Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Francisville
Lush St Francisville is the quintessential Southern artsy small town, a blend of historical
homes, bohemian shops and outdoors activities courtesy of the nearby Tunica Hills (you
read that right - hills in Louisiana). During the antebellum decade this was home to
plantation millionaires, and much of their architecture is still intact.
Sights & Activities
In town, stroll down historic
Royal St
to catch a glimpse of antebellum homes and
buildings-turned-homes. The visitor center has pamphlets that lead you on self-guided
tours.
Myrtles Plantation
HISTORIC BUILDING
( 225-635-6277, 800-809-0565;
www.myrtlesplantation.com
;
7747 US Hwy 61 N;
9am-4:30pm, tours 6pm, 7pm & 8pm Fri & Sat)
An especially notable B&B because sup-
posedly it's haunted, and it has night mystery tours (by reservation) on the weekend. We
heard secondhand corroboration of the supernatural presence, so it might be fun to stay
overnight (rooms from $115) to commune with the other world.
Oakley Plantation & Audubon State Historic Site
HISTORIC SITE
( 225 342 8111;
www.crt.state.la.us
; 11788 Hwy 965; admission $2; 9am-5pm)
Outside of St
Francisville is Oakley Plantation & Audubon State Historic Site, where John James Au-
dubon spent his tenure, arriving in 1821 to tutor the owner's daughter. Though his as-
signment lasted only four months (and his room was pretty darn spartan), he and his as-
sistant finished 32 paintings of birds found in the plantation's surrounding forest.
Furnishing of the small West Indies-influenced house (1806) includes several original
Audubon prints.
Mary Ann Brown Preserve
NATURE RESERVE
( 225-338-1040; 13515 Hwyy 965; sunrise-sunset)
Operated by the Nature Conservancy,
the Mary Ann Brown Preserve takes in some of the beech woodlands, dark wetlands and
low, clay-soil hill country of the Tunica uplands. A 2-mile series of trails and boardwalks
crosses the woods, the same trees that John James Audubon tramped around when he
began work on
Birds of America
.
Sleeping & Eating
