The grounds were beautiful with lots of Southern Live Oaks everywhere. There was a home here that had at one time been owned by a wealthy Acadian.There was also a reproduction of an Acadian farm.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem, Evangeline, in the 1800’s. Evangeline was an Acadian and the story is based on the plight of the Acadians.
The Acadians had originally been French until France ceded Acadia by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, making them British subjects. Acadia is the area that is now Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and part of what is now Maine.
When the French and Indian War began in 1754, the British government, doubting the loyalty of the newly British Acadians, demanded they take an oath of allegiance to the British monarch which required renouncing the Acadian's Roman Catholic faith. Most refused.
Over the next 45 years, the Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to French fortresses. The British then sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed by deporting the Acadians from Acadia.
In what is know as the Grand De`rangement (The Great Upheaval) more than 12,000 Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia between 1755 and 1764. Their homes were destroyed by the British and the Acadians were dispersed among the 13 colonies from Massachusetts to Georgia. No attempt was made to keep families together as family members and communities were sent to different colonies to impose assimilation.
British colonist treated them much like African slaves and some Acadians became indentured servants.
Acadians who resettled in Louisiana, became know as “Cajuns".”
This is a rather a long explanation of who “Cajuns” actually are, but it explains that they are not the black/Indian/French mixed bloods that many people think they are.
We took a tour of the Acadian home and farm. The original owner of the house and farm owned some slaves, but probably not many of them. It was not an opulent home, but likely quite upscale compared to what others had at that time.
The dining room table had this large square thing hanging above it with a rope threaded across the ceiling and down to a straight-backed chair on the wall. A young slave boy would have sat there pulling on the rope, causing the “fan” to swing back and forth. As well as providing a breeze, it chased flies off the table.
The bed in the Master Bedroom had a removable rolling pin on the headboard. It was used to roll the wrinkles out of the bedding.
The guest room’s bed has removable “pineapples” on the corners of the headboard. Pineapples signify, “Welcome.” However, if you found a pineapple laying on your bed, it meant that you had out-stayed your welcome and it was time to move on.
We actually have pineapples just like these on the antique headboard in our bedroom. So if you come to our house for an extended visit, just be on the lookout for a pineapple on your bed…just kidding! And of course, there was the handy little chamber pot at the foot of the bed…(We’ll let you use the bathroom when you visit our us!)
The farm house was much more modest.
This main room was used for everything except sleeping.
Right behind the farm house was the Bayou. Floating this river was the main method of transportation from one location to another.
This beautiful old Southern Live Oak was also on the farm. These trees have extremely long limbs that grow out horizontally and often grow down to, or very near, the ground.
This statue of Longfellow’s fictional Evangeline, who personifies the struggles of the Acadians, is in a park in downtown St. Martinville.
We found it interesting that Evangeline, who never actually existed, has been brought to life in this little town with statues, the state park and even the tree that she supposedly sat under, stands majestically in the city park. Well, I guess it's a matter of whatever works to put them on them on the map, and this did it for St. Martinville.
Next Blog: San Antonio, Texas
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