ST. FRANCISVILLE — Take a short drive north, and the scenery quickly changes. Flat, marshy ground gives way to a varying landscape with signature hills and bluffs. These make up the West Feliciana Parish, with St. Francisville sitting at its center.
The topography has a long history, extending back to the Ice Age. Glaciers sliding across the continent would grind rock, producing fine dust. According to Dr. Marty Horn of the Louisiana Geological Survey, "once that water evaporated and dried up, it would leave these deposits of dust lying in the mantling of the Mississippi River Valley."
Known as loess, winds would carry these dust deposits to both sides of the Mississippi River, but mostly on the east bank. The loess is nearly 30 feet thick on the Mississippi River in West Feliciana Parish and gradually thins to the east. Horn says that once the dust settled, water cut into it via pre-established creeks, streams, and rivers.
"Because of the properties of that loess, as those streams would cut down, erode, and carry away the dust, it would leave behind these steep-walled canyons and ravines."
The dramatic hills are most striking in the Tunica Hills, located just northwest of St. Francisville. But the entire parish rests on top of the loess. Nourished by the routine flooding of the Mississippi River, the already fertile loess turned the area into exceptionally rich farmland. Early settlers quickly recognized the good soil, favorable growing seasons, and easy water access.
Anne Butler, a local historian and owner of Butler Greenwood Plantation, notes that the area's culture stands apart from other parts of the state. "It's not Cajun Louisiana. It's not Creole Louisiana. It's English Louisiana. Those are the customs and traditions we've historically seen here."
The English settlers brought the cotton kingdom west, but soon capitalized on other crops, like sugar cane and sweet potatoes, thanks to the fertile soil. Plantations that relied on slave labor quickly emerged, driving the local economy.
In the early days, St. Francisville sat next to the town of Bayou Sara. Sitting just below the bluff where St. Francisville rests, Bayou Sara was once the most significant landing between New Orleans and Natchez.
"It had a mile of warehouses to store cotton in very extensive residential and commercial districts. That's where all the commerce was done, and St. Francisville up the hill was where the culture was, you know, and the government and all of that," Butler explains.
Bayou Sara's low elevation made it prone to flooding, and the 1927 Flood of the Mississippi River wiped out the river town. The merchants then relocated to St. Francisville, where it was safe from the floodwaters, according to Butler.
Over time, the local economy shifted away from an agricultural focus. While institutions like Angola and River Bend Station provide significant employment today, Anne Butler notes that "tourism is now probably the biggest contributor to the economy."
