PLAQUEMINE — When you travel along River Road in Plaquemine or White Castle, you're guaranteed to see unique and historical sites.

Your first stop could be at the Crown Jewel of Plaquemine, the Plaquemine Lock.

"After 14 years of construction, the lockhouse was completed in 1909. We are on a slag concrete structure, so all this concrete had to be poured by hand, so it's quite a monumental job," Visitor Services Specialist with Iberville Parish Tourism Hunter Monismith said.

Monismith says that back when the lock operated, it played a significant role in driving the local economy.

"You had riverboats that would run, let's say, from New Orleans to Memphis, and they would carry passengers, but they would also carry cargo. As they come through the locks here, a lot of your passengers are going to disembark; they're going to go into town, we're selling goods to the passengers," Monismith said.

After visiting the lock, your next stop likely would be here in the Bayou Goula community, which Ripley's Believe It or Not recognized as the smallest church in the world, the tiny, historic Madonna Chapel.

Built by a sugar cane farmer in 1902, the catholic landmark honored the farmer's son who fell very ill.

"And he went, and he prayed to the Virgin Mother, and he vowed that if his son were to survive, if she would spare him, that he would build a church in her honor," Monismith said.

In its original state, the church was 7 feet by 7 feet, but it has since been expanded slightly when a new levee system was installed nearby in 1924.

"The church had to be moved further back, and it was expanded to 9 feet by 9 feet. So not a real big church or chapel here. We're very proud of this small church here," Monismith said.

About a ten-minute drive away, you'll find the St. Louis Historic home built by a congressman in 1857. The property is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Other sites on the Great River Road tour include the Dorseyville Historic School, St. John the Baptist Church, St. Paul's Catholic Church, Tally Ho Historic Home and J. Supple's Sons Mercantile Company.

All of it makes a journey to Plaquemine and White Castle a journey back in time.