What’s Up With That: State Capitol statues

Two statues greet visitors in front of the State Capitol, but their significance is unknown even to those who work at the building

We’ve always wondered about the massive statues in front of the Capitol Building. Why are they there, and what do they mean? We spoke with staffers at the Louisiana House of Representatives, and they filled us in that the statues are called the “Pioneers” and the “Patriots” and were built by Lorado Taft in the 1930s. But even they weren’t entirely sure what the statues mean or why they were built.

After reaching out to more historical institutions around town, a call to the Louisiana State Archives finally produced the answer: The statues serve as memorials to the settlers and defenders of Louisiana.

The “Pioneers” statue pays tribute to the Native Americans who originally inhabited the region, the French and Spanish colonists who explored the area in the 17th and 18th centuries and the Americans who made their homes here in the state’s earliest days. The “Patriots” monument honors those who died defending our home and rights.

Turns out the statues are pretty significant after all. Without the pioneers and patriots of Louisiana, the state we call home wouldn’t be the same.