Cane River National Heritage Area and the Cane River Creole National Historical Park will host the Cane River Fall Festivities throughout the month of October. Oakland Plantation residents welcomed visitors long before the National Park Service acquired it in 1997.
Join us on October 23, 2021, as the National Park Service welcomes former plantation residents and their descendants back home. Generations of the same families of workers, enslaved and tenant, and owners lived at Oakland Plantation for over 200 years. During self-guided tours from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm visitors will have the unique opportunity to visit and talk with former Oakland Plantation residents.
In addition, 2021 marks the 200th anniversary of the construction of the Oakland Plantation Main House. The tools of the enslaved carpenters, masons, and blacksmiths who built the house can be seen in a special commemorative exhibit. To remember the works of these craftspeople the park invites you to step into the past with skilled park rangers and park partners as you learn how to make bousillage, a traditional Creole building material, watch a blacksmith and experience the clang of the hammer on hot iron, view a special carpentry display, and visit the enslaved nanny’s room on the lower level of the Main House.
Demonstration Schedule
10:00 am – Creole Architecture: The Making of Bousillage
10:30 am – The Art of the Forge: A Blacksmith’s Workshop
11:00 am – Creole Architecture: The Making of Bousillage
11:30 am – Beneath the Surface: The Enslaved Nanny’s Room
12:00 pm – Beneath the Surface: The Enslaved Nanny’s Room
12:30 pm – The Art of the Forge: A Blacksmith’s Workshop
1:00 pm – Creole Architecture: The Making of Bousillage
1:30 pm – The Art of the Forge: A Blacksmith’s Workshop
There is no entrance fee at Oakland Plantation. All tours and activities are free. Oakland Plantation is located at 4386 Highway 494, Natchez La 71456. To reach Oakland Plantation, take I-49 to Exit 127, Flora/Cypress. Head east on LA Highway 120 toward Cypress. Cross over LA Highway 1 onto LA Highway 494. The parking lot and entrance pavilion for Oakland is 4.5 miles east of Highway 1 on the left.
