Visit Zachary
About
Eight buildings within a two-block area comprise this community museum located in the historic downtown area of Zachary, Louisiana, offering a rare picture of neighborhood life in a small town during the waning years of the 19th century through the 1960s. Three dwellings, a barn, a carriage house, a pavilion, a Railroad Depot and the Old Town Hall with an adjacent firehouse provide the setting for a leisurely walk down "Main Street USA". Within view are several more (private) dwellings, the old movie theater and the Zachary Bank. Visit daily, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and other times by appointment.
• ADA: Wheelchair Accessible
• Artifacts Collections: Museum collections include period household furnishings; period public building furnishings; textiles and clothing; cotton industry artifacts and machinery; folk art and cultural artifacts; transportation and educational artifacts.
• Research Collections: The museum holds an extensive archival collection of land documents and genealogical information.
• Educational Programs: The museum works creatively with classroom teachers, librarians and homeschoolers to build exhibits to correlate to classroom activities and curriculum guidelines. Museum staff may be available to offer support and lectures for classes. We offer guided tours and activities, a pre-visit study guide and a post-visit evaluation/quiz. Most such loans and activities are free of charge; some may have a refundable deposit.
History
The museum began its development when a prominent family donated the first of the eight buildings about 1975. The City of Zachary assumed the administration of the museum, and soon expanded the museum facility by reconstructing a barn (about 1980) near its original location,
and acquiring two other dwellings and a carriage house. By 1990, the City of Zachary had turned over the Old Town Hall building to the museum, constructed a pavilion, and had acquired the depot to complete the collection of buildings. An additional home called the Annison House which was built about 1813 and modified in the mid-1800s, was donated to the museum by heirs of its last owners and was restored for opening in 2010. The City of Zachary is located near the southern-most section of a region known as "The Plains," an area that figures prominently in the early history of Louisiana during important events such as the English and Spanish occupations, the West Florida Rebellion, and the Civil War. The museum is assuming a prominent role in the collection and interpretation of the history of the Plains area.
