St. Francisville Travel News

AUDUBON COUNTRY BIRDFEST


showcases St. Francisville's abundant birdlife



by Anne Butler

Mississippi Kites over Cat Island NWR Oil Painting by Murrell Butler

Birding has been called the second fastest growing outdoor activity in the country, and the state of Louisiana, with its unspoiled forested areas, cypress swamps and coastal marshes, offers unparalleled birdwatching opportunities for enthusiasts throughout the year, especially during those periods when it provides a prime resting spot along migratory routes from cooler northern climes to more temperate winter homes in the southern tropics and then back again.



In St. Francisville, Louisiana, just north of Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River, this year marks the sixth annual Audubon Country BirdFest. The weekend of March 30, 31 and April 1 brings birders and outdoor enthusiasts in boots and binoculars to scenic West Feliciana Parish for an event perfectly suited to this part of Louisiana called Audubon Country. With habitat areas ranging from the hilly loessial bluffs and steep shady ravines of the uplands to the swampy river bottomlands with hardwood forests seasonally flooded by the Mississippi River in the absence of levees, the parish has had a rich and thriving bird population, both resident and migratory, ever since the famous artist-naturalist John James Audubon painted so many of his Birds of America studies there in 1821.



The popular Audubon Country BirdFest offers beginning and advanced birding, with transportation provided, through historic plantations and antebellum gardens with such evocative names as Hollywood and Ouida in the Weyanoke area, Beechwood and Woodhill Farm near Wakefield, Rosedown and Audubon (Oakley) State Historic Sites. Other field trips feature spectacular preserved wilderness areas like The Nature Conservancy’s Mary Ann Brown Preserve and the recently expanded Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, a heartwarming example of private and governmental cooperation in conserving significant natural resources. Canoes and life jackets will be provided since the Mississippi River is "up," because Cat Island is one of the largest tracts of virgin wetland forest along the Mississippi not protected by levees from cyclical flooding. Sometimes inundated by 15 to 20 feet of water in the spring, the wildlife refuge provides ideal habitat for huge populations of wintering waterfowl and is home to the world’s largest Bald Cypress tree, believed to be between 800 and 1500 years old and an astounding 83 feet tall. Participants on the Cat Island trip are expected to
paddle their own canoes for about 2 hours.

Bald eagle over Cat Island NWR photo by Patrick Walsh

Local wildlife artist Murrell Butler personally conducts the bird walks through his own property, Oak Hill, and as usual he has generously painted this year's fund-raising limited edition print of an exuberant pair of freewheeling swallow-tailed kites. Oak Hill has a wonderful diversity of bird habitats, from the steep slopes and deep hollows of the Tunica Hills to sandy creek bottoms, from Bayou Sara to the swampy Maynard Lake, from cleared cow pastures to deep dark woods, so participating birders usually spot dozens of different varieties on the property, including lots of spring birds…warblers, orioles, tanagers, yellow-billed cuckoos, Eastern king birds. There are Eastern bluebirds in nesting boxes, and always a pair of horned owls with young in an old hawk’s nest clearly visible through a telescope trained on a large pine tree. Around the pond and the lake, woodducks flash through the trees as they leave their nests in boxes and hollow trees, and herons and ibises fish in the shallows.




History and hiking, canoeing and conservation are all part of the BirdFest weekend put together by the Feliciana Nature Society, with activities geared to every age and interest level. Birding tours and field trips are led by recognized experts through areas rich in the flora and fauna for which West Feliciana is famous, including more than 175 species of resident and migratory birds. For novice birders or those not up to a strenuous field trip, some of the trips are rated for beginners, including one excursion that promises interesting sightings right in the middle of St. Francisville's oak-shaded National Register-listed Historic District overlooking the Mississippi River. In addition, Oakley has a full day of children’s nature programs and early 1800’s games planned for Friday.
The Audubon Country Birdfest pays tribute to the famed artist-naturalist John James Audubon, who arrived in St. Francisville by steamboat in 1821, penniless and with a string of failed business ventures behind him, but rich in talent and dreams, having set for himself the staggering task of painting all of the birds of the immense fledgling country. Hired to tutor the beautiful young daughter of Oakley Plantation, now preserved as Audubon State Historic Site, he was allowed his afternoons free to roam the woods, sketching and collecting specimens, painting a large number of his famous bird studies and cutting quite a dashing figure with his long flowing locks, frilly shirts and satin breeches. The bird walk through the Oakley grounds traverses much of the same territory the artist must have trod.

Egrets in Cypress Swamp photo by Patrick Walsh

Field trips and rotating tours are scheduled Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning. On Friday evening, the opening social takes place at Audubon State Historic Site, with the Feliciana Nature Society joined by Friends of Oakley to provide light refreshments and candlelight house tours at 6, followed by an address by Dr. Phil Stouffer of the LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources. His topic will be Migration Patterns In Louisiana: What To Expect And When To Expect It.




BirdFest headquarters are the St. Francisville Inn next to Parker Memorial Park, right in the heart of historic downtown St. Francisville; all tours and transportation originate there, and participants may register at headquarters or in advance (telephone 800-488-6502, mail P.O. Box 2866, St. Francisville, LA 70775, e-mail staff@audubonbirdfest.com). Detailed online information is available at the very comprehensive website www.audubonbirdfest.com; since each birding tour is limited to 20 participants, signing up in advance is a good idea. A large tally board recording bird sightings is located in the park, site of exhibits, artists, demonstrations, children's activities and nature-related vendors all day Saturday.



In the St. Francisville area, there are six antebellum plantations open for daily tours: Rosedown and Audubon State Historic Sites, The Myrtles, Greenwood, Butler Greenwood and The Cottage; Catalpa is open by reservation, and Afton Villa Gardens opens seasonally, with spring usually the peak of its blooming season. Picturesque 19th-century structures throughout downtown St. Francisville are filled with an eclectic selection of little shops, and reasonably priced meals are available in a nice array of restaurants. Some of the state's best 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. Recreational opportunities abound in the Tunica Hills, with excellent hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, golfing and horseback riding, in addition to the superb birdwatching. For online coverage of tourist facilities and attractions in the St. Francisville area, see, www.stfrancisville.net, or www.stfrancisvilleovernight.com; or telephone (225) 635-3873 or 635-6330.



High resolution photos for media use, email pat@bluegoosemedia.com

WOODLAND WELCOMES VISITORS
FOR ANNUAL AUDUBON SPRING PILGRIMAGE


in St. Francisville, Louisiana

by Anne Butler

Woodland on this year's Audubon Pilgrimage tour.

If houses could fly like crows, it would have taken a trip of only 37 miles. But houses cannot fly, and so the historic house called Woodland had to slowly and laboriously cross 300 miles of back roads as well as several centuries to fulfill its role of reestablishing family ties and making dreams come true. As visitors to St. Francisville’s popular Audubon Pilgrimage March 16, 17 and 18 will learn, the improbable odyssey of wonderful Woodland was simply meant to be.

It all began in the opening years of the 19th century, when widowed Olivia Ruffin Barrow led a large group of descendants from their Carolina home to establish a family plantation dynasty along the banks of Little Bayou Sara in Louisiana’s hilly Felicianas. First Highland, and then Greenwood and Ellerslie, Rosebank and Afton Villa, Live Oak and Rosedown, all these magnificent plantations housed Olivia’s sons and daughters and their progeny off and on over the years.





As the Barrows were building palatial plantation houses and planting sugar cane and cotton in the rolling countryside, a Virginia gentleman by the name of Major Amos Webb was establishing himself in nearby St. Francisville, where he operated a theater, had a fine saltbox home on Royal St. and, as postmaster, tried without success to have the town go down in history as Webbsville. Before leaving the parish, Webb would also abide at his bride’s family place, Live Oak, which would later be owned by Barrows, and by 1892 his townhouse would belong to another of Olivia Barrow’s descendants, Dr. Feltus Barrow, colorful turn-of-the-century horse-and-buggy doctor who also served as town mayor.

Columns of Woodland

In early antebellum days, there were only so many families in the remote reaches of Louisiana’s plantation country, so the interconnections weren’t wholly surprising. But wait! There’s more. Fast Forward several centuries, when Cammie Norwood took a shortcut to I-49 on her way to visit a daughter in Shreveport. Near the picturesque early steamboat town of Washington along Bayou Courtableau something caught her eye and tugged at her heartstrings—an old abandoned Greek Revival house, deteriorating, decaying, but obviously at one time a magnificent structure. On a subsequent trip she showed it to her husband David, longtime newspaper artist and avid preservationist as well as great-nephew of Dr. Feltus Barrow, and he loved it just as much.


A year later, their nextdoor neighbor in Baton Rouge’s Garden District showed Cammie a picture of a house where her mother had been born, a house now considered such a liability that the family was planning to tear it down. It was the same house! It turned out to have quite a history of its own, a history intertwined with the Barrow family and the Felicianas, for this house had been built around 1850 by that very same Major Amos Webb for his son, Dr. Louis Archibald Webb.

Dr. Webb studied at the University of Virginia, then returned to Louisiana to practice medicine and manage his father’s 4000-acre sugar plantation. After his death, his house eventually passed into the possession of Jacob U. Payne, prominent New Orleans cotton broker and close friend of Jefferson Davis, a frequent houseguest. During the Civil War the house was utilized as a hospital for Confederate soldiers and was damaged by artillery fire when Union troops under Gen. Nathaniel Banks battled Confederates under Gen. Richard Taylor nearby. When hot and thirsty Yankee soldiers tried to drink from her well, the Widow Webb removed the pump and taunted them that the water was polluted by dead cats; when the same troops passed by later, they sang out “Cats in the Well, Cats in the Well.” It was from the Thistlethwaite family that the Norwoods acquired the house they would rename Woodland.

Author Anne Butler at previous Audubon Pilgrimage

To move the house from St. Landry Parish to property adjoining Highland Plantation in West Feliciana near St. Francisville, the Norwoods turned to David Beason, the recognized authority on restoration moves. Preparing for the move took a year; putting the house back together after the move took another year. The first and third floor as well as second-floor center hall were disassembled, but the double parlors and 12-foot-deep front and back porches were moved in one piece. The four chimneys were torn down and then reconstructed. Much of the millwork was intact, so that it could be numbered and put right back into place, as were the second-floor hallway flooring, the center hall arch and second-floor back porch columns. The doors are original, as are mantles, baseboards, second-story Federal windows. What is now the first-floor hallway was originally a carriage passage, and this is considered to be among the last of the fine plantation houses to have had such a feature in Louisiana.

Saving Woodland’s original woodwork was well worth all the effort. When David McNicoll, born in 1876, wrote his memoirs of early Washington, he vividly recalled the Dr. Louis Archibald Webb Plantation as a very large southern-style house on the north bank of Bayou Boeuf, flanked by pigeonniers and a garconnier and occupied over the years by a succession of interesting characters like “Six-Shooter Bill” Prudhomme. McNicholl was given a tour of the home by J.U. Payne, who proudly pointed out the handmade stair rails and window trim, moldings and newel posts, all the work of skilled slaves, the spindles turned on a fixed-center lathe utilizing a foot-treadle and springy tree limb. Ironically this same Mr. Payne, so proud of his property, very nearly burned the whole place down trying to dry out an underground cistern beneath the kitchen with a roaring fire.

Woodland with its 14-foot ceilings shows transitional architectural features, combining early Creole influences with the later Anglo-American elements such as the colossal Doric columns across the front. Filled with antiques from early Barrow family homes, it seems right at home now and is a welcome and fitting addition to the historic plantations of West Feliciana.

Children at play during Pilgrimage

Other features of the 36th annual Audubon Pilgrimage, sponsored by the long-established West Feliciana Historical Society, include Nydrie which was also used as a hospital during the Civil War, The Oaks which was built in 1888 by Thomas Butler, Rosedown and Oakley Plantations which are now state historic sites, the glorious antebellum gardens of Afton Villa right at the peak of azalea bloom, and three historic churches in the National Register-listed Historic District of St. Francisville.

Audubon Pilgrimage also features costumed children dancing the Maypole, award-winning authentic 1820’s costumes, an Antique Show & Sale in three vintage in-town buildings, a lively re-created rural homestead showcasing the simple farm chores of yesteryear, and entertainment both Friday and Saturday evenings. Friday night features a storytelling tour through the oak-shaded graveyard of Grace Episcopal Church, hymn singing at United Methodist Church, and a wine and cheese reception at the Historical Society Museum, while Saturday evening entertainment is called Revel on Royal Street with music, dancing and refreshments.

Pilgrimage tickets can be purchased at the Historical Society Museum or by mail from West Feliciana Historical Society, Box 338, St. Francisville, LA 70775; online information is available at www.audubonpilgrimage.info. This celebration of a southern spring in the quaint little rivertown of St. Francisville, LA, commemorates the contributions of that famed artist-naturalist John James Audubon, who arrived at St. Francisville by steamboat in 1821, penniless and with a string of failed business ventures behind him, but rich in talent and dreams of painting all the birds of this fledgling country of America. Hired to tutor the beautiful young daughter of Oakley Plantation, he was allowed his afternoons free to roam the woods, sketching and collecting specimens, and would paint a large number of his famous bird folios in this area.

Azeala's of Grace Episcopal Church

Born in 1785 in Santa Domingo to a French ship captain and his Creole mistress, young Audubon was reared in France. He was sent to America in 1803 to learn English and a trade on his father’s Pennsylvania estate, but the fiery young artist chafed under the bonds of practical employment, longing instead to be at his nature studies in the woods, where he cut a dashing figure with his long flowing locks, frilly shirts and satin breeches. In 1820 he set out for New Orleans with only his gun, flute, violin, bird books, portfolios of his own drawings, chalks, watercolors, drawing papers in a tin box, and a dog-eared journal. He earned a meager living painting portraits and giving lessons in drawing, dancing and more scholastic subjects, but by the following year Audubon was established at Oakley Plantation near St. Francisville and well on his way to accomplishing his amazing task.

The St. Francisville area is a year-round tourist destination but is especially lovely in the spring, as flowering bulbs and fruit trees compete with ancient azaleas to brighten lawns and gardens. Six historic St. Francisville area 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. Eclectic shops fill restored 19th-century structures throughout the downtown area, reasonably priced meals are available in a nice array of restaurants in St. Francisville, and some of the state's best 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, fishing, 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 635-6330.

High resolution photos for media use, email pat@bluegoosemedia.com
If article is republished, please sent us location or copy.

HIKING THE HILLS

HIKING THE HILLS
near St. Francisville, Louisiana
by Anne Butler

After the stress and overstimulation of the holiday season, however enjoyable, there’s something soothing, even healing, in seeking the solitude and stillness of unspoiled wilderness, especially when combined with strenuous physical activity. The Tunica Hills surrounding the St. Francisville area provide the perfect antidote for the post-Christmas crash.


Clark Creek photo by H.Cancienne

The wintry winds whirl dead leaves from the hardwood trees, opening scenic forest vistas not visible in the lush crowded overgrowth of summer, while falling temperatures remove that triumvirate of aggravations suffered by the summer outdoorsman--snakes, poison ivy and mosquitoes, making late winter and early spring the perfect time for all sorts of outdoor activities in these hills, from biking to hiking, hunting to horseback riding, nature photography to unsurpassed birding.


Clark Creek photo by H.Cancienne

Ranging from St. Francisville, Louisiana, northwest into neighboring Mississippi along the Mississippi River, the steep Tunica Hills provide the ideal backdrop for any outdoor activity, including some of the most challenging hiking in the gulf south. Rare rugged land formations found only in a narrow strip from West Feliciana on north into Tennessee, the Tunica Hills are loessial ridges created tens of thousands of years ago by dust storms of the Glacier period which swept in from the western plains carrying powdery fertile soil to form vertical cliffs up to 90 feet high resting on the sand-clay bottom of an ancient sea bed.

Botanists and zoologists find that the deep cool ravines harbor rarities like wild ginseng, Eastern chipmunks and other flora and fauna found nowhere else in Louisiana besides this unique microclimate. Bicyclists and Sunday drivers appreciate the area's quiet country roads, some so ancient they began life as prehistoric game trails stamped indelibly into the soil of lands claimed by Native Americans, first the Houmas and then the Tunica Indians, long before the first Europeans arrived. Birdwatchers find the area still provides habitat for the same rich abundance of birdlife that so inspired artist-naturalist John James Audubon in the 1820's that he painted many of his famous bird studies right here. And for experienced hikers, this is paradise, especially in the winter without the heat and humidity that can wilt the will of even the most determined summer outdoorsman.


Pond General Store photo by H.Cancienne

The popular Clark Creek Natural Area just across the Louisiana state line near Pond, Mississippi, has challenging trails leading to a series of spectacular spring-fed waterfalls, some cascading 30 feet or more into pools lined with huge clay boulders. The hills here are heavily forested with mixed hardwood and pine; besides large beech, hickory, sweet gum, elm and magnolia trees, Clark Creek has several world-record-setting trees, a Mexican Plum and Bigleaf Snowbell. The damp cool creekbeds provide habitat for rare trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpit, violets and a huge variety of ferns, mosses, lichens and mushrooms, while the surrounding woodlands harbor a multitude of small mammals, whitetail deer, wild turkey and both resident and migratory birdlife, as well as endangered species like the black bear.


Clark Creek photo by H.Cancienne

This 700+-acre preserve was established in 1978 as a cooperative endeavor between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the MS Wildlife Heritage Committee, the Nature Conservancy, Wilkinson County, David Bramlette and International Paper Co. which donated the core tract of 430 acres as the first industrial gift of land set aside specifically as a natural area in the state. In the Pond community 13 miles west of Woodville, MS, and 20 miles northwest of the intersection of US 61 and LA 66 just above St. Francisville, LA, the area is open for daytime public use only.

This is a steep, rugged area and a demanding hike; undulating ridges rise several hundred feet above the sandy creek bed in places. It is accessible only by foot; no hunting or motorized vehicles are allowed. There are primitive restroom facilities in the parking area just past the Pond Store, but the bulk of the area is pristine wilderness, undeveloped except for several established trails and some helpful stairs. Hikers should be sure to wear good sturdy footwear with traction and carry plenty of water. Daily Use Permit envelopes are available at the parking area kiosk for paying the $3 entry fee, and hikers should be sure to pick up park maps from the parking area (call 601-888-6040 for the Clark Creek Natural Area office) or from nearby Pond Store before entering the trail system.


Clark Creek photo by H.Cancienne

In the 19th century, a stockpond was built by the county as a watering place for the teams of oxen and mules hauling cotton down the steep hill to the riverport at Fort Adams, and from it the little store built beside it took its name. The present Pond Store & Post Office dates from 1881, when its predecesor, opened by early Jewish merchants Barthold and Karl Lehman, burned. This is the quintessential old-time country store, complete with creaking wood-plank floors, wood stove and old-fashioned display cases providing a veritable museum of the emporium’s wares in days gone by, including the 1916 inventory list featuring a one-bedroom suite (dresser, armoire and washstand) for $17.50 and an iron bed for the princely sum of $1.50. Visitors should take time to chat with congenial longtime proprietor Liz Chaffin, who dispenses Clark Creek maps, historic lore and plenty of southern charm along with bottled water and snacks all day Friday and Saturday, and Sunday afternoons. There are a couple of rustic cabins here that provide an ideal overnight spot for hikers just a few hundred yards from the Clark Creek Natural Area entry point (call 601-888-4426), and the St. Francisville area also abounds in B&Bs.

Other popular hiking spots are the Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area, with several thousand acres of rugged hills, high bluffs and deep shaded ravines maintained by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (225-765-2360 for regulations governing its use) in two separate tracts for public hunting, trapping, hiking, riding, birding and sightseeing; and Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge along the Mississippi River west of St. Francisville. One of the largest tracts of virgin wetland forest along the Mississippi not protected by levees from cyclical flooding, Cat Island is sometimes inundated by 15 to 20 feet of water in the spring and supports huge populations of wintering waterfowl as well as the world's largest Bald Cypress tree, believed to be 800 to 1500 years old and an astounding 83 feet tall. Visitors to these areas should be cognizant of hunting seasons and take necessary precautions.

Less strenuous hiking is offered by the Nature Conservancy’s Mary Ann Brown Preserve southeast of St. Francisville near the Arnold Palmer-designed golf course at The Bluffs on Thompson Creek, with over 100 acres of deep ravines and loblolly pine forests traversed by interpretive trails (call the Nature Conservancy at 225-338-1040). Yet another enjoyable way to take in the scenery of the Tunica Hills is on horseback, and Cross Creek Stables (225-655-4233) offers gaited horses for three-hour morning or afternoon rides; advance reservations are a must for rides along the sunken roadbed of the historic Old Tunica Road or on trails in the wildlife management area.

Located on US Highway 61 on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge, LA, and Natchez, MS, the St. Francisville area makes the perfect base for hiking trips through the Tunica Hills and is a year-round tourist destination, with six historic plantations--Rosedown and Audubon State Historic Sites, Butler Greenwood, the Myrtles, the Cottage and Greenwood--open for daily tours, Catalpa Plantation open by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally. Reasonably priced meals are available in a nice array of restaurants in St. Francisville, and eclectic shops fill restored 19th-century structures throughout the National Register-listed historic downtown area Some of the state's best 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. For online coverage of tourist facilities, attractions and events in the St. Francisville area, see www.stfrancisville.us,
www.stfrancisville.net or www.stfrancisvilleovernight.com, or telephone (225) 635-3873 or 635-6330.




High resolution photos for media use, email pat@bluegoosemedia.com