Lush 100-acre forest surrounds the nearly 200-year-old Oakley House, where John James Audubon, artist and naturalist, sketched many of his famous bird prints. Audubon came upriver from
New Orleans to teach drawing to the daughter of the owners of Oakley. Although Audubon spent only four months at Oakley, he began or completed 32 paintings in his Birds of America collection.
The tall airy house is a splendid example of colonial architecture with a West Indies influence. The rooms at Oakley have been restored and furnished in the style of the 1820s when Audubon lived here. Also featured are picnic area with pavilion and a nature trail that winds through acres of mature live oaks, magnolia, beech, holly and popular trees.
