Friday, March 24, Magnolia Mound Plantation
10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Registration, Magnolia Mound Plantation Visitors Center.
10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Free tours of Magnolia Mound Plantation. You will receive a pass to Magnolia Mound Plantation when you register during the day.
5:30 p.m.: Marker Dedication, in front of Magnolia Mound Plantation house.
Friday Night
6:00–7:00 p.m.– Reception: Magnolia Mound Plantation
Friday Afternoon Tours
On Friday, prior to the Bartram Trail Conference, participants have an opportunity to visit two remarkable resources on the LSU campus, with a special field trip limited to 20 people.
1:30–2:30pm. Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium at Louisiana State University. Collections Manager Jennie Kluse will lead a tour of the updated facility with a look at early plant specimens and species associated with William Bartram and his father, John Bartram. Randy Harelson will meet participants at the LSU Barnes and Nobles.
3:00–4:00pm. The Special Collections at LSU Hill Memorial Library was opened in 1903, and moved to the present campus in 1926. In the McIlhenny Room, items of interest for your observation include, among others, works by John and William Bartram, Mark Catesby, Alexander Wilson, Jacob Bigelow, and John James Audubon. A special treat will be some original watercolor drawings by Margaret Stones from her Flora of Louisiana project of the 1970s-80s.
Registered conference attendees must sign up ahead for these two behind-the-scenes visits. Each visit is limited to 20 people. The group will meet ahead and walk together to each facility. Sign up here.
NOTE: You must register for the Friday Afternoon tour separately from conference registration. You will be allowed to add a guest.
Conference Program, March 25, East Baton Rouge Main Library Conference Room
7711 Goodwood Boulevard, Baton Rouge
8:30–9:00 am: Registration and Coffee
9:00–9:15 am: Welcome: President, T. R. Henderson
9:15–10:45 am: Bartram’s Louisiana Travels
Taylor McGaughy: Peregrinations to Pontchartrain: William Bartram’s Westerly Wanderings
Dennis Jones: Sweet Home Alabama: Evidence for an 18th Century Native American Occupation at the Chatsworth Plantation Site (16EBR192) in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Dorinda Dallmeyer: White Cliffs, Deep Time: William Bartram and Geology
10:45–11:00 am: BREAK
11:00 am–12:00 pm: Marking Bartram’s Trail
Peggy Davis Coates: Louisiana’s Bartram Trail Revisited
Sam Carr: Regional and National Bartram Trail Efforts
12:00–1:00 pm: LUNCH
Botanic Garden at Independence Park Stroll. During the lunch break, stroll through the Botanic Garden at Independence Park. The garden features collections of crape myrtles, herbs, roses, Louisiana Iris, day lilies, buttery plants, ferns, and gingers.
1:00–2:30 pm: Literature, Art, and the Natural World
Andy Ross, “Within a Few Inches of Your Eye:”:Visual and Narrative Meditation in Bartram’s Travels
Elizabeth Athens: “A Lively Animated Picture:” William Bartram and Drawing Ad vivum
Randy Harelson. Native Flora of Louisiana: the Watercolor Drawings of Margaret Stones
2:30–2:45 pm: BREAK
2:45–3:30 pm: Remembering John Hall
Thomas Hallock, Remembering John Hall: The work of the BTC and the Good Nature of Environmental Education
3:30–4:30 pm: Forty Years on: The History of the Bartram Trail Conference
This roundtable discussion will feature charter members of the Bartram Trail Conference. Three Louisiana members, Charles Fryling, Sally Daigle, and Polly Williams, will discuss their early adventures and their hopes for the future of the Bartram Trail Conference. Moderator: Chuck Spornick.
6:30–7:30 pm: Cocktails on the Plaza, beer, wine, and Hors d'oeuvres.
7:30–9:00 pm: Banquet and Keynote Address
Daniel H. Usner: “A prospect of the grand sublime”: The Louisiana-Florida Borderland Seen and Unseen by William Bartram
Sunday, March 26
9:00 am: Morning Tree Stroll and Brunch
11:00 am: Morning Tree Stroll and Brunch
Enjoy the serenity of Hilltop’s 14-acres as you stroll past the arboretum’s collection of “Bartram” trees and plants, a map will be provided. Views of Louisiana aquatic plants along the pond will be in full view as you enjoy brunch under the cover of the Margaret Brown Holmes Outdoor Pavilion and special musical entertainment. A catered brunch will feature a mouth-watering Louisiana menu.The Arboretum’s Hodge Podge Nursery also will be open, offering native plants for sale, and the Hilltop Gift Shop will be offering unique gifts, including a poster of the famous watercolor painting of the Big Leaf Magnolia by Margaret Stones, and copies of her book, “Flora of Louisiana”.
After brunch, you will follow William Bartram’s trail as you travel to New Roads in Pointe Coupee Parish, the terminus of Bartram’s travels in Louisiana. The drive will take about 50 minutes, and a map will be provided. Randy Harelson and Richard Gibbs will be your hosts for a tour of their historic home, LeJuene House (Circa 1810), and its garden. On your return to Baton Rouge, you will stop for a visit at St. Francis Chapel (Circa 1890), which houses religious objects dating from 1738. Tours are from 11 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
- LSU Hilltop Arboretum
- New Roads and Pointe Coupée Parish
- LeJeune House
- St. Francis Chapel
Burden Museum and Garden Tours
8:00 am–5:00 pm: Free Tours of Burden Museum and Gardens, includes the LSU AgCenter Botanic Garden, LSU Rural Life Museum, and Windrush Gardens
Wear conference name tag for free admission to LSU Rural Life Museum. Burden Museum and Gardens are always open and free to public
Burden Museum and Gardens offers discovery and adventure through historic, natural, and educational experiences that provide a window into Louisiana’s rich cultural past. Situated on 440 acres in the heart of Baton Rouge, it is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the flora and fauna of Louisiana’s lush landscapes and agricultural heritage.