Nestled on the bank of Bayou Lafourche in Thibodaux lies the Percy-Lobdell Building, home to the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve’s Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center. Most people know the Center by its other occupants, the Martha Sowell Utley Memorial Library and the Thibodaux Playhouse.
However, few people realize that the entire building is a National Park. Which begs the question: “How did a national park get placed in Thibodaux?”
The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve was created by the United States Congress in 1978. Its mission is to preserve, protect, and interpret the natural and cultural resources of the Mississippi Delta Region.
The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve has six sites throughout south Louisiana.
The sites include the Chalmette Unit, which includes the battlefield where the Battle of New Orleans was fought, the French Quarter Unit, the Barataria Preserve, which has around 20,000 acres of swamps and trails as well as the Acadian Unit, which includes the Wetlands Acadian Cultural in Thibodaux, the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette, and the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice.
Still, why Thibodaux? The Bayou Region is home to numerous Wetlands Acadians and many other ethnic and cultural groups who settled here from the 1700’s and into the present.
Being one of the largest cities in the Bayou Region and having a historic structure up for grabs at just the right time, Thibodaux was the selected choice for the location of the Wetlands Acaidan Cultural Center.
The Percy-Lobdell Building was constructed in 1907 as a wholesale grocer’s warehouse.
It then served as a wine bottler, a sporting goods store, and a creepy old vacant building before the Martha Sowell Utley Memorial Library Trust got its hands on the building and basically donated it to the Thibodaux Friends of the Library who then donated it to Lafourche Parish for use as a library and cultural center.
The Friends of the Library gave the building and property to the Park Service for the creation of the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center.
After all this, in 1992, after extensive rennovations and the construction of a theater and gallery complex, the Center opened its doors to the public.
Today the Center houses a museum dedicated primarily to Acadian culture, an art gallery, a 200-seat-theater and a boardwalk along Bayou Lafourche.
Several times a year, the Center hosts events like its free outdoor Cajun and Zydeco concert series that run every Sunday afternoon in November and usually again in March.
The Center throws openings for some of its gallery exhibits. Openings usually feature lectures by the artists, and sometimes a symposium on the subject that the exhibit relates to.
The Center also shows 15 different movies on the area’s history and culture in its theater. Films range in length from 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes and are shown on request.
Additionally, local musicians get together every Monday night for a Cajun Music Jam Session from 5:30 to 7 p.m..
The Center has two exhibits on loan right now. “Black Wings and Red Tails: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen” is on loan from Tuskegee National Park and will be on display until the end of the month.
This exhibit is and a free outdoor zydeco concert this Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. highlight the Center’s Black History Month celebrations.
Another exhibit, “Audubon of Terrebonne: The Wurzlow Collection” is on display in the Center’s gallery. It is on loan from the Nicholls Archives and will be on display until April 7.
All activites held by the Center are free and open to the public.
The Center is located at 314 St. Mary St. in Thibodaux and it is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.
