LSU Rural Life Museum
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Discover Louisiana's rich history at the LSU Rural Life Museum!
From raw iron to finished craft, our students are learning the art of blacksmithing firsthand.
In this session, our resident blacksmith walks a student through forging an S-hook from scratch. Skills like these have shaped history, and we’re keeping them alive right here at the LSU Rural Life Museum🔨🔥
05/27/2026
Rural Life on the Bayou 🌿
Before GPS and Google Maps, there was the hand ferry. In 19th-century Louisiana, a small wooden boat was one of the only ways to cross the bayou, carrying families, farming tools, and fresh produce to market.
The Acadian cottage was built for the Louisiana heat. It was raised off the ground, with steep roofs to shed the rain and wide galleries to catch the breeze. Indoor/outdoor living wasn't a trend; it was survival.
Cypress trees provided lumber, Spanish moss lined the swamps, and the bayou provided everything in between. This is what life looked like along the Louisiana bayou 200 years before you scrolled past it.
Now on display at the LSU Rural Life Museum. 📍 Baton Rouge, LA
05/25/2026
Some stories are best told in a single frame.
This 1870 Reconstruction-era plantation church is one of dozens still standing in Louisiana and one of the few preserved for future generations. We captured it entirely through still photography, letting 150 years of history speak for itself.
Come experience it in person at the LSU Rural Life Museum.
Step back in time this summer with our LSU Rural Life Apprentice Program where rising 4th–8th graders learn Louisiana’s history by living it 🌾🔨☀️
Forge metal, march like Spanish Louisiana soldiers, bake an election cake, and write with handmade ink all while celebrating America’s 250th birthday 🎂✍️⚒️
📅 June 1–5
🕗 8:00 AM–12:30 PM
‼️ Registration forms are available at the link in our bio under “Event Registration.” Completed forms must be emailed to [email protected] to secure your spot. ‼️
05/20/2026
Meet The Watermelon 🍉
Built in the 1920s by hand, this truck helped a Lower Ninth Ward family survive the Great Depression hauling fresh produce to the French Market by day while they worked the farm by night.
When farming days were over, it became the neighborhood joyride to Pontchartrain Beach. When tires were scarce, the brothers borrowed them from neighbors just to make the trip.
Green on the outside. Red on the inside. A century of New Orleans hustle in between.
Now part of the LSU Rural Life Museum collection, donated by the Menge family in 2022. 🌿
05/18/2026
Don’t miss our Live Blacksmith Demonstration THIS WEEKEND Saturday, May 23 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Watch skilled craftsmen shape metal the old-fashioned way no power tools, just fire, iron, and skill.
📍 LSU Rural Life Museum
📅 Saturday, May 23
⏰ 10 AM – 3 PM
The forge is fired up and ready for you ⚒️🔥
Live blacksmith demonstrations are happening Saturday, May 23 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Come see what it looked like to craft with your hands before modern tools ever existed.
📍 LSU Rural Life Museum
📅 Saturday, May 23
⏰ 10 AM – 3 PM
Not many people can say they’ve stepped inside a church built in 1870. Louisiana has dozens of Reconstruction era plantation churches still standing. This one is now preserved at the LSU Rural Life Museum.
05/12/2026
Step back in time and experience the art of blacksmithing at the LSU Rural Life Museum ⚒️🔥
Join us Saturday, May 23 from 10 AM to 3 PM for live blacksmith demonstrations and see history brought to life right before your eyes.
📍LSU Rural Life Museum
🗓️ Saturday, May 23
⏰ 10 AM – 3 PM
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Address
4560 Essen Lane
Baton Rouge, LA
70809
Opening Hours
| Monday | 8am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 8am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 8am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 8am - 5pm |
| Friday | 8am - 5pm |
| Saturday | 8am - 5pm |
| Sunday | 8am - 5pm |