ST. FRANCISVILLE – Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site offers the next in its monthly series of “Lost Arts of the Nineteenth Century” Living History Demonstrations with a new presentation scheduled for Saturday, January 16.
Visitors to Rosedown are invited to join Interpretive Ranger Sasha Traña, as she introduces historic arts, activities and crafts that are little seen today. The “Lost Art” featured this month is Candlemaking. During the program, visitors will get a glimpse into life prior to the invention of electric lighting, as Traña demonstrates the art of making wax candles. For the program, Traña will discuss the history of candlemaking, and show the two most common methods of making candles in the nineteenth-century—dipping and mold forming. Traña will be presenting her demonstration in the Old Kitchen Outbuilding behind the Rosedown main house between 11 am and 2 pm. Additional “Lost Arts” programs will be offered on the third Saturday of each month. The Lost Art of Down-Hearth Cooking will be featured in February with a special program in celebration of Black History Month, “African and Caribbean Influence in Southern Antebellum Cooking.”
Rosedown Plantation SHS is located on LA Highway 10 in St. Francisville, 30 minutes north of Baton Rouge, off US Highway 61. The site is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Guided tours of the main house are provided on the hour, beginning at 10 am and concluding with the final tour of the day at 4 pm. Special programs and demonstrations offered throughout the year are included with the price of admission.
For more information, call 225-635-3110 in the St. Francisville area, or visit the Office of State Parks web site at www.lastateparks.com.