VOICES FROM THE PAST

VOICES FROM THE PAST IN ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA
by Anne Butler

If only these walls could talk! How often have we lamented that the lessons of history might be lost without the voices of the past recounting their experiences. In the four decades that the West Feliciana Historical Society has hosted the Audubon Pilgrimage in St. Francisville, this popular spring fling has featured beautifully restored antebellum plantations and historic townhouses, brilliantly blooming azaleas, hostesses resplendent in replicated 1820s garb, old-time rural crafts and skills, and even glamorous nighttime entertainments. But initially something was missing, some intimate personalized voice resonating through time, and the ancestral oil portraits, the architectural treasures, the leather-bound literature…all gave only mute testament to past glories and sorrows.

One of the historic churches featured on the pilgrimage is Grace Episcopal, the oldest church in St. Francisville and second oldest Episcopal congregation in the state, established in 1827.  Its first rector was the Reverend William R. Bowman, second husband of widowed Eliza Pirrie of Oakley Plantation whom the artist Audubon was hired to tutor in the early 1820s; their son would marry the beautiful belle Sarah Turnbull of Rosedown Plantation.

The present brick church, which replaced an early simple wooden building, is  reminiscent of the Gothic country churches of rural England, from whence came many of the pioneering settlers of St. Francisville. Its cornerstone was laid by Leonidas Polk, the Fighting Bishop of the Confederacy, in June 1858, the same year an immense Pilcher organ was shipped downriver from St. Louis and fitted into the south transcept in memory of Judge George Mathews.

From Judge Mathews’ plantation came the oak saplings that now shade the cemetery where he rests in peace along with many of the early settlers. Among the earliest burials was that of baby Edward Baldwin, whose death in the 1840s was recorded as ‘flung from buggy.’ During the Civil War, as St. Francisville received heavy shelling from a Union gunboat on the nearby Mississippi River, old Aunt Sylvia Chew, a free woman of color, took refuge before the altar until a cannon ball crashed through the window over her head; she then fled to the cemetery and put her faith in the substantially built tomb of her old acquaintance Dr. Ira Smith.

With the serene cemetery so full of history and stories, it was no wonder that pilgrimage planners conceived the idea of raising the dead to tell their stories, and who better to direct this fascinating performance than local resident and Grace parishioner Shirley Pourciau, who had earned a Master’s degree in Theater from the University of Illinois and then spent 30 years as a public school teacher, enthusiastically directing plays and pageants and all manner of church shows until she retired from Lee High in 1983. Early performances of the Cemetery Tales utilized the talents of relatives and colleagues from Baton Rouge, but Mrs. Pourciau soon realized that the St. Francisville area abounded in homegrown talent.

Some of these frustrated thespians are real pros, like Dave and Valerie Barnes, who have had many years of professional radio and television experience, while others are simply blessed with a flair for the dramatic, but each gives a memorable performance bringing to life a carefully selected cross-section of St. Francisville residents beginning in the heady years just prior to the Civil War and continuing through the trying times afterward. And so, as dusk falls and the fireflies flit amid the moss-draped live oaks, costumed spirits rise among the tombstones to relate their poignant stories, and in doing so, relate the history of St. Francisville itself. An introduction to Grace’s history is given from the brick front steps of the church, and then young guides lead visitors through the cemetery lit by candles and torches, all to the strains of acoustic period music provided by talented David Porter.

Beside the sturdy tomb of Dr. Ira Smith, who died Christmas day 1850, stands his widow Mary Ann Gray, half-sister of Eliza Pirrie, relating how her husband named their plantation Troy after his boyhood New York home. Another 1850 burial was that of Grace church vestryman Levi Blount, who hanged himself from an oak tree after falling into debt over a costly sugar mill; Blount’s widow Lavinia, who with her New England bluestocking sisters came south to provide young ladies with sound classical educations, relates her story as well. William Dana Hatch was another early vestry member of Grace Church; a merchant in Bayou Sara, he died in 1866 at the age of 54, and over the years his tomb, surrounded by fancy iron fencing, has irreverently been dubbed Hatch’s Pen.

The Turnbulls of Rosedown are well represented in the cemetery and in the performance, with three different generations telling their tales, beginning with Martha Barrow Turnbull who with her husband Daniel built magnificent Rosedown Plantation in the 1830s and over six decades surrounded the home with glorious gardens based on landscapes seen on her European honeymoon. Her grandson Daniel Turnbull Bowman was slain in 1900 after volunteering with the army unit sent to quell the Moro insurrection in the Philippines. Lt. Bowman is portrayed graveside with such elan by Hamilton Willis, complete with the riding boots that are his customary attire, that during one performance, as he related how his devoted mother fretted over his perilous military service, the cell phone forgotten in his pocket rang, and without missing a beat Willis adlibbed, “That must be her now.” The third of the Turnbull-Bowman spirits is the most recent, the fifth generation, Mamie Fort Thompson, last of the area grande dames and noted for her wicked wit. Into her 90s “Miss Mamie” presided over Catalpa Plantation, sharing with each and every tourist who came calling a glass of the potent sherry referred to as “grandma’s daily dalliance with naughtiness,” and proving to the world that old southern belles never die, nor do they ever lose one iota of their charm.

A deceased rector of Grace Church tells his tale in this graveyard filled with fine statuary and Victorian monuments of marble and stone. But amidst such splendor sadly stand characters like Tullia Richardson whose plantation was aptly named Misery, and Hannah McDaniel who died in 1885 at age 90 so impoverished she had no tombstone at all. When her daughter’s attorney-husband was killed in the explosion of the steamboat Princess en route to the opening of the Supreme Court in New Orleans, the family sold their elegant townhouse on Royal St. in St. Francisville and opened a boarding house in New Orleans to make ends meet. Another distinguished barrister mortally wounded aboard the Princess in 1859 was Uriah Burr Phillips; when the steamboat’s boiler exploded rounding Conrad’s Point just below Baton Rouge, those passengers not killed instantly were laid out on the lawn of the Conrad’s Cottage Plantation. Burr was shipped home to linger a week before dying and was laid to rest beneath a hand-carved Italian marble monument.

Beside the enormous stone cross marking his family plot arises the spirit of Judge George Mathews, chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1812 until his death in 1836; his father was an early governor of Georgia, and several brothers-in-law served on the first vestry of Grace Church. His is the earliest burial included in the Cemetery Tales, while nearby is one of the most recent, the 27th Marine Corps Commandant, General Robert H. Barrow of Rosale Plantation, whose distinguished military career took him around the world but who returned to his boyhood home for retirement. Declining burial in Arlington National Cemetery, General Barrow opted to be laid to rest in 2008 beside his beloved wife Patty, the interment ceremony with its impressive military honor guard and booming gun salutes attended by everybody in town, including school children.

The voices of the past speak to us in many ways, sometimes harshly and sometimes gently, but rarely so movingly as when the spirits of the dead rise to tell their stories beside their tombstones. These Cemetery Tales take place on Friday evening, March 18, as part of the annual Audubon Pilgrimage, which celebrates a southern spring in St. Francisville, the glorious garden spot of Louisiana’s English Plantation Country. For 40 years the sponsoring West Feliciana Historical Society has thrown open the doors of significant historic structures to commemorate the tenure there of artist-naturalist John James Audubon as he painted a number of his famous bird folios.

Features of the 2011 Audubon Pilgrimage March 18, 19 and 20 include two  historic townhouses: Avondale and White’s Cottage, and in the surrounding countryside two 19th-century plantations: Wakefield and Spring Grove, plus Afton Villa Gardens, Rosedown and Audubon State Historic Sites, three 19th-century churches and the Rural Homestead with  lively demonstrations of the rustic skills of daily pioneer life. Tour hostesses are clad in the exquisitely detailed costumes of the 1820’s, nationally recognized for their authenticity.

The National Register-listed historic district around Royal Street is filled during the day with the happy sounds of costumed children singing and dancing the Maypole; in the evening as candles flicker and fireflies flit among the ancient moss-draped live oaks, there is no place more inviting for a leisurely stroll. Besides the Graveyard Tours at Grace Episcopal cemetery, Friday evening also features old-time Hymn Singing at the United Methodist Church and a wine and cheese reception at the West Feliciana Historical Society museum headquarters. Light Up The Night Saturday evening features live music, dinner and drinks. For tickets and tour information, contact West Feliciana Historical Society, Box 338, St. Francisville, LA 70775;phone 225-635-6330; online www.audubonpilgrimage.info, email sf@audubonpilgrimage.info.

Located on US Highway 61 on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge, LA, and Natchez, MS, the St. Francisville area is a year-round tourist destination, but visitors find it especially enjoyable this time of year when the glorious 19th-century gardens are still filled with winter-blooming camellias mixed with the earliest bloomers of spring, the flowering bulbs and fruit trees.  A number of splendidly restored plantation homes are open for tours daily: the Cottage Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, the Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation, plus Catalpa Plantation by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally. Particularly important to tourism in the area are its two significant state historic sites, Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation in the Audubon state site, which offer fascinating living-history demonstrations most weekends to allow visitors to experience 19th-century plantation life and customs.

The nearby Tunica Hills region offers unmatched recreational activities in its unspoiled wilderness areas—hiking, biking, birding, photography, hunting. There are unique art galleries plus specialty and antiques shops, many in restored historic structures, and some fine little restaurants throughout the St. Francisville area serving everything from soul food to Chinese and Mexican cuisine, seafood and classic Louisiana favorites. For overnight stays, the area offers some of the state’s most popular Bed & Breakfasts, including historic plantations, lakeside clubhouses and beautiful townhouses right in the middle of St. Francisville’s extensive National Register-listed historic district, and there are also modern motel accommodations for large bus groups.

For visitor information, call St. Francisville Main Street at 225-635-3873 or West Feliciana Tourist Commission at 225-635-4224; online visit www.stfrancisville.us (the events calendar gives dates and information on special activities, including the lively monthly third Saturday morning Community Market Day in Parker Park) or www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com

December 2009 St. Francisville, La.

HISTORIC ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA, CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS

by Anne Butler


Christmas in St. Francisville, historically the commercial center of surrounding English Louisiana cotton plantations, was always a magical time. In the 19th century, country folks from miles around would pile into wagons to do their weekly shopping in the little town’s dry-goods emporiums that offerd everything from buggies to coffins, gents’ fine furnishings and ladies’ millinery. And at Christmas time, tiny tots would press their noses against frosted storefront windows to gaze with wishful longing at elegant china dolls and wooden rocking horses. It’s still that way today.

Its location atop bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River brought St. Francisville its earliest settlers, and residents have rejoiced in its fortuitous location ever since. The historic little rivertown’s Christmas in the Country celebration on December 4, 5 and 6, pays tribute to its heritage and showcases its continuing vitality as the center of culture and commerce for the entire surrounding region.

Present residents are a whole lot livelier than the initial ones. Respected historian Elisabeth K. Dart, who has researched and written about the area for half a century, says St. Francisville’s high bluffs led Spanish Capuchin friars from the early French settlement of Pointe Coupee to ferry their dead across the Mississippi for burial on high ground safe from the floodwaters. “In the very early years of the 19th century,” writes Mrs. Dart, “an enterprising American of Anglo descent named John Hunter Johnson bought the tract of land on which the burying ground lay from its legal owner, William Williams, who had held it under a land grant from the Spanish crown since 1796.”

Recorded wills, legal documents, and early plat maps cited in a 1945 Louisiana Historical Quarterly essay on the political career of John H. Johnson’s son Isaac, who became state governor, show John H. as owning most of central St. Francisville (when he died in 1819 “he left a large estate, including all the land now the town of St. Francisville” less those lots already sold by him), and credit has traditionally been given to him along with his brother for founding the town atop the bluffs. This was an entirely separate municipality from the port settlement called Bayou Sara along the riverbanks below, founded a bit earlier by John Mills, who had been a business partner of Johnson’s father.

It was John H. Johnson’s goal, according to historian Dart, “to establish a market town for the surrounding plantations even then producing cotton hauled to the Bayou Sara Landing and then barged to New Orleans for shipment to markets in Europe, and to grow rich from the sale of lots laid out on the same wooded bluffs occupied by the peaceful dead.” Although in 1810 both John H. Johnson and John Mills would help lead the revolution that ousted the inept Spanish regime, at the time Johnson established St. Francisville the area remained under Spanish rule, and the crown had strict requirements that towns be “properly chartered and laid out by the Royal Surveyor in an ordered grid of streets and squares of twelve lots measuring 60x120 feet centered by a public square.”

Johnson, says Mrs. Dart, “Anglo Protestant though he was, called his town after the Roman Catholic saint of the old burying ground, in the tongue of his Spanish overlords, La Villa de San Francisco. Thinking to please further, he called his main street after the Spanish King Ferdinand, and named other streets Royal, Florida, and Prince, crossing these with Fidelity, Prosperity, Prospect, and Feliciana. The street bordering the burying ground he called after his own family name, Johnson.” His little town was laid out atop a loessial bluffland ridge of highly erosive soil, however, and outer perimeter streets soon sloughed off into the gullies.

But lots along the central streets quickly attracted buyers and builders, and many of the little stores and residences they constructed in the very early 1800s still stand, still hosting that unique downtown combination of commercial and residential that allowed St. Francisville to retain its economic vitality long after deteriorating downtowns in other areas had been abandoned. Thanks to dedicated preservationists and an active Main Street program, downtown St. Francisville today is very much alive. And the well-established Christmas in the Country weekend, December 4, 5 and 6, gives the little town the perfect opportunity to strut its stuff.

Millions of tiny white lights trace soaring Victorian trimwork and grace gallery posts to transform the entire town into a veritable winter wonderland for Christmas in the Country, as special activities throughout the National Register-listed downtown Historic District provide fun for the whole family at this safe small-town celebration of the season which has for decades provided a joyful alternative to mall madness.   The Saturday parade this year has the theme “Homegrown and Hip,” playing on the little town’s lively and engaging present that is nonetheless firmly rooted in its historic past.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, Santa Claus comes to town to kick off the Lighting Ceremony of the Town Christmas Tree, followed by a public reception and fireworks display at Town Hall hosted by jovial longtime St. Francisville Mayor Billy D'Aquilla and featuring performances by the First Baptist Church Children’s Choir and West Feliciana Middle School Choir.   The West Feliciana Parish Hospital is sponsoring a balloon release in recognition of cancer victims and survivors, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. From 6 to 8, visitors have the rare opportunity to glimpse beautifully decorated interiors of participating houses along Ferdinand and Royal Streets’ Peep Into Our Holiday Homes. The Baton Rouge Symphony presents its annual concert of seasonal selections and dessert reception beginning at 7 p.m. at Hemingbough (the location has been switched from Grace Church, which is undergoing ceiling repairs); tickets are available at the Bank of St. Francisville. In Grace Church’s parish hall, parishioners host an art exhibit called “Saints and Angels” all weekend, with proceeds funding mission work in Honduras.

Saturday, Dec. 5, begins with a 7:30 a.m. Community Prayer Breakfast at United Methodist Church on Royal St., followed by Breakfast with St. Nick for children at Jackson Hall next to Grace Church at 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m., sponsored by the Women’s Service League (reservations recommended; call 225-202-5403).  The Women’s Service League also sells fresh wreaths and pre-wrapped Plantation Country Cookbooks  all weekend on Ferdinand St. next to the library, with proceeds benefiting local civic and charitable activities.

Throughout the day Saturday there will be children’s activities--spacewalk and obstacle course, train and pony rides, games, pictures with Santa—plus holiday baking contest, Main Street Band (noon to 2), handmade crafts and food vendors in oak-shaded Parker Park.  There will also be entertainment in various locations throughout the downtown historic district, featuring choirs, dancers, musicians, and other performers. 

The angelic voices of the Bains Lower Elementary children's choir—Voices in Motion-- are raised at the West Feliciana Historical Society Museum on Ferdinand St. at 9:30. The Bain Elementary Chorus sings at the Methodist Church Fellowship Hall at 9:15, followed by West Feliciana High School's very popular Latin and Spanish Clubs (10:30 a.m.) and the high school choir (11).  At 11:30 on Ferdinand St. the Junior Jazzercise group puts on a lively show, followed by a Shin Sun Korean Martial Arts demonstration. From 10 to 2 the Sweet Adelines’ Lagniappe Quartet strolls and sings along Ferdinand and Royal Sts., while the Angola Inmate Traveling Band from Louisiana State Penitentiary performs in Garden Symposium Park from noon to 4.

Saturday’s highlight, of course, is the colorful 2 p.m. Christmas parade sponsored by the Women’s Service League, its grand marshall beloved town matriarch Lucille Leake, mother of its popular spring pilgrimage and founder of past Red Cross swimming programs, an energetic 96-year-old who wasn’t about to let a little thing like the loss of a leg slow her down.  Dozens of gaily decorated parade floats vie for coveted prizes, accompanied by cheerleaders, bands, marching ROTC units and dancers, even the high school football homecoming court whose own parade got rained out. There will also be bagpipes, vintage cars, and representatives of parish and town law enforcement and fire departments, all flinging plenty of candy. Santa rides resplendent in a magnificent sleigh pulled by Louisiana State Penitentiary's immense prized Percheron draft horses, groomed and gleaming in the sunlight with their sleigh bells jingling. 

On Saturday and Sunday, St. Francisville Transitory Theatre presents its quirky version of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, a hilarious localized adaptation complete with haunted plantations, nosy tourists and timely atrocities like the swine flu; performances are at 4 and 7:30 p.m. at Jackson Hall next to Grace Church. At 6 p.m. on Saturday, the Methodist Church on Royal St. hosts a Community Sing-a-long, while the First Baptist Church on US 61 at LA 10 sponsors its very popular Live Nativity reminding of the reason for the season.

In addition, Saturday evening from 6 to 8, visitors are welcomed for candlelight tours, period music and wassail at Audubon State Historic Site, where artist-naturalist John James Audubon tutored the daughter of plantation owners and painted many of his famous bird studies in the early 1820's. This historic home never looks lovelier than in the soft romantic glow of the candles that were its only illumination for its early years.

Christmas in the Country activities continue on Sunday, December 6, with a Christmas Tour of Homes presented from noon to 5 by the Women’s Service League (tickets available at Historical Society Museum and at the League’s wreath sales area on Ferdinand St.).

The enthusiastic sponsors of Christmas in the Country are the downtown merchants, and the real focus of the weekend remains the St. Francisville area's marvelous little shops, which go all out, hosting Open Houses with refreshments and entertainment for shoppers while offering spectacular seasonal decorations and great gift items.  A variety of quaint little shops occupy historic structures throughout the downtown area and spread into the outlying district, each unique in its own way, and visitors should not miss a single one. 

From the rich Victoriana of The Shanty Too, for thirty years the anchor of the downtown business community and always noted for eyecatching Christmas decorations, to the jewelry beautifully crafted from vintage buttons at Grandmother's Buttons, and the extensive selections of carefully chosen gift and decorative items at Hillcrest Gardens and Sage Hill Gifts, downtown St. Francisville is filled with fine shopping opportunities.  Potter Michael Miller and artists Herschel Harrington and Joe Savell (Backwoods Gallery) have studios displaying their own works, while the St. Francisville Art & Antiques, Avondale Antiques, and the recently opened Bohemianville Antiques feature vintage collectibles and fine furnishings. Birdman Books & Coffee has an eclectic selection of books, Belle Glen Traditions has children’s toys plus sports memorabilia and gift items, and Destinee’s Clay Pot augments its florist selections with decorative items as well. Ins-N-Outs and Coyote Creek nurseries carry live seasonal plants to complement any decorating scheme. The tourist information center in the West Feliciana Historical Society on Ferdinand St. has free maps showing locations of all these retail outlets, as well as local plantations, restaurants and accommodations.

On the outskirts of town, intrepid shoppers won't want to miss the exquisite creations at Patrick’s Fine Jewelry, the fleur-de-lis decorative pieces at Elliott’s Pharmacy and an extensive collection of the latest in electronics at Radio Shack in Spring Creek Shopping Center, as well as Border Imports with huge selections of Mexican pottery, ironwork and concrete statuary on US 61 north.  Most of the plantations in the St. Francisville area have gift shops, and a visit to those would permit enjoyment of spectacular seasonal decorations as well. The two state historic sites in the St. Francisville area, elegant 1830s Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation (Audubon SHS), are decorated in period style with lots of natural greenery, fruits and nuts, and both offer living history demonstrations and other special activities most December weekends as well as daily tours except on Christmas Day.



Located on US Highway 61 on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge, LA, and Natchez, MS, the St. Francisville area is a year-round tourist destination, but visitors find it especially enjoyable in the winter when the glorious 19th-century gardens are filled with blooming camellias.  Six historic plantations--Rosedown and Audubon State Historic Sites, Butler Greenwood, the Myrtles, the Cottage and Greenwood--are open for daily tours, Catalpa Plantation is open by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally.   Reasonably priced meals are available in a nice array of restaurants in St. Francisville.   Some of the state's most unique Bed and Breakfasts offer overnight accommodations ranging from golf clubs and lakeside resorts to historic townhouses and country plantations; a modern motel has facilities to accommodate busloads. The scenic unspoiled Tunica Hills region surrounding St. Francisville offers excellent biking, hiking, birding, horseback riding and other recreational activities.  For online coverage of tourist facilities, attractions and events in the St. Francisville area, see www.stfrancisville.us or www.stfrancisvilleovernight.com, or telephone (225) 635-3873 or 635-4224.

October 2009

FIRST FROSTS INTRODUCE FALL ACTIVITIES IN
ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA.

by Anne Butler

The first frigid frosts paint the Feliciana foliage in autumnal hues---the brilliant

Fall Colors - Back Roads

scarlet of sumac and swamp maples, the bright yellow of gingko and beech trees---sights that have inspired creative artists ever since John James Audubon painted more than 80 of his famous bird studies in the area in 1821. Judging from St. Francisville’s calendar of events for October, the inspiration remains undiminished, for there are celebrations of everything from art and music to glorious antebellum garden design. Throw in a few bucking broncos, scarecrows snuggled up to watch a 3-D movie under the stars, costumed re-enactors demonstrating rustic plantation skills, and a famous one-eared ghost wearing a green turban, and October in St. Francisville offers something for just about everyone, and then some!

The Audubon State Historic Site, centered by the remarkable West Indies-style Oakley House which hosted the artist Audubon, kicks off its month-long weekend living history programs on Saturday, October 3, with Nature Day, as interpretive staff present programs on the plantation’s ecosystem (10 a.m.), tree identification walk (11 a.m.) and guided nature hike (1 and 3 p.m.) highlighting the natural beauty and original paths once trod by Audubon, and interaction with the plants and animals of Oakley (2 p.m.). Of course everybody’s favorite resident fowl is the overbearing turkey who serves as Wal-Mart greeter! On Sunday, October 4, the morning program (10:30 a.m.) examines 19th-century garden plants and their uses, while the afternoon focus shifts from the big house to the quarters to explain the life of the plantation slave, from housing in one of the historic cabins to cooking and crafts. Audubon’s sister state site, Rosedown Plantation, offers a program on 19th-century schooling of plantation children on Saturday, October 3 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.). For information on Rosedown State Historic Site programs, call 888-376-1867 or 225-635-3110.

Local Artist at Yellow Leaf Festival

On Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Audubon State Historic Site kicks off its year-long observance of the bicentennial of the West Florida Rebellion of 1810 by commemorating the 1779 capture of the British post at Baton Rouge by Spanish General Bernardo Galvez along with American troops. Marking the end of English control of the Mississippi, this largely unheralded Louisiana battle of the Revolutionary War set the stage for Spanish domination of West Florida until the revolt of Anglo planters in 1810, and it will be observed at Oakley with soldier encampments, musket demonstrations and explanatory talks. For information on Audubon State Historic Site programs, call 888-677-2838 or 225-635-3739.

The active St. Francisville Main Street program gets everyone into the Halloween spirit on Friday, October 16, in oak-shaded Parker Park, beginning at 5:30 p.m. with fun children’s programs, carving pumpkins and decorating scarecrows; pumpkins and carving utensils will be provided along with hay to stuff the scarecrows, but participants should bring old clothes or other embellishments. This will be followed at dark by the Movie Under the Stars, “Coraline,” a 2009 animated stop-action 3-D fantasy film based on British novelist Neil Gaiman’s book. Called by Entertainment Tonight’s movie critic “the best 3-D movie I’ve ever seen,” it stars Dakota Fanning. Admittance is a canned good donation to the West Feliciana Food Bank. The Women’s Service League sells concessions and 3-D glasses are provided, but moviegoers should bring their own folding chairs, blankets, and other accessories. For information, call the Main Street office at 225-635-3873.

Afton Villa Gardens

Also on Friday, October 16, as well as Saturday, October 17, the twenty-first annual Southern Garden Symposium presents a series of workshops bringing in gardening enthusiasts from across the South to bask in the beauties of the glorious antellum gardens for which the St. Francisville area is justly famous. Programs feature lectures by visiting horticultural experts and hands-on demonstrations, lunch at Afton Villa Gardens and Hemingbough, tea at the recently restored Brasseaux House and cocktail buffet at Greenwood Plantation. For information see www.SouthernGardenSymposium.or or call 225-635-3738.

Artist Murrell Butler With His Paintings

The weekend of October 24 and 25, the popular Yellow Leaf Arts Festival is put on by Arts For All, local non-profit arts promotion organization, with sponsorship by the Bank of St. Francisville and a cast of dozens of artists and craftspeople, musicians and poets, writers and just about every other kind of creative soul you can imagine. To get everyone in the spirit, on Friday, Oct. 23, a y’all-come “paint-out” will fill downtown Parker Park with artists painting en plein air, and during the festival the artist-in-residence, Ronnie Collins of Jennings, will paint a mural in the park gazebo. Saturday, October 24, the music tent features live music beginning at 11 a.m. with the West Feliciana Children’s Chorus, continuing through the afternoon with an old-time string band called The Mosspickers, the bluegrass group with the catchy name of Laughing Lizards String Band, singer-songwriter Kim Smith, Karuna Spoon, and Lee Barber and the Broken Cup warming up for an evening performance at Magnolia Café. Sunday’s music begins with Nancy Roppolo’s songwriter circle, Dylan Sneed, the Ben Bell 3 and the Fugitive Poets. Free yoga classes are offered at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. This seventh annual Yellow Leaf Arts Festival has attracted more than fifty artists who will present their creations from 10 to 5 Saturday and Sunday—potters, painters, photographers, jewelry makers, metal and stained glass artists, fiber and fabric artists, wood crafters, folk artists, doll makers and candle makers and soap makers, beekeepers and birdhouse builders. For information, email birdmancoffee@bellsouth.net.

Nancy & Joe Roppollo

Also on Sunday, October 25, the historic United Methodist Church on Royal Street in St. Francisville hosts an evening of gospel, country and folk music by its talented folk choir following a pancake supper at 5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Donations benefit property acquisition.

Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, from 6 to 10 p.m., the Myrtles Plantation hosts its chilling Halloween extravaganza through a spooky historic house called one of America’s most haunted. Food and beverages will be available on site in the Carriage House Restaurant or courtyard concessions. For information, call 800-809-0565 or email chloe@myrtlesplantation.com.

Every Sunday in October the Louisiana State Penitentiary on LA 66 at Angola puts on “The Wildest Show in the South,” with prisoner hobbycraft sales, tons of food, and hair-raising rodeo events guaranteed to be unlike any you’ve ever seen at any other rodeo. Other than the ladies’ barrel racing, all rodeo participants are inmates in this enormous maximum-security prison. The covered arena seats over 10,000 and fills up every Sunday; with road construction along US Highway 61, visitors should pack plenty of patience to cope with traffic congestion. Grounds open at 9 for the arts and crafts, and the fascinating state museum at the entrance gate will also be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The rodeo starts at 2, and advance tickets are a must. Prison website at www.angolarodeo.com provides information and spells out regulations which must be observed on prison property.

Rodeo Clowns at Angola Rodeo

The St. Francisville area features a number of splendidly restored plantation homes open for tours daily: The Cottage Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, The Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation, plus Catalpa Plantation by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally. Particularly important to tourism in the area are its two significant state historic sites, Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation in the Audubon state site, which offer fascinating living-history demonstrations most weekends to allow visitors to experience 19th-century plantation life and customs. The nearby Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding Tunica Hills provide unmatched recreational activities in unspoiled wilderness areas—hiking, biking, birding, photography, horseback riding with rental mounts from Cross Creek Stables. Besides the fine little restaurants throughout the St. Francisville area, there are unique specialty shops, many in restored historic structures, as well as some of the state’s most popular Bed & Breakfasts for overnight stays, including historic plantations, lakeside clubhouses and beautiful townhouses right in the middle of St. Francisville’s extensive National Register-listed historic district.

For visitor information, call St. Francisville Main Street at 225-635-3873 or West Feliciana Tourist Commission at 225-635-4224; online visit www.stfrancisville.us or www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com. .

Bicentennial Kick-off

West Florida Republic Bicentennial Kick-off
in St. Francisville, LA

by Anne Butler

The invitations aptly call it A Gathering of Forces, summoning the public for ceremonies to kick off the year-long bicentennial celebration of those momentous events that culminated in the wresting of Louisiana’s Florida Parishes from Spanish control in 1810 and set off the rolling wave of revolutions that shaped the entire country. Guests are invited to gather on September 27 at 2 p.m. on the proposed site of the memorial Republic Park beside the parish courthouse in St. Francisville, with state and local luminaries, scholars of history and costumed period re-enactors firing cannon salutes and toasting the ‘Old Republic’ as the Bonnie Blue Flag of the proud Republic of West Florida is raised and the coming year’s events are revealed. Keynote speakers include Dr. Sam Hyde of Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne.

And as these gathered dignitaries cast their eyes about them in historic St. Francisville, which in 1810 served as the capital of the fledgling West Florida Republic, they can see not only some structures which have stood witness to those past 200 years, but also some descendants of the very men who risked life and limb to lead the rebellion against Spanish tyranny. Spanish commandant Carlos de Grand Pre referred to those leaders, mostly Anglo residents of the Feliciana district which was the most populous part of West Florida, as “inclined to insubordination and prone to insurgency,” and he would soon find out how true his words would ring through history.

Tiring of the lengthy international diplomatic wrangling over just where the eastern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 actually was, depending on which treaty was cited as France and England and Spain shifted the territory among themselves, the Anglo settlers of West Florida ousted the Spanish officials continuing to claim territory east of the Mississippi River and implemented their own independent republic, carefully conceived with constitution, militia, elected officials and a promise of more equitable government.

Dispatches from the legislative chambers where the leaders of the Republic of West Florida met in the fall of 1810 came from the St. Francisville Hotel. While this structure, originally located on one corner of what is now the courthouse square, is no longer in existence, surely the ringing tones of stirring orations by local rebellion leaders like William Barrow, John Mills and John Hunter Johnson could be heard at the adjacent townhouse now called the Barrow House.

Built around 1809 by the town jailer and later owned by the local postmaster who advertised it for sale in 1812 as “well calculated for a store and private family” on a lot not inferior to any in the village, this two-story saltbox with cottage addition became home to William Barrow’s descendant Dr. A. Feltus Barrow in the 1890’s. Dr. Barrow was an old-time horse-and-buggy doctor and town mayor; when he returned from exhaustive trips visiting patients in remote regions, he relished his bath and had an enormous clawfoot tub installed next to a downstairs window, from which he could lean to hold court for local miscreants or direct the treatment of patients dripping with blood.

"Ambush on Royal St." by David Norwood

One of Dr. Barrow’s numerous relatives, Capt. John Barrow, was sheriff during the trying times of Reconstruction following the Civil War and was ambushed right across Royal Street, where he had just paid a visit to his barber in the structure called the Cabildo. Capt. Barrow was handed a note and had stepped back into the shaded doorway of the Cabildo to read it out of the sun’s glare when he spotted a stranger aiming a rifle at him from the opposite side of the street as a bullet fired from another direction struck the doorway where he had been standing. Drawing his pistol, Capt. John quickly dispatched the culprits, sending one to meet his maker and the others hightailing it out of town. The sheriff lived to tell the tale to his daughter Margaret Leake Barrow Norwood, who preserved it for posterity.

By 1824 the Cabildo, a significant structure with heavy hand-hewn joists and sturdy walls of handmade bricks 22 inches thick, was serving as the first West Feliciana Parish courthouse after the original Feliciana parish was divided into two, with court meeting in the upper chambers above the local bank. Earlier uses of the building suggest the artist John James Audubon patronized Maximillian’s Tavern there, perhaps on his way to purchase art supplies at the neighboring brick townhouse now called Propinquity.

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In the 1820’s German-born Dietrich Holl and his nephew Maximillian Nubling operated a store at Propinquity, a sturdy structure built around 1809 by John Mills, the Scotsman who founded the riverport of Bayou Sara around 1790. Mills held the early Spanish land grant that would become Rosedown Plantation, where he planted indigo and cotton utilizing the labor of slaves despite his disapproval of what he branded “that Inhumane commerce.” Like plantation owner William Barrow, Mills was part of the Anglo migration southward from the East Coast in the late 1700’s. He had partnered in a Natchez District sawmill venture with Isaac Johnson, an Englishman from Liverpool, until a spring freshet washed away the mill and the two men moved on down into the Felicianas. Johnson’s eldest daughter married Mills’ son Gilbert.

It was on Johnson’s Troy Plantation that much of the substantive planning for the West Florida Rebellion would take place, just south of where his son John H. Johnson founded the town of St. Francisville on the bluff above Mills’ settlement at Bayou Sara; a namesake grandson would become Louisiana’s 13th governor. On September 11, 1810, Major Isaac Johnson and a troop of mounted Feliciana dragoons captured the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge and unfurled the republic’s famous banner, a lone white star on a blue field hastily sewn by Johnson’s wife.

Only a superb classical wellhouse remains of Troy Plantation; in the 1880’s as then-owner Dr. I.U. Ball returned upriver by steamboat from a trip to New Orleans, he spotted smoke rising on shore and exclaimed, “Troy is burning!” and so it was. But all around the courthouse square in St. Francisville are structures that bore witness to the heroic revolution and heady days of the short-lived Republic of West Florida and to the brave gathering of forces whose descendants join in celebration this bicentennial year. A striking monument, its simple obelisk crowned with a single star, has been designed by William Barrow’s descendant, artist David Norwood, as focal point of the Republic Park, where visitors are invited to gather on September 27th to kick off a year of commemorative events.

The St. Francisville area features a number of splendidly restored plantation homes open for tours daily: The Cottage Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, The Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation, plus Catalpa Plantation by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally. Particularly important to tourism in the area are its two significant state historic sites, Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation in the Audubon state site, which offer fascinating living-history demonstrations every weekend to allow visitors to experience 19th-century plantation life and customs; during the year-long commemoration of the West Florida Rebellion, many of these programs will have a bicentennial focus.

The nearby Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, home of the country’s largest bald cypress tree, and the adjacent Tunica Hills region offer unmatched recreational activities in unspoiled wilderness areas—hiking, biking, birding, photography, horseback riding with rental mounts from Cross Creek Stables. There are unique specialty shops, many in restored historic structures, and some fine little restaurants throughout the St. Francisville area, as well as some of the state’s most popular Bed & Breakfasts for overnight stays, including historic plantations, lakeside clubhouses and beautiful townhouses right in the middle of St. Francisville’s extensive National Register-listed historic district.

For visitor information, call St. Francisville Main Street at 225-635-3873 or West Feliciana Tourist Commission at 225-635-4224; online visit www.stfrancisville.us or www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com.

White Linen Night

WHITE LINEN NIGHT
IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
ST. FRANCISVILLE, LOUISIANA

Taking a cue from the French Quarter’s popular event, the St. Francisville Main Street Merchants Association hosts its own White Linen Night beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 23. The evening promises to put a little sizzle into summer by pairing popular shops with the area’s finest eateries, local artisans and musicians. Trolley transportation will link the featured locations along Commerce, Ferdinand and Royal Streets, and each retail outlet is offering special red-hot deals to draw customers to the downtown area to shop in the cool of the evening. Stroll along the street, hop on and off the trolley, but by all means make it to as many participating destinations as possible, because intrepid shoppers who make it to every location receive a special reward.

Long the center of commerce for the surrounding rural area, the historic little rivertown lends itself perfectly to such a spectacular event. Nearly all of its finest mercantile outlets are confined to just a few short streets, for St. Francisville was established in the opening years of the 19th century atop a narrow finger-ridge stretching along an elevation toward the Mississippi River below the bluff. There was only so much level space suitable for building, so the downtown area has been spared modern intrusions and is listed as several inclusive Historic Districts on the National Register for its architectural integrity and significance. Today the picturesque downtown area remains alive and vital, still the community center of activity, with upscale shops in historic commercial structures side-by-side with gingerbread-trimmed Victorian homes and churches shaded by century-old live oaks.

White Linen Night is designed to showcase a sampling of just about everything the St. Francisville area has to offer. Colorful shops offer everything from gifts and decorative objects to antiques and specialty clothing. Participating restaurants run the gamut from down-home soul food and ethnic dishes to fancy gourmet cuisine, so shoppers can nibble while they browse. Artists, craftspersons and artisans will show a variety of works ranging from rustic birdhouses and other crafts to copper metalworks and fine-art jewelry as well as paintings, prints and photography. The local library, historical museum and town hall get into the act with special exhibits. And live music will fill featured locations with everything from blues to banjo picking, turning this special evening into one big ol’ block party encompassing the entirety of downtown St. Francisville and everything in it.

Parking is provided at four convenient locations (West Feliciana Parish Police Jury Complex, Courthouse, St. Francisville Town Hall and St. Francisville Post Office) so that shoppers can leave their cars and jump on the trolleys provided by Highlands Bank. The trolleys will run continuously throughout the downtown area, with local high school cheerleaders to provide helpful information and maps showing locations of all participating shops. Information may be obtained online at www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com or by telephoning the St. Francisville Main Street office at 225-635-3873.

Visitors can turn White Linen Night into a fun full weekend visit by staying over at one of the St. Francisville area’s unique Bed & Breakfasts or the modern motel (see www.stfrancisvilleovernight.com). Six restored historic plantations are open daily for tours—Rosedown Plantation and Audubon State Historic Sites, Butler Greenwood Plantation, The Cottage Plantation, Greenwood Plantation and The Myrtles; Catalpa Plantation is open by reservation, and Afton Villa Gardens is open seasonally. The surrounding Tunica Hills region offers a wide array of unsurpassed recreational opportunities, from birding and biking to horseback riding and hiking. For additional information on the St. Francisville area, telephone 225-635-4224, 225-635-3873 or 225-635-6330; online www.stfrancisville.us or www.stfrancisville.net.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS:

1) MILES BLAIR SALON - 5951 COMMERCE ST.
ARTIST : KRISTEN WRAY

2) HILLCREST - 5943 COMMERCE ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: CONFECTIONS BY
MICHELLE ARTIST: ZSQUARED!!!

3) AVONDALE ANTIQUES - 5877 COMMERCE ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: THE OXBOW
MUSIC: LAUGHING LIZARD 6PM-7:30PM

4) TRENDS SALON- 5755 COMMERCE ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: VARNEDOES
ARTISTS: LISA HORN, MEG BANKSTON,
KELLI DOUGLAS& MARGO SOLIER

5) THE WINE PARLOR & THE INN: 5720 COMMERCE ST.
REFRESHMENTS: THE WINE PARLOR
MUSIC: ADRIAN PERCY & FRIENDS
ARTIST: JILL JANSS

6) ST. FRANCISVILLE TOWN HALL: 11936 FERDINAND ST.
ARTIST: BLUE GOOSE MEDIA

7) NEXT TO MILLERS ON MAIN: 11917 FERDINAND ST.
MUSIC: THE BIG SHAKIN

8) MILLER ON MAIN & THE MASSAGE CLINIC - 11911 FERDINAND ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: CYPRESS GRILL

9) ST. FRANCIS ARTS & ANTIQUES - 11914 FERDINAND ST.
MUSIC BY: TIM & BONNEY BROWN

10) BETTER BODIES & BRITCHES & STITCHES - 11890 FERDINAND ST.
REFFRESHMENTS: SMOOTHIES
ARTIST KEN STEWART

11) WFP LIBRARY 11865 FERDINAND ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: SONNY'S PIZZA
ARTIST: LINDA FOX

12) THE SHANTY TOO - 11770 FERDINAND ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: EIGHT SISTERS
DEMO: OOH LA LA

13) WFP MUSEUM - 11757 FERDINAND ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY QUE PASA
ARTIST: COPPERWOOD STUDIO

14) HARRINGTON GALLERY - 9907 ROYAL ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: HEIRLOOM CUISINE
MUSIC SWEET OLIVE 6PM-7PM

15) OLD MARKET HALL - 9896 ROYAL ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: NINE OAKS DESIGN
MUSIC: KEVIN JOHNSON

16) GRANDMOTHERS BUTTONS - 9814 ROYAL ST.
REFRESHMENTS: AUDUBON CAFE
ARTIST: ELIZABETH DENTON
ARTIST: HANK SCHLAU
MUSIC: NANCY POPPOLO

17) BACKWOODS GALLERY - 5701 COMMERCE ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: MAGNOLIA CAFE
MUSIC: LAUGHING LIZARD 7:30PM-9PM

18) BIRDMAN COFFEE - 5695 COMMERCE ST.
ARTISTS: ARABIE BIRDHOUSES & ARTS FOR ALL

19) SAGE HILL GIFTS - 5622 COMMERCE ST.
REFRESHMENTS BY: HEIRLOOM CUISINE
ARTIST: DONNA KILBOURNE