 1848 UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF NANCY STOKER.

FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, IT SERVED AS A WAY STATION FOR STAGECOACHES THAT TRAVELED THE CAMINO REAL FROM NATCHITOCHES TO MANY, LOUISIANA.

ALSO USED AS A WAY STATION FOR STAGECOACHES IS THE STONER-ATHENS CABIN.

ONCE LOCATED ON GREENWELL SPRINGS ROAD ALONG THE AMITE RIVER, IT WAS A CENTRAL STOPPING POINT BETWEEN GREENSBURG AND BATON ROUGE.

THE VIRGIN FORESTS OF THE FLORIDA PARISHES PROVIDED THE WOOD NEEDED FOR THE SQUARE HEWN HEART PINE LOGS AND PINE FLOOR.

THE CABIN DATES BACK TO THE 1830S.

IT WAS THE HOME OF JULIA “HATTIE” STONER-ATHENS, WHO WAS BORN IN THE CABIN WHERE SHE LIVED MOST OF HER 101 YEARS.

BUILT IN 1810 BY WHITE YEOMAN FARMERS FROM THE CAROLINAS, THE PIONEER CABIN IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HEART PINE CONSTRUCTION.

FIVE GENERATIONS OF ONE FAMILY LIVED IN THIS HOUSE IN THE COMMUNITY OF SUNNYHILL IN WASHINGTON PARISH.

FROM THE PINE FOREST OF NORTH LOUISIANA TO THE CYPRESS SWAMPS IN THE SOUTH, THE WOOD HARVESTED TO BUILD THESE HOUSES WAS MEANT TO LAST.

>> CYPRESS IS HARD.

CYPRESS IS ONE OF THE FINEST WOODS YOU CAN FIND IN THE ENTIRE WORLD TO BUILD IN HOT, HUMID CLIMATES.

>> IN FEBRUARY OF 1765, ACADIANS EXILED FROM NOVA SCOTIA MADE THEIR WAY TO SOUTH LOUISIANA.

BY 1785, OVER 1500 ACADIAN EXILES MIGRATED TO LOUISIANA AND TO THE ATTAKAPAS PRAIRIE.

THEY FELLED CYPRESS TREES FOR HOUSES, CHURCHES AND FURNITURE.

THEY CLEARED THE LAND AND PLANTED IT.

>> THE FRENCH CONSIDERED CYPRESS WOOD ETERNAL AND YOU COULD PUT CYPRESS OUT AND IT WOULDN'T ROT AND TERMITES WOULDN'T EAT IT.

IT WOULD WEATHER WELL.

>> THE GERMAIN BERGERON HOUSE IS BELIEVED TO BE THE OLDEST STANDING ACADIAN HOUSE IN LOUISIANA.

IT WAS BUILT BY FIRST GENERATION IMMIGRANTS FROM FRENCH NOVA SCOTIA.

DESCENDANTS OF THAT FAMILY LIVED IN THE HOUSE UNTIL 1970.

>> IT'S BUILT OUT OF HEART CYPRESS.

IT'S HEAVY TIMBER, AND SO THIS HOUSE YOU COULD TAKE ALL OF THE INFILL OUT OF IT AND IT WOULD STAND ON ITS OWN.

>> IN HER MEMOIRE “THINGS THAT I REMEMBER,” CLOTILDE PITRE MIRE TELLS THE STORY OF HER FRENCH SPEAKING ACADIAN FAMILY'S LIFE IN THE HOUSE.

“THERE WERE QUILTING PARTIES.

IF MAMA HAD A QUILT TO MAKE, SEVERAL FRIENDS WOULD COME.

MAMA WOULD GET UP TO MAKE COFFEE OR LEMONADE FOR THE LADIES, AND SOMETIMES WE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY UNDERNEATH THE QUILT WHICH WAS ON THE QUILTING FRAMES.

WE ALSO PLAYED HOUSE UNDER THE HOUSE WHICH WAS ON TALL PILLARS.

WE WOULD PLAY DOLLS UNDER THE HOUSE AND STAYED FOR HOURS UNTIL MAMA WOULD CALL, “SUPPER IS READY.” ALTHOUGH EXTENSIVELY RENOVATED THROUGH THE YEARS, THE ORIGINAL HAND-SPLIT AND HAND-BEVELED EXTERIOR CLAPBOARDS AND BOUSILLAGE-ENTRE-PORTEAUX CAN STILL BE SEEN IN THE CABIN.

THE JEAN CHARLES GERMAIN BERGERON HOUSE STANDS AS A REMINDER OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CULTURE, CUSTOMS AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE ACADIAN PEOPLE.

UNLIKE THE HAND-HEWN CYPRESS AND PINE CONSTRUCTION FOUND THROUGHOUT THE MUSEUM COMPLEX, THE SHOTGUN HOUSE IS MADE OF FLAT BOARDS SUPPLIED BY ONE OF LOUISIANA'S STEAM-DRIVEN SAWMILLS.

THE NARROW, ONE-ROOM WIDTH HOUSE WAS COMMONLY USED ON PLANTATIONS AND LUMBER MILL COMMUNITIES AS WORKERS' QUARTERS.

THESE HOUSES WERE SOMETIMES DISASSEMBLED AND MOVED AS THE MILL MOVED TO A NEW LOCATION.

LUMBERING WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF LOUISIANA'S ECONOMIC HISTORY.

MILLS SUPPLIED LUMBER FOR LOCAL NEEDS AND EXPORTED TIMBER OVERSEAS.

STEAM-DRIVEN ENGINES WERE THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF POWER FOR LOUISIANA SAWMILLS UNTIL THE 1930S.

THE MUSEUM'S MERRICK WALKING BEAM STEAM ENGINE WAS MANUFACTURED IN 1861.

IT WAS PURCHASED BY EMILE LEFEBVRE TO POWER A SAWMILL ON THE 5,000-ACRE LONGWOOD PLANTATION.

THE CAST IRON ENGINE WAS RESTORED AND GIVEN TO THE MUSEUM BY THE GIANELLONI FAMILY.

>> IT HAS A BEAM THAT ROCKS ON A COLUMN AND BY ROCKING IT TURNS A WHEEL, AND IT'S ONE OF THREE KNOWN TO EXIST.

THERE'S ONE AT THE SMITHSONIAN, THERE'S ONE AT DEERBON, HENRY FORD'S MUSEUM, AND THERE'S ONE HERE.

THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT OPERATES.

>> FROM WEAPONS IN ANCIENT WARFARE TO IRON BRIDGES IN 18TH CENTURY ENGLAND, CAST IRON PRODUCTION REVOLUTIONIZED THE WORLD.

MASS PRODUCTION BY THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY CHANGED THE WAY LOUISIANANS WORKED, COOKED AND EVEN BURIED THEIR DEAD.

ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF ARTIFACTS FROM RURAL LOUISIANA, EXAMPLES OF CAST IRON WORKS CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE MUSEUM'S EXHIBIT BARN.

NEAR THE END OF THE LANE IS A BRONZE STATUE OF AN ELDERLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN TIPPING HIS HAT.

UNCLE JACK, AS HE IS KNOWN, IS CONSIDERED THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ARTIFACT IN THE MUSEUM.

COMMISSIONED IN 1926 BY SUCCESSFUL COTTON PLANTER JACKSON “JACK” BRYAN AND SCULPTED BY FAMED ARTIST HANS SCHLUER, “UNCLE JACK” WAS PLACED IN A SMALL PARK IN DOWNTOWN NATCHITOCHES WHERE IT REMAINED FOR OVER 40 YEARS.

DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF THE 1960s, A GROUP OF BLACK CITIZENS PROTESTED ITS PUBLIC APPEARANCE AND SAID THE STATUE SHOULD BE TAKEN DOWN OR DESTROYED.

IN 1968, IT WAS REMOVED FROM THE FRONT STREET PARK.

FOUR YEARS LATER, JO BRYAN DUCOURNAU, DAUGHTER OF “JACK” BRYAN, DONATED THE STATUE TO THE LSU RURAL LIFE MUSEUM.

ALTHOUGH SOUGHT BY THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, “UNCLE JACK” REMAINS A PART OF THE RURAL LIFE GROUNDS EXHIBITS.

CLOSE TO THE STATUE AND ACROSS FROM THE CHURCH IS THE CEMETERY.

WROUGHT IRON CROSSES, STONE MARKERS, IMMORTELLES AND A RAISED THREE-COMPARTMENT TOMB REPRESENT EARLY RURAL LOUISIANA BURIAL SITES.

THERE'S EVEN AN OBELISK THAT ONCE MARKED THE GRAVES OF TWO BROTHERS MURDERED IN 1895.

AND, THERE ARE THE GRAVE SITES OF MEMBERS OF THE BURDEN FAMILY.

STEELE BURDEN AND HIS SISTER IONE BURDEN.

♪♪ ♪♪ IT WAS THEIR FORESIGHT AND GENEROSITY, ALONG WITH THEIR BROTHER PIKE, THAT LED THE WAY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS 20-ACRE MUSEUM COMPLEX.

THE VAST COLLECTION OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFACTS REFLECT THE RICH CULTURAL TRADITIONS OF LOUISIANA'S HERITAGE.

>> THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF VISITING A PLACE LIKE THIS RURAL LIFE MUSEUM IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME CONTACT AND UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR CULTURE, OF BEING ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND SEE HOW PEOPLE BUILT THINGS, HOW PEOPLE LIVED, WHAT WERE THEIR INTERESTS, WHAT DID THEY DO, HOW DID THEY GROW THEIR FOOD, HOW DID THEY COOK THEIR FOOD.

SO A CONTACT WITH YOUR CULTURE, AN UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR CULTURE I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR MOST PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY HERE IN SOUTH LOUISIANA.

>> DEDICATED TO REPRESENT RURAL LIFE IN THE 18th THROUGH EARLY 20th CENTURIES, THE LSU RURAL LIFE MUSEUM STANDS AS A TRIBUTE TO THE LABORING CLASS OF LOUISIANA.

IT IS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR THE MEMORY OF STEELE BURDEN, WHO NOT ONLY EMBRACED AND LIVED ON THE LAND, BUT PROVIDED IT AS A LASTING GIFT FOR OTHERS TO ENJOY FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

>> HE REALIZED VERY EARLY IN THE 1940S AND '50S THAT WHEN PEOPLE CAME TO LOUISIANA, THEY CAME TO NEW ORLEANS AND THEY CAME TO THE RIVER ROAD.

WHEN THEY CAME TO THE RIVER ROAD ALL THEY SAW WAS THE BIG HOUSE, AND HE THOUGHT THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF THE PLANTATION WAS BEHIND THE BIG HOUSE.

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