The World of Cane River Creole April 15, 2011

'The World of Cane River Creole' explores the rich history and culture of the Cane River region in Natchitoches Parish. The rural region is considered to be the cradle of Louisiana's Creole culture with its sophisticated plantation culture from the 1700s, and its large community of wealthy Free Persons of Color before the Civil War. Featuring farming implements and artifacts from the Oakland and Magnolia plantations, the exhibit will explore the seasonal rituals of cotton farming, cowboy culture, blacksmithing, domestic work, as well as the social and recreational lives of plantation residents in the mid-1900s. In partnership with the National Park Service which operates Magnolia and Oakland Plantations today, the exhibit features the Park Services' oral histories with residents, many of whom lived their entire lives in this island of Louisiana Creole culture in North Louisiana.