Historic Places: Drake Saltworks/Saline Creek Festival, Goldonna, Natchitoches
Parish Louisiana
Source: The Natchitoches Times August 1996
Submitted by Gaytha Thompson



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GOLDONNA SETS STAGE FOR DRAKE SALTWORKS/SALINE CREED FESTIVAL

The Drake Salt Works/Saline Creek Festival in Goldonna will include a parade,
live music and dancing, and a tour of the salt works.

The seventh annual Drake Salt Works/Saline Creek Festival will be held
Saturday, Sept. 7 in the Village of Goldonna.

The festival celebrates the history of Drake's Salt Works, where stone axe
heads, arrowheads and pot shards span a period from 3000 B.C. to 1700 A.D. 

Drake's is also the site of what was the deepest drilled well in the world in
1830 and a town of 10,000 during the Civil War when it supplied salt to the
Confederacy. 

Festivities will kick off with a parade, followed by entertainment, arts and
crafts, food booths, family activities and a Civil War reenactment. The day
will conclude with fireworks at dark. Admission to the festival is free.

The idea for a festival in Goldonna belonged to Verna Martin Bedgood, who is
called "The Mother of the Drake Salt/Saline Creek Festival."

Bedgood, a rural mail carrier and town council member, had visited several
small town festivals and wanted Goldonna to have one, too. She met with
rejection when she shared her idea with the town council She later formed a
committee with Linda Dupree and chose a name suggested by Sam Dupree for the
festival--Drake Saltwork/Saline Creek Festival. 

The location and motto "...beautiful downtown Goldonna..." was selected and
the festival date set just four weeks before the event was to take place.
Eventually, the event was permanently slated to take place for the Saturday of
Labor Day weekend.

In addition to the vendors with arts, crafts, food and entertainment, the
Drake's Salt Works/Saline Creek Festival will begin with a parade at 10 a.m.
Included in the parade are antique cars, marching units, local citizens and
winners of the Miss Saline Creek pageant held the week before the festival.
Live country and gospel music will continue all day and visitors are invited
to bring lawn chairs to place under shade trees downtown.

A bus will take visitors on a 30-minute trip to Saline Creek for a free tour
of the historic site of the Drake Saltworks from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Linda Dupree
will serve as a guide.

No alcohol is permitted at the festivities as activities are designed to
appeal to families and visitors of all ages.