2 minute read
Museum Hopping on The Northshore
An Immersive Journey for History Buffs and Curious Explorers.
BY LIZ BRAGDON
EDUCATIONAL AND INTRIGUING, fascinating and delightful— sometimes downright strange—there’s a Northshore museum for every history buff and curious explorer.
The Abita Springs, Covington and Mandeville town museums are located along the historic Tammany Trace. Slidell Museum is in picturesque Olde Towne Slidell. As closely connected as our communities are, each has its own colorful character. To understand why, you might start here.
Louisiana culture is deeply intertwined with its waterways—our rivers, lakes, swamps, bayous and the Gulf Coast. Visit Maritime Museum Louisiana on the Tchefuncte River for engaging, detailed exhibits about Louisiana’s maritime history.
At Bayou Lacombe Museum, learn about the region’s first people, the Choctaw, and the area’s blended Choctaw and French heritage. Down the road, Pearl River & Honey Island Swamp Museum showcases life in our wetlands and how we are ensuring preservation of one of our nation’s unique and beautiful ecosystems.
Interested in historical architecture and genteel lifestyles? Tour the charming Anglo-Creole-style Jean Baptiste Lang Creole House Museum. Not-to-be-missed and most unusual of all are our last two stops on the museum trail. The Abita Mystery House is home to folk art oddities and native curiosities found nowhere else, including the fearsome "bassigator", mystical swamp ghost and House of Shards. And the 150-year-old family-owned H.J. Smith & Sons General Store & Museum never disappoints. Inviting and chock-full of old-timey tools, artifacts (mundane and peculiar) and unexpected historical treasures, the kids especially will enjoy tracking down the elusive and ancient petrified rat.
Local Museums
ABITA MYSTERY HOUSE/UCM MUSEUM: 22275 LA-36, Abita Springs - abitamysteryhouse.com
ABITA SPRINGS TRAILHEAD MUSEUM: 22044 Main St., Abita Springs - trailheadmuseum.org
BAYOU LACOMBE MUSEUM: 61115 S. St. Mary St., Lacombe bayoulacombemuseum.com
COVINGTON TRAILHEAD MUSEUM: 419 N. New Hampshire St., Covington - covla.com
H.J. SMITH & SONS GENERAL STORE & MUSEUM: 308 N. Columbia St., Covington
JEAN BAPTISTE LANG CREOLE HOUSE MUSEUM: 605 Carroll St., Mandeville - oldmandevillehistoricassociation.org
MANDEVILLE TRAILHEAD MUSEUM: 675 Lafitte St., Mandeville - cityofmandeville.com/community/page/trailhead-museum
MARITIME MUSEUM LOUISIANA: 133 Mabel Drive, Madisonville - maritimemuseumlouisiana.org
PEARL RIVER & HONEY ISLAND SWAMP MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER: 39437 LA-41 Spur, Pearl River -pearlrivermuseum.org
SLIDELL MUSEUM: 2020 1st St., Slidell - myslidell.com/departments/culturalpublic-affairs/slidell-museum
