ST. MARTINVILLE — The Acadian Memorial and Museum in St. Martinville is not reopening its doors anytime soon. In June the city council finalized the budget for 2021 fiscal year, but the funds were not there for the museum.
"We asked every department to take the knife and trim what could be trimmed," District 1 Councilman Mike Fuselier said.
The museum opened its doors in 1996 as a place to learn about the Cajun heritage.
"We needed to tell our history and our stories to the Cajuns that live here and never even had an inkling about their genealogy," Brenda Trahan said.
Trahan is a current board member and former director. She says the closure is not only a loss for the city, but also the state of Louisiana.
"People did not know their story. They were never told in school. The only people who knew something about the Acadian people were the Catholics who were taught the [story of] Evangeline," Trahan explained.
Officials are hoping the beloved museum will be re-opened.
"It's a beautiful place, a beautiful mural. The information is great there," added Fuselier. "We want to see it back and running."
Trahan says plans are in the works to see if the memorial can operate in a new way.
"I'm going to call (Senator) Fred Mills, I'm going to make him go with us to the state park and get something rolling. It has to happen soon," Trahan said.
Trahan says she does not have a date set on when she can meet with the senator, but hopes it happens soon. We reached out to Mills, but was told he was unavailable.
For more information about the museum, or how you can donate, click here.
