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A site along the Great River Road of the Mississippi River in St. John the Baptist Parish associated with the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail is set on getting important recognition from the U.S. National Park Service as a national historic landmark.

This was announced last week after the NPS said it had initiated a historic context study for the 11-mile section identified for this effort as part of the State-certified River Road Cultural District and the local Parish-designated River Road Historic District.

The historic context study provides the research needed to evaluate the NHL eligibility, and finds that the area is a good candidate for consideration as an National Historic Landmark, NHL.

The effort involved include research, a field survey, photographic documentation, Geographic Information Systems analysis and public engagement. 

Over the past three years, advocates in the region have urged the authorities to make the site a national landmark to protect the cultural and natural resources of historic interest on the site.

Jo Banner, co-founder of Descendants Project, a non-profit environmental justice organization at the forefront of advocating for the recognition of the site said pushing for the national monument status meant a lot to her because it’s important for people to appreciate their history.

“It is essentially a great representation of our culture and our community,”Jo said. “It highlights the fact that our history cannot be ignored and we have this federally recognized proof that our communities are important because that’s what some people need to identify with their origins.

The study will enable the NPS, stewards, policy makers, civic planners and the public to better understand the eleven miles and take appropriate action where necessary.

Most locations along the site are connected to the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail, which tracks how enslaved blacks fled the plantations to fight for the Union army. Others include the larger Great River Road National Scenic Byway, which follows the course of the Mississippi River for roughly 3,000 miles from Northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. 

This final study holistically documents the site’s integrity and significance. It would map the exceptional ethnic heritage forged by the families that chose to live in this site for generations – creating distinct and nationally influential cultural practices relevant to architecture, craft, music, and foodways.

Jo called the announcement “ long overdue,” which has taken three years which involved three phases from getting researchers to document information from the site and take into account the input from the community.