Baby Boomer Traveling: In and around the Town

St. Francisville, Louisiana has a population of approximately 1700 permanent residents, but easily there are that many visitors on the weekends. The weekend we were there we saw approximately 20 tour buses that came through dropped off their passengers and waited for them while they toured the various historic places. If you calculate the number of passengers conservatively at 50 then add those of us who drove in, you can see very easily that the townsfolk have their hands full with tourists.
And come October, on weekends that number swells to probably close to 10,000 visitors or more as the Angola Prison Rodeo is in session. It is the oldest continuously running prison rodeo in the country and St. Francisville is the closest town to the prison making it the number one choice for lodging and after/pre-rodeo activities during Rodeo weekends. The lodging is so scarce that while we were there, we tried to book a return trip in October only to be told sorry, no room at the inn.
As for eateries there is a wide selection of them. One of the places our host recommended was the local truck stop. Two reasons she gave: it stays open later and the food is really good. We whole heartedly agree. It stayed open till 10 p.m. in a town that rolls up the sidewalks at 9 p.m. and the food was delicious. I actually tried to get a recipe from them but was told the person who makes it had the recipe and wasn't in. Dinner there for two was less than $20 including non-alcoholic drink, entree, side, salad and dinner roll. A bargain in any location. Most often also recommended was the Magnolia Cafe. Sadly we didn't get a chance to try this place, but hope to on our return visit. We did try the Carriage House restaurant located at the Myrtles Plantation. It is in the original kitchen building for the plantation and has a basic menu of Cajun, Creole, pasta and seafood dishes. It also has a full bar. It is a little on the pricey side, as our dinner minus gratuity was just under $70 for two people. We ordered one appetizer that we split which was excellent (Cajun style crab cake with a wonderful Remoulade sauce) two dinners (seafood), one alcoholic beverage and one non-alcoholic beverage. Given my choice of the Carriage House or the truck stop, I'd vote for the truck stop. Better food, less expensive.
Also every third Saturday of the month is a market day. Various vendors of hand crafted items set up in the town square. We saw lots of Louisiana items, plenty of food booths, several hand made bird houses & dove coats and the local author Ann Butler was busy signing copies of her books. All of this occurred as a quartet played from the Bandstand while a soft breeze kept the Spanish moss moving gently from the Live Oak trees located all around the lovely grassy square.
The town is steeped in history counting some of the states most illustrious historical figures as citizens, like the Chief Justice of the first Louisiana Supreme Court and the older sister of Confederate President Jefferson Davis among others. And with numerous plantations, gardens and town homes that date back to the 1790s through the antebellum period if you like old then you'll enjoy this place. Almost all of the homes are well maintained and the plantations are open to the public for viewing. The town homes and churches have clearly marked historical plaques and most are located on one street. Making this a good walking tour that can be done at a leisurely pace.
We enjoy seeing old homes and buildings. We can appreciate the effort & energy & money required to maintain these types of homes. Neither can the ingenuity that is necessary for working on these homes be discounted.
It isn't New Orleans, but it was a very nice place to visit with lots of history in the heart of Plantation country with super accommodations.

One of the historic homes we saw, each
one had a wonderful name. This one was
Solitude.

This was the Virginia

A marker to let you know that for the
few days that the Republic of West
Florida existed St. Francisville was the
capital. This was on the grounds of the
Courthouse.