The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October sixth, at the Louisiana Heritage Museum.

Travelers who are fascinated by the Old South will find a pocket of the past preserved in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Rural Life Museum and Windrush Gardens are a 450-acre collection of historical buildings and artifacts from Louisiana before the Civil War.

Four decades ago, Steele Burden, a local landscape architect, became concerned about the disappearance of his state's rural heritage. Over the years, Burden bought thousands of artifacts, ranging from horsedrawn hearses to farm implements and household items. He even purchased more than 20 historic buildings and had them moved to his Baton Rouge estate. They include a general store, blacksmith shop, church, and a one-room school house. There are slave quarters, a modest Acadian home, and the house of a plantation overseer, with handmade cypress furniture. The graveyard has many elaborate, wrought-iron crosses, which were favored by the area's French and Spanish settlers. There are five acres of azaleas, camellias and other plants typical of 19th-century southern garden, with a collection of classical bronze and marble statues scattered around.

Five years ago, just before Steele Burden's death at the age of 95, he opened his antebellum estate, its gardens and eclectic collections to the public. The Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge offers a fascinating portrait of the lifestyle of early Louisiana. This is especially true this weekend, during the annual Harvest Days festivities. For information, check our Web site: travelersjournal.com

FMI LSU Rural Life Museum and Windrush Gardens, 4600 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 225-765-2437 or http://rurallife.lsu.edu

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