The True Democrat

St. Francisville’s True Democrat: more than a century covering the news in a historic little Louisiana river town

By Anne Butler

When The True Democrat first “unfurled its flag to the journalistic breeze” on February 3, 1892, in St. Francisville, it proclaimed purity as its emblem and truth and honesty as its lofty motto. It promised to labor for the advancement of the people, politically, socially and financially, to promote agricultural diversity, to encourage manufacturing and to liberally support education. But really, this early newspaper was begun to “make war on a great gambling monopoly,” the controversial Louisiana Lottery.

The True Democrat was not the little rivertown’s first paper. As early as 1811 James Bradford, son of a pioneer Kentucky printer and first official territorial printer in New Orleans, had established the Time Piece in St. Francisville, the first newspaper in the Florida Parishes which had only recently joined the territory of Orleans. This was less than two decades after the first newspaper in Louisiana was begun in New Orleans, prior to which news and official proclamations were spread only by the town crier and the posting of handwritten broadsides.

The True Democrat not only outlasted the lottery problem, but continues in publication today. When it published an ambitious 30-page Silver Anniversary Edition upon the occasion of completing its first 25 years in print, a hefty publication that it advised readers would require a whole two cents of postage to mail, the editor reprinted from the first 1892 issue the serious thought given to the publication’s name. Decrying the fact that many newspapers bear misnomers at their head, “Guardians that betray the public trust, Spectators that see nothing, Bees that make trouble instead of honey, Wasps that forget to sting the foe, and Sentinels that fail to see the spy lurking within the camp,” the editors chose a name assuring readers that the paper would adhere to the time-honored principles of true democracy. And they couldn’t help bragging that in those first 25 years, “despite death, quarantine, fire and flood,” The True Democrat never missed an issue.

Its first edition, like all newspapers of the time, was a four-page six-column sheet covered in just three sizes of type, with advertisements limited to a single column and just a few lines; before the mid-1800s, advertising was by broadsides, handbills and posters for the most part. Three lawyers, three doctors and two dentists “had their cards” in that first issue as advertisement, some of whom were still engaged in practice at the time of the Silver Edition, and the “Personal But Polite” alliterative column of juicy tidbits of local gossip began then and is still going strong today, with many of the same family names still present.

Interspersed throughout the anniversary edition’s articles were enthusiastic exhortations and encouragements: “Quit existing elsewhere; come to West Feliciana and live!” and “The spirit of progress is abroad in West Feliciana,” and “Once a West Felicianian, always a West Felicianian.” There was even a little piece entitled “A Second Heaven,” in which Saint Peter is showing a newcomer around heaven, with streets of gold, singing birds and beautiful flowers; asked about the disconsolate group of men over in a corner tied together, St. Peter explains that those were West Felicianians, who had to be kept tied up or otherwise they’d go right back home.

The editor of the True Democrat, in her 25th-anniversary look backward, proclaimed that it must have been “the rashness of extreme ignorance concerning the cost, risks and demands of publishing a newspaper” that led her to begin publication with her first husband, W.W. Leake, Jr., using “a three-fourths worn-out Washington hand-press and meagerly equipped print shop” and campaigning against the lottery at a time when most other publications in the state supported it. With little start-up capital, the True Democrat was begun with subscriptions raised from anti-lottery readers, subscriptions which ranged from five to ten dollars, “and a few of those, be it whispered, were never paid.” The editor’s husband Mr. Leake supported the paper for the most part with proceeds from his insurance business; in the first year, there was no net profit at all.

When the Louisiana Lottery was defeated, primarily due to a decision by the US Supreme Court denying it use of the mails, the True Democrat vowed it would “never be at a loss for good causes to foster, new ideals to implant, fresh enterprises to support for the good of the people among whom we live.” And when Mr. Leake died in 1901, his widow struggled to continue alone as a hardworking country editor, often in ill health and “with one baby at the breast, another’s tiny hands on my skirts, a son too young to be of material assistance, and the accumulation of debts incurred in extensive farming operations untimely cut off before possibility of reaching results.” The community reached out to support her, paying bills, renewing subscriptions, paying in advance, providing printing work. And when in 1908 a fire wiped out the little print shop, a new beginning was made yet again.

As the widowed Mrs. Leake began to rebuild her business, a new printer was called for. One she hired turned out to be a disreputable drunk, another so nervous he could not touch the standing type without knocking it over. But in 1906 she made the fortunate acquaintance of one Elrie Robinson, Texan who knew the printing business inside and out. The outcome was happy, not only for the True Democrat but for the widow Leake, soon to become Mrs. Elrie Robinson. The True Democrat flourished, and in 1917 the paper referred to West Feliciana, its 246,400 acres containing lands along the river “richer than the Valley of the Nile,” as “the portion of the State of Louisiana which burst upon the delighted vision of the sick and travel-worn Spaniards after their wanderings through the swamps and wilds of the Mississippi and Red Rivers, which in their joy they called ‘Feliciana.’”

The 1917 Silver Anniversary Edition of the True Democrat burst with pride at the accomplishments of the area, with histories of the West Florida Rebellion, Bayou Sara and St. Francisville, the West Feliciana Railroad, the Bank of Commerce and the Meyer Hotel (clean accommodations for boarders and transients described as “homey without being unduly familiar”), the Odd Fellows Lodge and other club groups, the historic churches (some like Grace Episcopal already nearly a century old) , agricultural and educational advancements, prize flower gardens, notable plantations, and Audubon’s associations with the parish. There were tributes to leading citizens, many of whose names continue in the parish to this day, the Bowmans and Barrows, the Butlers and Daniels, Plettingers and Haddens, Leakes and Lawrasons, Kilbournes and Ards, Rettigs and Nolands, Powells and Percys, Haralsons and Folkeses.

While the bulk of early parish residents claimed Anglo antecedents, of the 1917 population of 13,449 there were interesting injections of other influences…Peter Trocchiano, for example, pictured with swirling Salvador Dali-esque mustache, was described as a live-wire Sicilian married to the convent-educated Miss Salvatora Vinci who had many brothers in St. Francisville, and who began as a fruit peddler before branching out to establish a fine shoe store and manage the movie theater “where some of the most celebrated reels are seen.”

The Jewish community was not neglected, with articles describing the contributions of citizens like Daniel Mann, Max Dampf, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stern, and Julius Freyhan who funded the fine brick school bearing his name. The Temple Sinai was called one of St. Francisville’s “most attractive places of worship,” completed in 1903 to house a congregation described as “charitable to the needy and kindly towards all without regard to creed.” Nearly a full page was devoted to M&E Wolf, as 1917 marked the golden anniversary of what the paper called “West Feliciana’s greatest enterprise,” beginning as a little country store opened in 1867 by Julius Freyhan in the “dark days of reconstruction,” and growing to become principal source of supply for a dozen Louisiana parishes and Mississippi counties, selling up to a million dollars’ worth of goods and handling up to 14,000 bales of cotton in a year. As Freyhan’s business prospered, the newspaper said he played no unimportant part in the rehabilitation of the parish as it recovered from “the ravages of war,” and as Freyhan retired to New Orleans and turned the firm over to his brothers-in-law, Morris and Emanuel Wolf, the firm continued to be “generous in charity,” ever ready to provide financing for individuals and businesses struggling to get back on their feet and contributing generously to civic improvements.



The 1917 edition’s advertisements shed as much light upon the life of the times as do the articles; Chas. Weydert offering a line of hardware and machinery at “live and let-live prices,” Max Dampf General Merchandise with “dry goods, staple and fancy groceries,” J.R. Matthews Real Estate Agency offering good farms and plantations while boasting that “this far south is the only section of the US today where good land can be bought cheap,” Parker Stock Farm described as an old-time cotton plantation now devoted to the livestock industry as breeders of Hereford cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs, the Bank of Commerce which had opened with just 30 depositors and $5,185.06, W.R. Daniel purchaser of sweet and Irish potatoes and all kinds of produce, L&S Stern’s “dry goods, notions and gents’ furnishings,” F.S. Percy of Plettenberg buyers of hogs or sheep or cattle in any quantity, Max Mann advertising wines, liquors and cigars, Abe Stern’s livery with “horses and mules always on hand,” and George Rettig’s “Best Eats.”



Mrs. Mae Leake Robinson’s son James M. would succeed his mother as editor of the newspaper until his death, and as he was also the fire chief, the pages of the paper during his tenure were often filled with hair-raising details of local conflagrations. More than a century after its humble origins, the St. Francisville Democrat is still in publication, still extolling the virtues of the parish and its residents, still being written in the same little structure built right smack in the middle of Johnson Street around 1908 as the first building constructed of brick made by the Bayou Sara Brick Company.



While it is now part of a chain of small-town newspapers and is printed elsewhere utilizing computers, modern printing technology and even color photos and graphics, the paper under the editorship of hard-working Becky Hilliard retains much the same appearance and local appeal so familiar to its loyal readers over the past hundred years. In the face of modern advancements, the editor has managed to keep the hometown feel throughout the pages of The Democrat, with the possible exception of editorials which are mostly generated elsewhere and rarely reflect local interest or sentiment. The Democrat, after all these years, is still being read by members of some of the same families who depended upon the editions of 1892 and 1917 and all the rest, and who still think St. Francisville remains just about the best place there is to live and work and keep up with the news.



Visitors today will find the little brick newspaper office with its collection of antique printing equipment across Royal Street from The Barrow House B&B, and they will also find fascinating little shops and restaurants, many of them located in restored 19th-century structures, throughout downtown St. Francisville, which boasts an extensive Historic District listed on the National Register, and a wonderful assortment of Bed & Breakfasts as well as a modern motel. 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 , www.stfrancisville.net
or www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com .

The Day the War Stopped

THE DAY THE WAR STOPPED

- in St. Francisville, Louisiana

by Anne Butler

Up the steep hill they trudged, sweating in the sticky June heat, staggering
under the weight of the coffin, the white flag of truce flying before them in
the hot summer sun. The guns of their federal gunboat, the USS Albatross, anchored in the Mississippi off Bayou Sara, were silent behind them as the ship’s surgeon and two officers struggled toward St. Francisville atop the hill.

The procession was not an impressive one, certainly not an unusual event in
the midst of a bloody war, and it would no doubt have escaped all notice but
for one fact--this was the day the war stopped, if only for a few mournful moments, and the lovely little rivertown of St. Francisville invites the public to join in commemorating the events 145 years ago on the weekend of June 13-15.

In June 1863, the Siege of Port Hudson was pitting 30,000 Union troops under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks against 6,800 weary Confederates under Major General Franklin Gardner, fighting over the all-important control of traffic on the Mississippi River. Port Hudson and Vicksburg were the only rebel strongholds left along the Mississippi, and if the Union forces could wrest from them control of the river traffic, they could cut off supplies from the west and completely surround the Confederacy. Admiral David Farragut had attempted to destroy Confederate cannons atop the bluffs from the river, but of his seven ships, four were turned
back, one was completely destroyed, and only his flagship and the USS Albatross passed upriver safely, leaving ground troops to fight it out for nearly another month.

Lt. Commander John E. Hart, the federal commander of the Albatross, had just the week before posted a touching letter to his wife, left behind with their young son Elliott in Schenectady, New York. Praising his little boat for getting through the fearsome firing from the batteries atop the bluffs at Port Hudson, Commander Hart promises after the war to take his wife on a trip down the river to see the famous battlefields. As he writes he can hear the cannons booming
to the south, but his attentions are on more immediate matters…how many blackberries his crew have had to eat lately, and how when a “jolly good cow” is spotted, he sends a sailor ashore with a pail, chuckling how some rebel farm folk will be surprised when “old Brindle comes home at night
and ain’t got no milk for them”…how hot it is, and how long since he has seen ice, and how he would love a glass of cool claret and water.

Even in the midst of war, there
are mundane little touches of life scattered through the letter from Hart to his beloved wife…the mockingbirds singing around the boat, the little
puppy he’d put ashore at Plaquemine to be raised, the shipboard litter of kittens. After perilously running through the Grand Gulf batteries on the river to the north, Hart writes that the Admiral signalled, “How many killed?” And he answered none. The Admiral signalled, “How many wounded?” And he answered none. And just then Kitty, ship’s mouser, produced kittens which Hart insisted become part of the official report…important to note the wartime births as well as the all-too-frequent deaths.

A respected naval officer, Commander Hart would have even more lasting impact
through his death, which occurred as the Albatross lay at anchor near Bayou
Sara, just below St. Francisville. Masonic and naval records list Hart as having
“suicided,” died by his own hand “in a fit of delirium.” It had been surmised that perhaps he suffered from dementia induced by yellow fever, for a mere four days earlier his cheerful letter home hardly seemed to exhibit despair, but the surgeon’s log implicates debilitating dyspepsia,
perhaps combined with depression.

Hart was a Mason, and aboard his ship were other officers also “members of the Craft,” desirous of burying their commander ashore rather than consigning the remains to the river waters. A boat was sent from the Albatross under flag of truce to ascertain if there were any Masons in the town of St. Francisville. It just so happened that the two White brothers living near the river were Masons, and they informed the little delegation that there was indeed a Masonic lodge in the town, in fact one of the oldest in the state, Feliciana Lodge No. 31 F and AM. Its Grand Master was absent, serving in the Confederate Army, and its Senior Warden, W. W. Leake, was likewise engaged. But, according to Masonic correspondence, “Brother Leake’s headquarters were in the saddle,” he was reported to be in the vicinity, and he was soon found and persuaded to honor the request. As a soldier, Leake reportedly said, he considered it his duty to permit burial of a deceased member of the armed forces of any government, even one presently at war with his own, and as a Mason, he knew it to be his duty to accord Masonic burial to the remains of a brother Mason without taking into account the nature of their relations in the outer
world.

The surgeon and officers of the USS Albatross, struggling up from the river with Hart’s body, were met by W. W. Leake, the White brothers, and a few other members of the Masonic lodge. In the procession was also a squad of Marines at trail arms. They were met at Grace Episcopal Church by the Reverend Mr. Daniel Lewis, rector, and
with full Episcopal and Masonic services, Commander John E. Hart was laid to rest in the Masonic burial plot in Grace’s peaceful cemetery, respect being paid by Union and Confederate soldiers alike. And soon the war resumed, Lee’s northern invasion turned back at Gettysburg July 3, Vicksburg falling July 4, and Port Hudson finally surrendering July 9, all in one catastrophic week.

But for one brief touching moment, the war had stopped at St. Francisville, and this moment will be marked the weekend of June 13, 14 and 15th. The commemorative events begin on Friday, June 13, at 7 p.m., with graveside histories in the
peaceful oak-shaded cemetery at Grace Church, and an important presentation by Professor Chris Pena of Nicholls State University. A widely recognized Civil War researcher and author, Professor Pena has delved deeply into the events surrounding.

The Day The War Stopped and will provide fascinating newly unearthed details regarding Commander Hart’s death and St. Francisville’s role in the war. His talk will be followed by an Open House and presentation of lodge history at the historic double-galleried Masonic Lodge just across Ferdinand St. from the graveyard at 8 p.m.

On Saturday, June 14, a lively parade travels along St. Francisville’s historic main street beginning at 10:30 a.m., followed by lunch at the Masonic Lodge from 11 to 12:30. Visitors will be pleasantly transported back in time during the afternoon, as Grace Church and its parish hall next door are the scene of a concert of antebellum period music and vintage dancing from 11:30
to 1:30. At 1:30 commences the very moving dramatic presentation showing Commander
Hart’s young wife in New York as she reads his last letter to their small son and then receives the terrible news of his death. This is followed by the re-enactment of the burial of Hart, with re-enactors in the dignified rites clad in Civil War uniforms accurate down to the last button and worn brogan. Taking leading roles in this ritual, amazingly, are W.W.Leake’s great-great-grandson Robert S. Leake, as well as Frank Karwowski, member of Commander Hart’s
Masonic lodge, St. George’s in Schnectady, New York, and Shirley Ditloff who now operates a popular B&B in W.W. Leake’s Royal St. townhouse.

During the afternoon on Saturday, Oakley Plantation in the Audubon State Historic Site offers special related programs, including a Civil War encampment, complete with tents and authentically clad re-enactors, which may be visited from 2:30 to 5. At 3 a lecture on the history of the Civil War in West Feliciana will be presented, followed by black powder and musket demonstrations at 3:30 and at 4 a demonstration of Civil War costumes.

On Sunday, June 15, Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site from 1 to 3 presents a program on Civil War medical techniques and their all-too-often conclusion, period burial customs. At nearby Locust Grove State Historic Site, a talk from 1 to 3 focuses on Jefferson Davis’ young bride, Sarah Knox Taylor Davis
who succumbed to yellow fever on their honeymoon visit to his sister’s plantation in West Feliciana, at her gravesite, and a gravestone rendering class will utilize some of the historic headstones in this peaceful little graveyard.
All of these activities are free and open to the public.Among sponsors are St. Francisville Overnight! (Bed & Breakfasts of the area), the Feliciana Lodge No. 31 F and AM, Grace Episcopal Church, and St. Francisville Main Street.

Visitors will find fascinating little shops and restaurants, many of them located
in restored 19th-century structures, throughout downtown St. Francisville, which boasts an extensive Historic District listed on the National Register, and a wonderful assortment of Bed & Breakfasts as well as a modern motel. 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 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 http://www.stfrancisville.net/. For additional
information on The Day The War Stopped, see http://www.daythewarstopped.net/.

April BirdFest

APRIL BRINGS AUDUBON COUNTRY BIRDFEST TO ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA by Anne Butler In St. Francisville, Louisiana, just north of Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River, this spring marks the seventh annual Audubon Country BirdFest. The weekend of April 4, 5 and 6 brings birders and outdoor enthusiasts 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 and several choices of destinations. Birding In The Hills, planned for Saturday, offers two distinctly different routes; the Bluebird Route covers Oakhill and Hollywood Plantations, while the Redbird Route visits Beechwood Plantation and Woodhill Farm. Oak Hill, home of wildlife artist Murrell Butler, 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; warblers, orioles, tanagers, yellow-billed cuckoos, Eastern king birds, bluebirds, woodducks, herons and ibises. Hollywood has 300 acres of woods and rolling fields, as well as a picturesque lake for ducks and geese. Beechwood is traversed by Alexander Creek where Audubon often painted, and includes the historic cemetery where the artist's 1821 pupil Eliza Pirrie rests in peace. Woodhill Farm, originally part of Wakefield Plantation, has fields and pond with heirloom plants and plenty of birdlife. Other field trips feature spectacular wilderness areas like The Nature Conservancy's Mary Ann Brown Preserve (Friday afternoon) with its mature beech-magnolia forest and lots of nesting bluebirds, and Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge (Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and afternoon, and Sunday morning). One of the largest tracts of virgin wetland forest along the Mississippi not protected by levees from cyclical flooding, the wildlife refuge is sometimes inundated by 15 to 20 feet of water in the spring, providing ideal habitat for huge populations of wintering waterfowl, and it also harbors the world's largest Bald Cypress tree, believed to be more than 1000 years old. Lifejackets and canoes are provided for the Cat Island trip, and participants are expected to paddle their own canoes for about 2 hours. Other trips feature the Audubon State Historic Site for guided tours through the 200-year-old three-story main house and outbuildings plus trail walks (all 3 days), a Mississippi River Road Walk along this important migratory corridor (all 3 days), and Wyoming Plantation (Saturday morning and afternoon) for excellent birding in a diversity of habitats right at the edge of downtown St. Francisville. On Sunday morning the gardens of Afton Villa host birders through yet another type of spectacular landscaped setting. 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 a yellow Prothonotary Warbler on a brilliant blue Louisiana iris. 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. The Feliciana Nature Society sponsors a number of events each year in furtherance of its goals to enhance community awareness, education and understanding of the area's natural resources, but it is the Audubon Country BirdFest that most spectacularly showcases the Felicianas' abundant birdlife, unspoiled natural habitat areas and unique history. 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. 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 beginning at 6 p.m. with a talk by the Baton Rouge Advocate's Danny Heitman, a gifted writer whose new book, A Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House, which comes out this month, concentrates on the artist's stay in the Felicianas and its supreme importance in his artistic career. A wine and cheese reception follows, as well as a tour of the Oakley House, which is especially lovely by candlelight. 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 fns@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. April also marks the immensely popular springtime Angola Prison Rodeo, combining the wildest show in the south with a huge selection of inmate-made arts and crafts (see www.angolarodeo.com for tickets). For online coverage of tourist facilities and attractions in the St. Francisville area, see www.stfrancisville.us, www.stfrancisville.net, or www.stfrancisvilleovernight.com; or telephone (225) 635-3873 or 635-6330.