HOME TOURS

Throughout the years men from elsewhere have come to West Feliciana. Their reasons for coming were as varied as the houses they built; homes that can be seen as monuments to the lives they made for themselves here.
 

GARDENS TOURS

The cluster of notable 19th-century gardens in West Feliciana are outstanding examples of what unlimited time, wealth, labor, and horticultural knowledge, combined with the rich loess soil and a happy climate, could produce in antebellum culture. These gardens remain monuments to past glories and to the hardiness of plantings.
 

CHURCH TOURS


Churches were monuments of order in the disorderly frontier landscape. Throughout the 19th century the settlers strained to build and support them.

 

CEMETERY TOUR

The peaceful dead of Grace Churchyard stand beside their handsome tombstones and tell their stories.
 

ANTIQUE SHOW

Select antiques dealers will be housed in three locations in the historic district: Feliciana Masonic Lodge on Proserity, Market Hall on Royal Street, and Jackson Hall on Ferdinand Street.
 

ENTERTAINMENT

Daytime Revel on Royal Street, night social, Light up the Night.
 
Night-Time Activities Print E-mail

Audubon Pilgrimage Features Night-Time Activities
Friday Night Entertainment

Each year the West Feliciana Historical Society, during the Annual Audubon Pilgrimage, sponsors entertainment at night for our visitors and local residents to enjoy. Friday night activities offer an array of delights from 6:30 to 9:00 PM on Friday, March 19. The picturesque Historic District will be candlelit, so strolling along the street will add to the ambience.

Robust hymn singing at the St. Francisville United Methodist Church in the Historic District on Royal Street has attracted participants for the last thirty years during the Annual Pilgrimage. Lively piano playing will have you tapping your feet in time to the rhythm. The repertoire will include many of the old-time favorites and personal requests are encouraged, as well. The present Methodist Church was built in 1899 when the congregation abandoned their flood-damaged church built in Bayou Sara in 1844. Lights from stained-glass windows in rich jewel tones welcome you as you enter the historic sanctuary. For an inspirational and invigorating experience, join in this old-fashioned sing along, which is always a favorite.

Graveyard Tales will be featured for the ninth year as part of Pilgrimage 2009. Grace Church Cemetery is the setting for this popular presentation. Fifteen former citizens of the parish tell their life stories in this thirty minute tour. Local citizens dressed in the appropriate attire for the depicted departed reenact their biographies. Guides will lead the pilgrims, about 20 in a group, through the candlelit cemetery. The tour runs continuously from 6:30 to 9:00 with the last tour beginning at 8:30. Pilgrims are requested to park in the street area and not to drive vehicles into the parking lot itself in order that the lights and noise not disturb the cemetery’s peace and quiet. In case of rain there will be an exception to this request. The re-enactors will present the program inside the church itself at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30. Admittance to the church will be granted fifteen minutes before each performance and guests will be permitted to park in the parking lot. Elisabeth K. Dart researched and wrote the biographies for the Graveyard Tales. Shirley Pourciau serves as director for the cemetery portion. This year the tour will feature quiet musical background by David Porter on the banjo

The annual Wine and Cheese Reception is an all-time favorite among our pilgrims. So for refreshments, go the Historical Society Museum on Ferdinand Street. There you can enjoy fine culinary fare while you have the opportunity to look around the museum and view the historic displays. The museum is housed in a Greek Revival hardware store built in 1895 and reflects the Society’s commitment to a meaningful interpretation of local history. Several photographic studies are displayed including vernacular architecture, the Mississippi River and its ravaging floods, and Jewish history in West Feliciana. Miniature rooms depicting l9th century lifestyles and sculpted figures of real Feliciana people bring history to life. The flags of West Feliciana hang proudly from the supporting columns. With the West Feliciana Historical Society, the Bank of St. Francisville is the generous sponsor of this popular event.

For more information on tickets, call the West Feliciana Historical Society Museum at 225-635-6330. You can purchase your tickets early at the Museum. Ticket will be available for sale at the ticket office behind the Museum during the three days of the Pilgrimage.

Saturday Night Soiree – Light Up the Night
 
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