St Francisville LA (Louisiana)

St Francisville LA is a Mississippi River cruise port and town in West Feliciana Parish (Louisiana USA) with population around 2,000. The town is part of Baton Rouge metro (population around 830,000). A same-named city can be found in Illinois (IL).

The town was founded in 1809 as the commercial hub for the surrounding plantations. The settlement (initially named Bayou Sara) was established in the late-18th-century and developed atop a narrow ridge that overlooks the river. Bayou Sara was the largest Mississippi port between Memphis and New Orleans. Unfortunately, the original town was destroyed by repeated fires and flooding.

In 1810 (September 23 through December 10), St Francisville LA served as the capital city of Republic of West Florida (part of Spanish West Florida). In that period, local plantation owners rebelled against the Spanish and established (for 74 days) an independent republic, that subsequently surrendered to the US Army and was annexed to Louisiana.

In June 1863, William Walter Leake (1833-1912, Confederate Army officer) arranged for the burial of John E.Hart (1824-63, Union Navy officer), who died aboard his vessel while taking part in Union blockade of Mississippi River. Every June, the historical event is re-enacted during the 3-day "The Day the War Stopped" commemoration.

As the current-day St Francisville's economy is largely based on history-themed domestic tourism, community efforts are focused mainly on reservation and preservation of buildings and former antebellum plantations - all of which are open daily for private and group tours. Among the largest and most popular for touring sites are Audubon State Historic Site (state park property), Rosedown Plantation (with a 740 m2-sized mansion / on the above photo), Butler Greenwood Plantation ( ~2 km / 1,5 mi north of downtown), Cottage Plantation (1795-1859-built), Myrtles Plantation (1796-built by General David Bradford, one of the USA's most haunted homes), as well as a few antebellum gardens.