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Regardless if you live in or plan to visit Baton Rouge you will
not want to miss touring the Rural Life Museum and Wondrush
Gardens. Located on the 450-acre Burden Research Plantation,
the Rural Life Museum, recreates a time in Louisiana that has
long been forgotten.
The plantation is broken down into three main parts. "The
Barn" houses hundreds of artifacts dealing with pre-industrial
times in Louisiana. Examples of woodcrafts, farming implements,
household utensils, vehicles, and textiles, is just some of
what is displayed here.
The Working Plantation is the area which helps the visitor
to envision the life and activity of a working plantation.
A cluster of buildings, each furnished with "period" pieces
offer an authentic representation of how the plantation looked
and functioned during the 19th century in rural Louisiana.
Included here is a commissary, overseer's house, kitchen,
slave cabins, sick house, school house, blacksmiths shop,
sugar house, and grist mill.
The Folk Architecture is a group of seven buildings which
portrays the varied cultures which influenced the construction
of the times. Located here is a country church, a pioneer's
cabin with a corncrib, potato house, a shotgun house, Acadian
house, and a dogtrot house and a small cemetery which sits
quietly on the outside.
Corn Crib
- Rural Life Museum
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As you walk along, and visit the buildings, the feeling of the<
activities and cultures that existed is captured. It is a wonderful
educational experience and offers much insight into the life
and times of the people of rural Louisiana.
Also available for touring is the Windbrush Gardens which
sits near to the museum. You can walk along the winding paths
of this 25-acre semi formal garden which was dedicated to
LSU in 1972 by the late Ione Burden and Steel Burden. Horticulture
conducive to the climate combined with lakes and statues made
of bronze and marble make up the garden.
Admission & Hours
Both the museum and 25 acres of the Windrush gardens, site
of the Burden home, are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. year
round; closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving,
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. An admission fee is charged.
Adults (ages 12 - 61 years) $7.00 per person
Children (ages 5 - 11 years) $4.00 per person
Children under 5 years No charge
Senior citizens (age 62 and over) $6.00 per person
LSU Faculty, Staff & students (w/ LSU I.D.) $6.00 per
person
Organized school groups (with reservations) $4.00 per person
Photographic rate per client, per sitting $70.00
Special Program
A Rural Life Christmas (December 7, 2003) The public is invited
to enjoy a candlelit "old-fashioned" Christmas with carolers
and choirs in the museum's Quarters. Bonfires, artisans, and
costumed re-enactors will be part of this annual Christmas
celebration. Adults, $7.00; children 10 and under, free.
Guides are available. Groups of 10 or more require an appointment
for a docent-led tour.
For more information, call
Tel. (225) 765-2437, Fax (225) 765-2639
rulife1@lsu.edu
LSU Rural Life Museum, P.O. Box 80498, Baton Rouge, LA 70898.
Travel Directions:
Driving east on I-10 towards New Orleans: Exit #160 (Essen
Lane); bear right onto Essen Lane; at the first traffic signal
turn right to enter the grounds of the LSU Burden Research
Plantation/Rural Life Museum; follow the black-top road 1.5
miles to the museum.
Driving west on I-10 towards Baton Rouge: Exit #160 (Essen
Lane); turn left onto Essen Lane at the traffic signal; go
under the interstate overpass; at the second traffic signal
turn right to enter the grounds of the LSU Burden Research
Plantation/Rural Life Museum; follow the black-top road 1.5
miles to the museum.
Information
provided by The Louisiana Office of State Parks
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