October 17, 2023 Day 10 El Dorado Arkansas to Natchez Mississippi 172 miles
Today is sunny with a light wind. We actually had biscuits and gravy and a cheese omelet at the breakfast bar. The hotel is in the process of remodeling so the hallway carpet is a mess. Some of the rooms contain mattresses and some are in various stages of completion. Luckily ours was finished unless they plan to add a toilet paper holder. Currently it just sits on the counter.
The landscape quickly flattens out and farmland is once again the main purpose. We still encountered a few logging trucks but not many and not for long. We crossed into Louisiana. Still mostly small towns with an occasional larger one. After a couple of hours we crossed the Mississippi River and crossed into Mississippi.
We headed for the plantation home called Rosalie. We took a one hour tour of the house. It is owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Therefore Rob’s ticket was discounted by 50%. The house sits just up above the river on the high ground. The house was built in 1823 and is one of the smaller homes with about 10,000 square feet of living space. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the home. The furnishing are mostly original to the house. The furnishings are very nice and in good condition. Only two families ever lived at Rosalie. Neither family had children of their own but they raised orphaned children. One of those was married in the house and continued to live their with her family. They had children. Two of their daughters lived out their lives at the house. They were the ones who sold the house to the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1938. The DAR restored the house and began giving tours.
We had time to also go to Longwood. This house is octagonal in shape. Unfortunately it was never finished. The house was begun in 1860. The house plans were obtained from a catalog. The original owners were very wealthy and brought in 74 builders from Germany. When the Civil War broke out they all left and construction stopped. They left in a hurry. The house was to have six floors and about 30,000 square feet of living space. Just a small place for one family. The family ended up living in the basement which is above ground. Unfortunately the owner died during the war of pneumonia. He was a Union sympathizer and did not have to serve in the Confederate army because of the number of slaves he owned. His wife was left to raise the youngest children on her own. They lost their fortune. She sued the American government and received some compensation. The house eventually had to be sold. The Texans who bought the house restored the basement to how it had been. The doors and windows of the upper floors were either boarded up or screened in. A floor was put on the first of these floors. Then the house was given to one of the garden clubs to maintain. The basement has some furnishings but the second floor does not. The upper floors are not accessible. This house would have really been something if it was ever finished. It is constructed mainly of bricks which were to have been covered on the inside with plaster and on the outside with stucco. The house sits on 94 acres of land so you feel like you are out in the country rather than in town. A dirt road leads in and out of the property. When we returned to the car we had a flat tire. Rob changed that with the spare and then off to our hotel.
Then Rob spent at least an hour replacing the tube in the tire. So a late supper tonight.
Spoffords Travel 