Audubon Pilgrimage - St. Francisville, Louisiana

Rosedown in St. Francisville

The annual Audubon Pilgrimage is underway this weekend in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

A charming community that was once the capital of the short-lived "Republic of West Florida," St. Francisville is located atop a high ridge overlooking the Mississippi River at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Louisiana Highway 10. The town is 30 miles north of Baton Rouge and 60 miles south of Natchez, Mississippi.

St. Francisville is well known because it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful surviving plantation homes in the South. There is Rosedown Plantation, considered one of the country's finest surviving antebellum plantation complexes by the National Park Service; Oakley Plantation, where famed naturalist John James Audubon painted many of his best known bird paintings and The Myrtles, considered by some to be America's most haunted home. Also just south of town is Port Hudson State Historic Site, scene of a bloody Civil War battle and siege.

The annual Audubon Pilgrimage features a full weekend of events, including tours, live music, candlelight graveyard tours, a noted antique show and sale and much more. To learn more about St. Francisville and the Audubon Pilgrimage, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stfrancisville.

Annual Spring Pilgrimage in Eufaula, Alabama

The 44th Annual Pilgrimage will take place in Eufaula, Alabama, this weekend.

One of the premier annual events in the South, the Pilgrimage begins on Friday at 9 a.m. with the ribbon cutting ceremonies at the historic Shorter Mansion on North Eufaula Avenue (U.S. 431) and the firing of the cannon at the Petry-Honan Home on Cherry Street.

Tours of Homes will be available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, featuring some of the most beautiful antebellum and Victorian homes in the South and an amazing array of events will take place throughout the weekend.

Eufaula, located atop a high bluff overlooking Lake Eufaula, is one of the best preserved and most beautiful historic communities in the South. Noted for its magnificent old homes and tree-lined streets, the city was founded during the 1830s and has a rich and colorful history.

To learn more about Eufaula, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/eufaula. Just follow the "Spring Pilgrimage" link there to learn more about this weekend's events.