Heritage and
CULTURE
T H E F O r G O T T E N
history
O F T H E S O u T H
The history of the South has a dark past , and usually always leads us in a certain direction . So , we choose remembrance and preservation . We choose to learn and to grow , and to appreciate the history lessons . However , occasionally things get lost , places become forgotten , cultures that were once so prominent , now seem miles away . Explore the region ’ s secrets , from a not-so-quiet plantation that got overshadowed by a famous artist , to a thriving African village that manages to stay under the radar even today .
A U D U B O N S T A T E H I S T O R I C S I T E - S T . F R A N C I S V I L L E , L A
John James Audubon is an artist , naturalist , and ornithologist who is most famous for his drawings , paintings , and close studies of North American birds . In 1821 , Audubon arrived at the Oakley Plantation in St . Francisville , Louisiana , where he offered to tutor a young girl by the name of Eliza Pirrie , in exchange for the freedom to roam the plantation ’ s land .
He was in search of interesting scenery , natural beauty , and of course , birds , all of which he would begin to study and paint . Audubon ended up spending quite some time in the state , and Louisiana is the place in which most of his pictures were drawn from and completed in . The original Oakley Plantation and its grounds are open to the public and known as the Audubon State Historic Site .
The site offers guided tours of the “ Big House ” and visitors may walk amongst themselves through the gardens and the grounds , as well as the more sinister areas , such as the slave cabins . The site holds many different events throughout the year , including the Louisiana Native Guard on May 5 th .
- save the date -
May 5 th the Louisiana Native Guard will invite guests to travel back in time , about 155 years to be exact , where they will witness the “ extraordinary journey of the first African American regiment that was formally accepted into the United States Army in the Civil War .”
Charleston , SC