For most of the summer large sheets of plywood have blocked off the center of the pavilion at the Abita Springs Trailhead. Children and adults alike have tried to peek between the boards or chance a glimpse when one of the boards opened for a worker to exit, but very few were even given a glance at to what was gone on inside.

That was until this past weekend.

Members of the town’s board of aldermen gathered along side residents as well as curious bystanders as the covers were removed and the long-awaited Abita princess statue was revealed.

The Abita princess statue was unveiled and dedicated Saturday at the Abita Springs Trailhead. (Photo by Suzanne Le Breton)

Dedicated in honor of his father, James “Jim” Buchanan Blitch Sr., the statue was donated to the town by architect Ron Blitch as a gift to the citizens of Abita Springs.

His father, who passed away in 1998, is considered by many to be the father of the town’s historic district.

Ron Blitch said his father and mother, Hilda Blitch, moved to the town in 1966 and in the 1970s he began an effort to create the historic district.

“Had it not been for the vision and perseverance of my father, Abita Springs as we know it today would not exist,” said Blitch.

The distinct Abita cottage, a shotgun house with a porch wrapping around three sides, was in danger of extinction in the 1970s. Many of the unique homes were being demolished and brick tract homes constructed on a slab were going up in their place. The senior Blitch encouraged the Abita Springs town government to pass strict zoning laws and oversaw creation of the Historic District.

“My dad was concerned about losing the character of this town,” Blitch said at the unveiling and dedication ceremony held Saturday afternoon.

Mayor Louis Fitzmorris said he did not have the pleasure of meeting the elder Blitch, but has been told “he was a true Southern gentleman with a great affection for the town.” He said Blitch’s “leadership and vision was instrumental in forming the historic district.”

The statue, which shows the Abita princess kneeing the sip water from a cypress stump much like the historical story dictates.

Legend has it that a Choctaw tribe migrated to the area when the chief’s daughter became ill. The reputation of the healing waters had spread and the Choctaws settled near-by so that the princess could drink from the bubbling spring, which was said to have come up out of a cypress stump, and be healed.

The Choctaw named their settlement “Ibetab Okla Chitto” which means “large settlement near the fountain.” White settlers followed and anglicized “Ibetab” to Abita.

The statue, which now sits in the center of the historic Cotton Centennial Pavilion, was commissioned by Blitch and crafted by a friend of his late father. Gabriele Mossa crafted the statue in his studio in Florence, Italy, using the ‘lost wax’ method.

In it’s base he has included 14 different animals that are commonly found in Abita Springs.

Fitzmorris said the statue fits in perfectly with the Trailhead the town has created and continues to expand and improve.

“There are a lot of trailheads in this parish, but nothing as unique as what we have in Abita,”

Fitzmorris said, citing the museum building, which was once the bachelor’s quarters for the old Longbranch Hotel, the community built playground, the historic pavilion and now the princess statue.ͷ