Chennault Aviation and Military Museum
During World War II, Monroe was the site of an Army-Air Force navigational school that graduated more than 15,000 navigators. In the 1980s, graduates of the school gathered and began to collect artifacts and memorabilia from their time there. In 2000, that collection opened to the public as the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum.
The museum is housed in one of the buildings that used to be part of the school, and it features displays about the aviation and military history of northeast Louisiana. Visitors also learn about Gen. Claire Lee Chennault, a World War II hero who lived in Monroe, and his Flying Tigers squadron.
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge
The Louisiana outdoors play a prominent role in “Duck Dynasty,” and groups that visit the area can see some of the famous swamps themselves at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 4,200 acres of protected water and woodlands in Monroe. The lake is surrounded by cypress and tupelo trees and by swamps that are home to many fish, waterfowl and wildlife species.
The complex features a visitor center in a restored planter’s house, as well as an environmental education center. Adjacent to the center is an arboretum with more than 100 native Louisiana trees and a demonstration area with native grasses and wildflowers, as well as a milelong nature boardwalk.
www.fws.gov/northlouisiana/blackbayoulake
Poverty Point National Monument
About 55 miles northeast of Monroe lies Poverty Point National Monument, a prehistoric site that has recently been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The park protects a series of massive earthen mounds that overlook the Mississippi River floodplains; the mounds were constructed by pre-agricultural hunters and gatherers around A.D. 1700.
The site comprises five large mounds that form semielliptical ridges around a central plaza. It is the only formation of its kind among archaeological sites in North America. Visitors to Poverty Point will learn about the ancient engineering marvel and the continent-wide prehistoric trade network of which it was a part.
