The Historic Village of Vermilionville
Past Lane Plus is an extension of Past Lane Travels, a history/travel blog.
This week’s post highlights a historic site in the deep South that is located in one of my favorite states…Louisiana.
I had the opportunity to visit Lafayette earlier this year, and was taken by a local to Vermilionville, which sits right in the heart of this beautiful Louisiana city.
This historic village sits on a beautiful tree-covered 23-acre site on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion.
Vermilionville has 19 attractions that include seven restored original homes from 1760 to 1890.
It’s a place where you can take your time and explore the different period buildings and meet costumed artisans who demonstrate trades and crafts exactly how they would have been made in the colonial period.
One of the most interesting demonstrations I saw in Vermilionville (or any historic site, for that matter), is a woman who was spinning flax. She also grew the flax, so she was involved from the beginning to the end of the process.
It sounds like a cliché, but a trip to Vermilionville is really like stepping back in time. The architecture, the food, the culture and the displays combine to create a feeling that you have entered a different century.
It wasn’t until my visit to Louisiana that I learned about the interesting and complex culture of this state. Places like Vermilionville helps increase appreciation for the history of the Native Americans, Acadians, Creoles, and peoples of African descent, who all played a role in the development of the Attakapas region of Louisiana.
The small home above represents a simple but functional structure that is similar to what priests would have lived in the early 1800s.
The small front porch spans the length of the cottage, and it has an outside staircase that leads to a residential space in the attic.
Many Cajun homes have this outside staircase, and we were told these were built so the children could go out and do their early morning chores without waking up others.
Even though some of the houses in Vermilionville were very plain, many were quite extravagant, especially considering that they were more than 200 years old.
I loved the wide plank floors.
Vermilionville covers all cultures of the region, including the Native Americans who settled there.
This ceremonial ground honors the diverse indigenous people that lived in southwest Louisiana. At the time of early colonization, Atakapa people lived along the coast and prairies from the Atchafalaya River westward to Texas.
For a little history, the French first settled New Orleans and spread through the area. Then came the arrival of the French-speaking Acadians of Nova Scotia (1760s), and the area continued to receive infusions of French-speakers at multiple points in its history.
French is still spoken in Louisiana’s Cajun, Creole and Native American communities today.
Louisiana is a true melting pot of cultures!
See you next week! Until then, please Share Past Lane Plus with a friend!
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