The Abita Mystery House
What in the…?
You may be wondering just what the hell is in that photo… well, as the small sign says, that’s a “Wolverinegator.” That is just one of many, many…many… weird taxidermied creations at the Abita Mystery House, located in the quaint little town of Abita Springs, Louisiana. Your next question might be… is that real? If you are questioning this… then you should probably go visit the Abita Brewpub, the local brewery located on the other side of the round-a-bout. The short answer is, it’s as real as it exists in the Mystery House.
Why?
The better questin is… why not? This country used to be full of roadside attractions that were weird, quirky and downright bizarre. With the introduction of the Interstate system, many small towns like Abita Springs were bypassed… sometimes by just a few short miles. These bypasses proved to be devastating for small towns all across the country… and to be completely honest… a lot of the charming personalities of small town America were lost to the history books… all in the name of “progress.” Fortunately, for those of us that appreciate the creativity and, let’s face it, plain ole weirdness of small town creators… some of these fascinating exhibits still exist for our exploration and enjoyment.
John Preble
According to their “about us” section on their website-
The Abita Mystery House
also known as the UCM Museum
- Louisiana's Most Eccentric Attraction About Us If you are looking for things to do in New Orleans, the Abita Mystery House is less than an hour north in historic Abita Springs. This roadside attraction features a vintage service station, a 100yr old Louisiana Creole cottage, an exhibition hall of memorabilia and junk, and the much photographed House of Shards. Come see handmade folk art animated scenes of Southern life by Louisiana inventor / artist, John Preble. With the help of over 50,000 found and recycled objects, Preble created his own fantastic worlds: there's a Mardi Gras parade, a New Orleans jazz funeral, a rhythm and blues dance hall, a haunted Southern plantation, and much more! This joint was built with concrete, glass, wood, water, vision, and invention. Bring a sense of humor and an open mind. |
Mr. Preble must be one interesting dude. He’s an artist, and apparently one that works in multiple mediums, as his biography clearly notes. Aside from his music, which I’ll admit- I haven’t heard… the eccentric and creative mind that sees an old gas station in a tiny town… and makes it into a roadside attraction that has become a staple for roadtrippers and explorers of classic Americana, is clearly one that sees the world a little (or a lot) different than the rest of us regular minded folks.
The town
I’ve been through Abita Springs, LA many times, but last month was the first time my wife and I decided to check out the famed “Mystery House.” The weather was perfect, and the vibe was right… as it was just before Halloween. We decided to take the MotoWriter Road King, in order to take full advantage of the beautiful Southern weather. We saddled up and hit the road and, after a relatively short ride, pulled into the quaint, charming town known for it’s “free-flowing, artesian “healing water.” As the legend goes…
”a handsome native Orleanian of Spanish descent named Henriquez was visiting the area of Abita Springs, and met and married a beautiful Choctaw princess named Abita. Shortly after they married and moved to New Orleans, Abita became very ill and Henriquez was told by advisors to bring his bride back to Abita Springs to drink of the healing waters and to bathe in the bubbling springs. She was cured in a month's time.”
The crazy thing? In 1887 a scientist actually tested the artesian waters and found them to “contain minerals with good medicinal properties.” While I don’t know how accurate any of this is… I do know that our world is full of elements meant to heal our ailments, but each generation seems to get further and further away from these natural remedies, relying more and more on laboratory concoctions, instead of those naturally occurring treatments that our ancestors relied on.
The Brewpub
After your visit to the Mystery House, at only $5 per person to enter, you’ll surely have enough left over to go grab a bite to eat, or a pint to drink, at the Brewpub. We took our time walking through all the exhibits of the Mystery House… because once you see an alligator head sewn onto the body of a dog, you want to see another alligator head sewn onto the body of a bass. The Mystery House also had a few out buildings to explore, that were full of weird, cheeky exhibits… especially the dioramas (don’t forget to push the buttons to see them move and light up). After all that, we decided to go around the round-a-bout to the Brewpub for a bite to eat and a cold brewski. We got full on some delicious food, and enjoyed some refreshing, and locally brewed (on site), beers. I can’t really say enough about the service- in true southern charm, the folks at the Brewpub were friendly and accommodating and our food was fresh, hot and delicious. After enjoying our early dinner, though, it was time to head out.
Mandeville’s Lake Views
The sun was getting low in the afternoon sky, so we decided to saddle up and head toward home, but not before taking a small detour toward Mandeville, LA… located nearby on the northern most shores of Lake Pontchartrain. We rode to the lakeside and took a slow, scenic, ride along Lakeshore Drive- a beautiful road that skirts the edge of the lake, and is adorned with ancient oaks draped with Spanish moss- a truly southern experience. We’ve visited here before, but it’s beauty never ceases to amaze me. While the Lake’s size of over 600 square miles pales in comparison to the Great Lakes of the Midwest, it’s grandeur cannot be denied… especially when you traverse it’s 23 mile long bridge that connects the Northshore to New Orleans.
Final thoughts
As we made our way back home, I was inspired to share our visit, and a lot more of our photos, with all of my MotoReaders. After further contemplation, however, I decided to leave you with my words alone… and of course the above photo of the Wolverinegator. Why? You might ask… well, the answer is simple- you really need to see it, experience it, for yourselves. At only $5 bucks a person, it’s more than affordable, and some crappy phone pictures won’t truly allow you to appreciate the weirdness of it all.
So get out there and go see Abita Springs for yourselves… drink of the “healing waters”, imbibe some of the locally brewed beer, and stop in the Mystery House so you can experience a little bit of roadside Americana… before it, like so many others before it, becomes nothing more than part of the local folklore of this storied town.
Ride safe and… explore the weird.
