History and Nature of Iberville Parish Iberville Parish sits peacefully between the Atchafalaya Basin and the Mississippi River – a historically important location for travel by water with the parish’s 600 miles of waterways

. Evangeline, from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, also paddled these waters with her “Indian guide” in search of her lover, Gabriel, from whom she’d been separated in the deportation of the Acadians from Canada in 1755. Since 1969, the International Acadian Festival has celebrated the heritage of the Acadian exiles who settled this area with a 3-day festival Oct. 19-21, which includes music, food and the theatrical “Water Ceremony,” which is a reenactment of the arrival by canoe of Evangeline and her guide. Also arriving in the fall is a surge of neotropical migratory songbirds. The Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site, with its museum and visitors center situated next to what was once this world’s highest freshwater-lift lock, is a great location for birdwatching. Join others the second weekend of October for the Big Sit! — an event occurring simultaneously across the world where birders stay within 17-foot diameter circles counting all the birds they see or hear for 24 hours. Further north in the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area is another notable place to spot hummingbirds, wading birds and raptors. The City of Plaquemine offers the Bayou Plaquemine Waterfront Park, the Island Golf Course, Iberville Museum and Plaquemine Depot Market — housed in a 1925 railroad depot, where you can find antiques, housewares and local art. At the visitor’s center in Grosse Tête on Oct. 6, the Iberville Swamp Life Expo kicks off a monthlong celebration of the nation’s largest river-overflow swamp. Live music, hands-on demonstrations and delicious Cajun cuisine entice you to explore more of what the communities of the Atchafalaya have to offer. In the southeast part of the parish, Carville is home to the National Hansen’s Disease Museum, which houses a collection of medical and cultural artifacts that tell the story of the leprosy patients who once took refuge here. Iberville Parish welcomes all to come enjoy its history, culture and beauty. -- By Catherine Schoeffler Comeaux