LSU Rural Life Museum

Each person will leave our facility with a better understanding of the differences in the material, social, and economic cultures during this time period and of today’s lifestyles. Each group will visit 19th century buildings reflecting the different cultures that have been associated with Louisiana throughout its unique history. The Working Plantation complex consists of; a post office, commissary, overseer’s house, kitchen, slave cabins, sick house, blacksmith’s shop, sugar house, pigeon cote, and favorites of children of all ages a large collection of outhouses! The Folk Architecture complex consists of many buildings illustrating the various cultures of Louisiana; split cypress barn, country church, pioneer’s cabin with corn crib and potato house, shot-gun house, dog-trot house, log house, log barn, and a 19th century jail. The purpose of the LSU Rural Life Museum is to provide and sustain a publicly accessible center for the collection, preservation, and interpretation of the material culture, cultural landscapes, and vernacular architecture of Louisiana and the Lower Mississippi River Valley. The Museum focuses on the life ways of the working classes of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Museum also provides educational and research resources that advance an understanding of the material and cultural heritage of the region.