Ken Stickney

kstickney@theadvertiser.com

Floodwater that breached the levees at Vermilionville Living History Museum and Folklife Park damaged at least five nearby buildings and may close the facility to the public for two weeks.

Bayou Vermilion District CEO David Cheramie said four of the affected buildings are part of the operations portion of the district; the fifth belongs to Louisiana Folk Roots.

He said water stopped short of the main buildings and the historic buildings, with few exceptions. Water got below the Coussan House, near the performance center.

Flooding on the Vermilion River at the nearby Surrey Street bridge reached 17.5 feet; houses on the site were designed to withstand floodwater up to 18 feet.

"The engineers who designed it knew what they were doing," he said.

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Flooding caused cancellation of Acadian Culture Day on Sunday, a major event, and will affect the next two Sunday dances, which are held in the performance center.

He said water won't go down to 16 feet — that's major flood stage at Surrey Street — for at least a couple of days. After that the crew can turn its pumps on.

Cheramie suggested it would take at least 24 hours on the pumps to get the water level down to where repairs can be made and cleanup can start.

Damaged buildings included a greenhouse, shop, workshop, the bayou operations crew building and the Louisiana Folk Roots's rented office.

He said with pumping and with the river draining, the park might become dry by Friday.

"It's a mess," he said. "We want to make sure things are safe, sound and sanitary."

Vermilionville, which is operated by Lafayette Parish, opened in 1990.

A living history museum and folklife park, it teaches about Acadian, Native American and Creole people who lived in the area from 1765 to 1890.

The 19 park attractions include seven original homes.