Maritime Museum Louisiana

It’s hard not to imagine the nearby Tchefuncte River filled with schooners, war ships and steamers when you visit the Maritime Museum Louisiana in picturesque Madisonville. The museum tells the story of the Northshore’s seaport roots through well-done exhibits, artifacts (a Civil War submarine!), video and events like wooden boat building classes and the Wooden Boat Festival held each October.

The museum is custodian of the nearby Tchefuncte River Lighthouse, built in 1837 and still standing but put at risk by storms and shoreline erosion. You can’t tour the lighthouse but you can visit the lightkeeper’s cottage, moved from the mouth of the Tchefuncte where it long stood next to the lighthouse.

133 MABEL DRIVE, MADISONVILLE

HJ Smith & Sons

YOU CAN ’T MISS THE OBVIOUSLY HISTORIC WOODEN structure on Covington’s Columbia Street, with its wagon out front, vintage swing and Bonanza vibe. Opened in 1876, HJ Smith & Sons General Store and Museum is still operated by the Smith family who’ve stocked it to the rafters with everything from camo to garden gnomes, and the precise nail needed for a home project. You’ll find everything you didn’t know you needed here, and more.

Floors creak and history hangs in the air, especially when a small ramp leads you into the original general store, preserved by the family in all its mercantile glory as a free museum. It’s fun to see the artifacts of Covington’s past including a cast iron casket, 20-foot cypress dugout and old-timey cases crammed with detergent-box china, farm tools and dry goods. Introduce yourself to Larry Smith while you’re here; he’s a wealth of information and is proud to share his family’s history and Covington’s heritage. 308 N . COLUMBIA ST., COVINGTON