Supported by a grant from the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism’s Office of Cultural Development, Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation.
The Louisiana Studies in Historic Preservation web site is the culmination of a project begun over a decade ago. It began in 1989 when the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation (part of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism) and the state Department of Education partnered to create a heritage education curriculum. This material examined Louisiana’s historic buildings and related them to developmental trends within the state’s history and culture. In its first incarnation, the information took the form of a printed supplement to the eighth grade Louisiana Studies Curriculum Guide. A few years later, with the help of Greg Wirth in CRT’s Information Services Section, the material was added to CRT’s web site.As time passed and web materials increased in quality, Division staff realized that the heritage education curriculum needed major improvement. A new alliance was forged, this time with the Educational Technology Program in the College of Education at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. Now renamed Louisiana Studies in Historic Preservation, this new web site is the result of that partnership.
The task could not have been completed without the cooperative efforts of a number of people. These include:
Linda Behling Gillis, M.Ed., Ed.S., who originally suggested placing the Division’s educational material on the web and introduced Division personnel to the technical specialists at Northwestern.
Winnifred E. Byrd, Chairman, Heritage Education Committee, Louisiana Preservation Alliance, who has supported the Division’s education efforts from the beginning.
Rita Carlson, Elementary School Teacher, St. Charles Parish School Board, who correlated the material to the Louisiana Department of Education’s standards.
Victor Gordon, former Middle School Social Studies teacher, East Baton Rouge Parish, who served as teacher/advisor during the project’s first year, and
Sheila Richmond, former Heritage Education Coordinator, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, who is also an advisor.
Pinelle Spain, Calcasieu Parish Schools, Social Studies Consultant, and North Carolina educator Beverly McNeill, for reviewing the EZ Content Blueprint for “Before Freedom” (African American Life unit).
Thomas Day Education Project (thomasday.net), for training in interpreting slavery and free people of color in the classroom.
The Content Team:
Thomas S. Smith, M.Ed., M.A., former Social Studies/English Resource Teacher/Grants Coordinator, Avoyelles Parish School Board.
Christine Kreger, former Middle School Social Studies teacher, East Baton Rouge Parish.
Jeannie Giroir Luckett, Education Curator, West Baton Rouge Museum.
Terry Collins, BA, M.Ed, Technology Facilitator, Region V TLTC/School Tech, Calcasieu Parish Schools.
Donna Fricker, BA, MA, Architectural Historian III, Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation.
Rosalind M. Garrett, elementary school teacher, Iberia Parish Schools.
Thelma Prater, former classroom teacher, presently Assistant Principal, Plaucheville Elementary School, Avoyelles Parish.
Lessie Mae Iverson, Central Elementary, Webster Parish.
The Technical Team:
Dr. Robert Gillan, Educational Technology Program, College of Education, Northwestern State University, project advisor.
Dr. Ron McBride, Educational Technology Program, College of Education, Northwestern State University, project advisor.
Stacy Fontenot, student, Northwestern State University, College of Education, Educational Technology Program; special thanks to Stacy for her excellent site design.
V. Rodney Harrison, Jr., M.Ed., Ed.S., former student, Northwestern State University, College of Education, Educational Technology Program, additional design resources.
Lori Anne Anzaldua, Ed.S., Adjunct Instructor, Northwestern State University, College of Education, Educational Technology Program, site maintenance.
Adrienne Smith, student worker from Louisiana State University, site maintenance.
Ratna P. Koukuntla, BS, MS, student worker from Louisiana State University, site maintenance.
Ya-Ting Gray, BA, MFA, Public Information Officer, Division of Historic Preservation, site maintenance and expansion.
We continue to appreciate the black and white building drawings, used by permission of Louisiana Tech, created by the following architecture students of now-retired Professor Lestar Martin:
Russell Delaney Queen Anne Dormer and gable Alan G. Frushon Transverse crib barn Joe Simpson Privy Brian Sellers Gothic Revival church Andrea Beaver Eastlake James Strohmeyer Single Pen Douglas Breckenridge Greek Revival Alfonso Romero Foursquare Keith Newton Dogtrot David Smith Queen Anne Keith Matthews Shotgun Richard Sanders Double Pen Blake Dunn Queen Anne Turret
All other building drawings were produced by volunteer Ricky Lambert. The sketches accompanying the glossary entries were contributed by Jonathan Fricker, Robert N. Smith, and Yuhua Yang. Maurie Van Buren of Historic Preservation Consulting, Inc., adapted her Visual Survey Form for Louisiana buildings.
Finally, thanks go to past State Historic Preservation Officers Laurel Wyckoff and Gerri Hobdy, current SHPO Pamela Breaux, and Division Director Jonathan Fricker for their support of the project.
To these persons and institutions I extend my thanks for the outstanding work they did in the development of this web site. Because of their support and professional assistance, the people of Louisiana will have the opportunity to understand and appreciate their rich cultural and architectural heritage more fully.
Patricia L. Duncan
Architectural Historian
Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism
Division of Historic Preservation