THE GREAT GALLERIES OF ST. FRANCISVILLE by Anne Butler “C’mon over and set a spell.” That’s the invitation being offered by the quiet little 19th-century town of St. Francisville overlooking the Mississippi River in scenic unspoiled English Louisiana north of Baton Rouge. And it’s an invitation that may need a little explaining today. It wouldn’t have needed explaining even as recently as thirty or forty years ago, back before life become so fast-paced and frenetic, and it certainly didn’t need explaining in the 19th century, when it was a way of life. C’mon over and set a spell. That invitation was issued before everyone drove everywhere, back when people actually walked around town. That was before air conditioning, back when people actually spent time outside. And that was before television and computers, back when people actually talked to one another, and face to face rather than via instant messaging. And that was before suburban sprawl, back when people actually had close neighbors, and actually knew them and spoke to them and cared about them. That’s the way it still is in St. Francisville, and the quiet little town wants to show everybody else what they’re missing. All that’s needed is a little time, a little peace and quiet, a little friendliness and neighborliness. Oh yes, and the most important thing of all: the gallery, the porch, the deck, the place on which to set a spell. And St. Francisville has those in spades. There are antebellum plantation homes in the area open for touring with broad front galleries that back in the 19th century were the most important living spaces in the whole house. The galleries were cool and shaded, and as the sun set and the lightning bugs flickered through the oak trees, family members pulled up rocking chairs on the front gallery and sat and rocked, and while they rocked, they talked, relating their experiences of the day, planning their activities for the next day. It was here that the family histories and traditions were passed from one generation to the next, with no distractions, for this really was the evening entertainment most of the time…actually talking. Visitors to the St. Francisville area can still enjoy these same galleries today as they take the daily tours of Rosedown Plantation, Oakley Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, The Cottage Plantation, The Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation. In many of these homes guests can also spend the night, making it even more enjoyable to set a spell. There are historic townhouses in this little rivertown just dripping with gingerbread trim on front porches seen behind picket fences and colorful pocket gardens, and many of them welcome visitors to come set a spell as well. The live oak-shaded St. Francisville Inn provides not only rockers but a porch swing and even checkers to pass a lazy afternoon, and there are others just as inviting in the National Register-listed Historic District. There are restaurants and shops, many thriving in restored commercial structures built before the turn of the century, and these too have welcoming porches for patrons. Those that don’t have raised porches have awning-covered fronts with benches for a respite from shopping or dining;The Shanty Too even entertains those resting on its frontage with continuous bubbles. Que Pasa has a deck almost overlooking the Mississippi River, Cypress Grill has upper and lower galleries, Roadside Barbeque even has an old wagon setting a spell on its covered porch, and Magnolia Café, which moved just a few hundred yards after its original location burned down, seems to be sprouting porches in every direction, proving just how popular outdoor dining can be. There are Bed & Breakfasts here, nearly a dozen diverse ones, where the lucky guests can be seen lounging and conversing on wrap-around porches, some screened against the insects. The Barrow House and Printer’s Cottage and Shadetree perched on a hilltop give overnighters the real small-town experience as they watch the historic streets come alive in the evening as neighbors stroll and visit. The front gallery of Lake Rosemound Inn overlooks an enormous lake. And so the little Victorian town of St. Francisville certainly offers to its guests sufficient facilities and amenities to make them comfortable and to keep them entertained. But mostly the invitation it issues promises something less concrete: that small-town ambiance, that rural unhurriedness, the time to savor the important things in life. And oh yes, there’s plenty more to do than sit; this is the Tunica Hills section of Louisiana, with challenging hiking areas, superb birding and biking, horseback riding and other outdoor recreations; there’s even an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course at The Bluffs with plenty of porch space for relaxing after a round, not to mention a golf course at the state’s maximum-security penitentiary at Angola (don’t make it a practice to sit around too long after a few rounds there). There are also plenty of special events at different times of the year: bird festivals in Audubon’s paradise, the spring pilgrimage of historic homes, the small-town holiday shopping spectacular of Christmas in the Country, fall prison rodeo and garden symposium. But even when there’s nothing much going on, that invitation from St. Francisville still holds. Because when there’s nothing much going on, why, that’s the best time of all to c’mon over and set a spell. For online information on tourist facilities, attractions and events in the St. Francisville area, see www.StFrancisville.us, www.StFrancisville.net, or www.StFrancisvilleOvernight.com; or telephone (225) 635-3873 or 635-6330. And then c’mon over and set a spell. For high resolution photographs for media use, please email PHOTOS ; by Patrick Walsh.