In 1990, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the director of the National Park Service, to conduct a study on alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the Underground Railroad and the approximate routes taken by enslaved people escaping to freedom before the conclusion of the Civil War.
In 2001, the River Road African American Museum became a recognized facility and member of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The “Freedom Garden” reveals the history of Louisiana’s Underground Railroad and shows a variety of vegetation that was cultivated. Freedom seekers might have used the edible and medicinal plants displayed in the garden as a mechanism of survival while traveling from the plantations in the region. Some of the plants are indigenous to Africa, some were domesticated on the plantations, and many could be found in the wilderness along bayous, rivers and swamps.
The River Road African American Museum and LSU AgCenter facilitator/educators joined educational resources to research vegetables grown in the area to teach and train locals and numerous visitors of the museum and garden. Organic vegetable specialist Dr. Owusu Bandele at Southern University was contacted and consulted to construct the garden and plant various plants and indigenous vegetables grown during the era. Local property was secured from the city government, and a $15,000 grant was secured from the National Park Service with a $15,000 match from the museum. A total value of $30,000. Numerous advisory council meeting were held.
The River Road African American Museum Freedom Garden was designed and established in the summer of 2007. The horticulture agent was facilitator/advisor/educator in the design of the garden and selection of authentic vegetables planted. The horticulture agent facilitated consultations with Dr. Bandele for organic gardening advice. The LSU AgCenter was given credit on official signs.
The River Road African American Museum has routine tours where numerous visitors will be educated on different varieties of vegetables grown in the past. Fifty-five youth and 10 leaders toured the Freedom Garden site during the 2007 Awesome Youth Sport Camp. The museum director designed 2,000 quarter-fold flyers depicting the Freedom Garden, which were disseminated. The Julien Patented Sugar Cane Planter was secured for the site. An educational sign for each vegetable was designed. Forty-five volunteers (10 adult and 35 youth) from Donaldsonville Volunteer Marine Institute, Ascension Parish Alternative School and Awesome Youth Sport Camp maintained the garden, donating two hours per person weekly with a dollar value of $19.50 per hour for a total value of $1,755.00. Vegetables were harvested and donated to local citizens.
For FY2007-09, 500 visitors and 200 walk-ins visited the museum and Freedom Garden at $4 per ticket, with a total value of $2,800. Funds are used to maintain the museum site and the Freedom Garden. Dr. Bandele designed a FY 2008 Historical Agricultural Resource Calendar showcasing the Ascension Parish River Road African American Museum Freedom Garden on the front cover, and the month of June. May depicts Mr. Leonard Julien -- farmer, gardener, friend of extension, inventor, musician -- and his patented Sugar Cane Planter from Donaldsonville, Louisiana. A thousand calendars were produced with a value of $10 each, for a total of $10,000. Funds will assist in maintaining the Freedom Garden, the museum, Women in Rural Development and SAAFON --
Southeastern African-American Farmers Organic Network.