Grace Episcopal Church is a historical landmark in St. Francisville. The doors of all of the town's historical churches are open to visitors.
The cottage belonged to Miss Lise, West Feliciana Parish's first telephone girl.
It was moved to St. Francisville from Bayou Sara in 1890. For those who aren't familiar, Bayou Sara was its own town just down the hill from St. Francisville along the Mississippi River.
Visitors can read about the cottage that now stands across Prosperity Street from the West Feliciana Parish Courthouse, along with other signs fronting other historic homes, churches and buildings throughout the town and parish. The information serves to offer a unique perspective of the people and places that make up the parish's story dating back to its founding in 1824.
The personal details like those of Miss Lise's cottage extend to everyone who visits to take a piece of the experience with them. West Feliciana Parish is more than a destination — it truly is an experience.
Cat Island Wildlife Refuge in West Feliciana Parish is home to the 1,500-year-old national champion bald cypress, one of the largest tree of any species east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The area is popular among hikers.
"When people ask me why West Feliciana Parish is a great place to visit, I tell them it's the diversity of options that we have to do here," said Devan Corbello, executive director of the West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission. "You can have a relaxing weekend away here by just staying at one of our bed-and-breakfasts, and you can eat at our restaurants and do some shopping. Or you can have an adventure and go hiking all around the parish and see some really unique topography that you really can't find anywhere else in Louisiana."
Or you can simply spend a Sunday afternoon walking along the crepe myrtle-lined sidewalks of St. Francisville's historic Royal Street relishing the quietness while taking in the historic houses along the way.
As West Feliciana's parish seat, St. Francisville is also the parish's only incorporated community. It was founded in 1806 before Feliciana Parish split into East and West.
The doors of its historic churches, Grace Episcopal, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic and United Methodist Church are always open and within walking distance of other downtown sites. An added bonus to Grace is the moss-draped cemetery surrounding it.
West Feliciana Parish is home to the Oakley House is the centerpiece of Audubon State Historic Site, where legendary artist and naturalist John James Audubon gathered birds, flora and fauna for his 'Birds of America' folio while tutoring young Eliza Pirrie.
Here, you'll find the family names of the people who settled this area, many of which were here in 1810, when St. Francisville was the capital of Spain's Republic of West Florida. The area also is known as English Louisiana for the large population of emigrants from British colonies who settled there in the 1770s.
But probably its best-known moniker through the years has been Audubon's Happy Land, which incorporates the translation of Feliciana and legendary artist and naturalist John J. Audubon's stay at Oakley Plantation.
Oakley is now the centerpiece of the Audubon State Historic Site on La. 965, where the artist gathered birds, flora and fauna for his "Birds of America" folios while earning money tutoring young Eliza Pirrie.
The Town of St. Francisville operates a free trolley, which gives tours from Thursday through Sunday.
Pirrie would later marry and have a son who would build the house that stands as the centerpiece of the Rosedown State Historic Site on La. 10. Meanwhile, her great-grandson, descended from a son from her first marriage, would become the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.
One of the best things about St. Francisville is how almost everything is within walking distance.
Robert H. Barrow was his name. He died in 2008, and his gravesite can be found in Grace Episcopal Cemetery.
Stop, stay, hike, shop
The parish has grown in recent years. Bed-and-breakfasts and restaurants have been plentiful but hotels have opened to accommodate the incoming, two-way traffic between Baton Rouge and Natchez, Mississippi, along U.S. 61.
Those that stop and stay for a while have a variety of activities from which to choose. Plenty of hiking opportunities can be found in the Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, home of the 1,500-year-old champion bald cypress and the Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area with its steep ravines and sandy bayous.
A $2.6 million grant is going to the Tunica Hills area in West Feliciana Parish, popular among hikers, that will improve trails and build a Mississippi River overlook.
Both of these places are accessible from La. 66, which leads to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where the Angola Rodeo takes place every Sunday in October and April. The prison also houses a museum in the nearby building that formerly served as Tunica Elementary School.
Also accessible from the highway is Clark Creek Natural Area, which technically is located in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Its trails feature about 50 waterfalls, with some topping 30 feet.
Finally, there's the Mary Ann Brown Preserve near the Audubon State Historic Site on La. 965. The grounds are touted as the place "where John James Audubon painted some of his famous bird paintings." It also features two hiking trails, a beech magnolia forest, flowing streams and butterfly gardens.
Grace Episcopal Church and its surrounding moss-draped cemetery is one of the key historical landmarks in St. Francisville, La. Here's a quick walk through the church sanctuary and a look at its grounds. Staff photo by Robin Miller
"With these trails, you can explore the lowlands and the swamp, and then you go up to the hills within a 25-minute drive," Corbello said.
While seeking out those hiking trails, visitors with otherworldly interests might want to stop by The Myrtles Plantation. The house, known as America's Most Haunted House, is located on U.S. 61 just outside St. Francisville.
Visitors have been known to have ghostly experiences while touring the house, which also is home to the St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival.
Back in town, there are lots of shops for antiquing opportunities, many of them within walking distance from one another. But if walking isn't your preference, the town has made touring a little easier on Thursdays through Sundays by purchasing and operating a 15-seat, free trolley.
Parker Park, with its moss-draped trees and large gazebo, is the centerpiece of St. Francisville. Visitors are welcome to picnic or just relax here. The town also hosts events in the park.
The trolley has designated stops, one of which is the West Feliciana Historical Society Museum housed in the old store originally owned by A.T. Gastrell, a prominent Bayou Sara hardware dealer.
As happened with so many buildings in Bayou Sara, Mississippi River flooding forced Gastrell to move his store up the hill to St. Francisville. Well, technically it was moved to the top of the ridge.
"St. Francisville used to be called the 2-mile-long, 2-yard-wide town because it was built on a ridge," Carbello said.
And it's within this 2 miles and 2 yards that the Yellow Leaf Arts Festival will happen Oct. 28-29, followed by the town's annual Christmas in the Country celebration on Dec. 1-3.
"On March 25, we'll have the Tunica Hills Music Festival and on June 2-3, we'll have the Walker Percy Weekend," Corbello said. "We'll also have 'The Day the War Stopped' on June 10."
Historic Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church overlooks St. Francisville from atop a hill. All of the town's historic churches' doors are open to visitors.
The Day the War Stopped is hosted by Feliciana Lodge NO. 31 F&AM, the oldest Masonic lodge in the state. It commemorates June 12, 1963, when Union and Confederate soldiers laid down their weapons to join in the Masonic burial of Union Lt. Cmdr. John E. Hart in Grace Episcopal Cemetery.
Hart was stationed on the Union ironclad USS Albatross, which had fired upon Grace Church. His officers flew a white flag, then asked for permission to bury the commander in the cemetery.
Permission was granted, and the St. Francisville lodge's senior warden, W.W. Leake, captain of Company C, 1st Louisiana Cavalry, conducted the service.
The Masonic Lodge still stands on the corner of Ferdinand and Prosperity streets.
The Feliciana Masonic Lodge #31 F&AM hosts 'The Day the War Stopped' each June. The day commemorates when both Union and Confederate forces stopped fighting to have a burial for a Masonic Union officer in Grace Episcopal Cemetery.
And next door? Well, that's telephone girl Miss Lise's cottage, which perfectly ends this West Feliciana story where it began.