About the Exhibit

Compliments of B. F. Phillips.
Postcard
Lemannville Collection
Accession Number 2014.033.001

All paths to discovery of life in the past are a journey. The collection of artifacts, papers and photographs make this history come alive. A speck of dust turned into a pile of dirt protected this collection. It is amazing that the Lemannville School Collection has survived over 60 years in an old shed. Yet, it was turned over to the River Road African American Museum by Willie and Darlene Lamendola in the summer of 2013. Life at the Lemannville School is being resurrected with the exhibition of each item featured in this exhibit. 

There is something magical about these photographs and artifacts when they are seen for the first time. The reality about the daily life for the children, parents and teachers of the rural community is evident in each image. Photographs of children attending rural schools along the Mississippi River are very rare. Rural life in south Louisiana has been documented by photographers for decades, but this collection is distinctive because an African American teacher and photographer recognized the importance of her work and documented it for future generations. The discovery of this early 20th century collection, unveiled the insurmountable talents, gifts and skills of a small rural community and how one woman provided a school for dozens of Lemannville children to get an education.

Please send an email to kathe@aamuseum.org, if you can identify anyone in the pictures featured in this exhibit or if you would like to be interviewed about early life in Lemannville, Louisiana.

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