Louisiana History Museum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Louisiana History Museum is located in the historic downtown portion of Alexandria, Louisiana, USA, near the Red River. It showcases the social evolution of all of Louisiana, but centers on the history of Central Louisiana, Rapides Parish, and Alexandria. Major exhibit areas deal with Native Americans, Louisiana geography, politics, health care, farming, and the impact of war.
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[edit] The Old Alexandria Library Building
The building housing the Museum and Alexandria Genealogical Library started life as the Alexandria Public Library in 1907. Remodeled in 1970 and again in 2003, it now houses (upstairs) one of the largest genealogical libraries in Louisiana. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
[edit] History
The Louisiana History Museum was begun in 1971 by Angelique Stafford "Gic" Kraushaar. Her vision was to establish a museum in Alexandria that would not only describe the history of Louisiana but also show the unique beginnings and background of Central Louisiana.
[edit] Displays and Exhibits
There are over 50 displays and exhibits, including the following:
- Native Americans in Louisiana
- How the Alexandria town plat was laid out in 1805 by Alexander Fulton
- Louisiana under the rule of Spain, France and England
- Famous figures in Louisiana such as Governor Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
- The American Revolution
- Civil War between the North and South
- Construction of the Civil War dam on the Red River by General Joseph Bailey
- Camp Beauregard army camp during World War I
- The Louisiana Maneuvers and Camp Claiborne in Alexandria in World War II
- Politicians from the Central Louisiana area including Huey Long and Earl Long
- Central Louisiana in postcards
