The six sites of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve represent a treasure trove of south Louisiana's historical and cultural riches. People from nearly every country, ethnic group, language, and religion have come to the lower Mississippi River delta and left traces of their passing.

As author William Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." In south Louisiana, the places where history happened are around every corner and down every bayou, and the well-worn skills and traditions of previous generations are revered at the same time they're adapted for life in a new century.

To read about

• Jean Lafitte the pirate/privateer and his Baratarians, click here
• how the Acadians became Louisiana's Cajuns, click here