State park interprets history of Acadians, "Evangeline"

ST. MARTINVILLE - Historians may fault his details, but there is no denying that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow brought a very real Acadian tragedy to the world.

In his poem "Evangeline," published in 1847, Longfellow told the story of two Acadian lovers who lost each other during the expulsion of 1755.

On Saturday, the Longfellow Evangeline State Commemorative Area created to honor the poet and his poem celebrated its 65th birthday with visits from interpretive rangers from Louisiana's other state parks.

The celebration continues today with all-day demonstrations of native crafts including net-making, palmetto-weaving, sabot-making, the brewing of herbal remedies, spinning and weaving. A demonstration of alligator skinning will begin at 1 p.m.

Longfellow, who was born in Maine, another Acadian enclave, wrote the poem based on the outline of a story he received from Nathaniel Hawthorne, another U.S. writer who was a friend.

In his story, Evangeline and Gabriel are separated on the beach near Grand Pre as the British expel the Acadians, and her father, Benedict Bellefontaine dies there as the Acadians' farms are burned. Evangeline travels America searching for Gabriel, and finds him many years later by accident as he dies in a hospital where she has come to work as a nurse. The dramatic and heartbreaking tale of families separated and an Edenlike settlement destroyed was one of Longfellow's most popular works.

The site of the SCA, near St. Martinville, was first used as a vacherie, or cattle ranch, and later developed as an indigo plantation.

In the late 18th century, about the time the Acadians arrived in Louisiana, the land was acquired by a wealthy Creole family. Charles DuClozel Olivier inherited the land in the early 19th century and developed it into a prosperous sugar cane plantation.

It wasn't until 1934 that the site became a state park open to the public, said curator Suzanne Laviolette.

"The site was purchased in the late 1920s by a commission that wanted to build a memorial to Longfellow and the Acadians," Laviolette explained.

The project was stalled by the Depression, but revived in 1934 when the Office of State Parks was created and the land was acquired by Louisiana, she said. Although the Olivier house was part of the park from the start, it wasn't officially recognized as a historical site until it was placed on the National Register in the 1970s, Laviolette said.

The park also contains a traditional Acadian home, and the staff tries to explain the many differences between the Creoles, as the wealthy French planters are known, and the Acadians.

"We cover the French-speaking people," Laviolette said. "The Acadians were obviously very different from the Creoles. Their lives were very simple, quite different than the wealthy French planters."  Visiting the Longfellow Evangeline area Saturday were Scott Dearman and John House, interpretive rangers from the Mansfield State Commemorative Area. Dearman and House, dressed in Confederate and Union uniforms respectively, talked to visitors about Civil War-era weapons and lifestyles.

Gary D. Blagg, an interpretive park ranger at the Louisiana State Arboretum near Chicot State Park, had skins, print casts and skulls on display. Many of the animals living in Louisiana during the time of the Acadians' settlement still live here, Blagg said. There were plenty of squirrel, skunk, red and gray fox, muskrats, opossum and alligator, he said.

But some animals plentiful during the Acadians' time no longer live in Louisiana or are found in smaller numbers, Blagg said.

During that time, the spotted skunk was more prevalent than the stripped skunk that is common today. The black bear was much more common, as well, Blagg said.

"The beaver was very common at that time, although it was trapped almost to the point of extinction," Blagg said. "Today, because of control and management techniques, it has rebounded and is now causing problems in some areas."  The river otter was very common at the time of the Acadians, and also was trapped to a very low population level, Blagg said. Management techniques also have helped the otter population to rebound, he said.

Mountain lions and bison roamed Louisiana during the time of the Acadians. "There were even some reports of jaguars, although those reports are a little questionable," Bragg said.

Coyotes and mink also were very plentiful. Minks may be beautiful to look at, but they are "vicious little carnivores," Bragg said.

The Acadians did a lot of hunting and trapping for food, fur and leather, Bragg said. Many were muskrat trappers, because the soft fur was very popular, he said.