From Fort to Last Port

Today was totally planned.

If by "totally planned" you mean we meant to spend the day driving around, we just weren't quite sure where we would end up.

First thing is to check out Fort Adams, MS in Wilkinson County, between Woodville and the Mississippi River.

July 1863 from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

We did not make it all the way to Fort Adams before Heather had me pulling over for a cemetery she spotted clinging to a hillside.  The Ward Cemetery is between what appears to be an old road and the new road.  Spread out and barely hanging in there, it is very neglected.  The stones mostly date to the '60's.  We plan on returning to catalog the memorials there in the future when the ticks are not quite as prevalent.

Arriving in Fort Adams, we quickly passed up "Bubba's One Stop" to grab pictures of St. Patrick's Catholic Church.
                                                
The church was built in 1900 and even with the windows boarded up you can tell the stained glass windows were lovely.  I read somewhere that the flooding of the Homochitto River, which happens pretty often, was the reason for the boards.  The stained glass is being protected.

We found out later that we totally missed a cemetery next to the church.  I  can only blame this on... well...I really have no idea how we missed it!  According to Find A Grave, Henry E. Harris was laid to rest here in 1913.  His is the only stone standing, but it is believed that there are more buried here.  Headstones do not stand up well to constant flooding...

Ok, now for some history on Fort Adams.  This area now known as Fort Adams has changed hands many times.  Each new occupation brought with it a new name.  Originally established in 1698 by Catholic priests who lived among the Natchez and other local Indian tribes, it was known as St.Patrick's Mission. The French called the area Davion's Rock for Father Davion.

This was the American port of entry along the Mississippi River for a long time, due to the fact that New Orleans was not controlled by the United States.

When the British moved into the area in 1764, it became known as Loftus' Heights. The fort was built in 1799 when General James Wilkinson came to the area to keep an eye on the American/Spanish boundary.  (Wilkinson is who the county is named for.)

                                              

Considering the lack of historical markers or information on site, a lot of important things occurred at Fort Adams.  The Treaty of San Lorenzo, which defined new borders between the U.S. and Spain was signed at Fort Adams.  Many treaties with the Choctaw Indians, including The Treaty of Fort Adams that traded Choctaw land for land east of the Mississippi River, were signed here.

Once the Spanish threat was gone, Fort Adams was no longer needed, but the nearby town retained the name.  Like most river towns, it was prosperous until a shift in the ever changing bed of the Mississippi took the river more than a mile away.

Next stop, Pond, MS.  We stopped here because there is a lovely set of restrooms at the Clarks Creek Nature Area! we were curious about the trails and waterfalls in the area.  We, as usual, were not prepared for a hike, so this will be something else we take in at a later date, but there really are some great bathrooms here!.

The Pond Store was built in 1881.  The only thing in this little corner of the world was the store and a home...and lots of animals...

                                                            




Thanks to our good friend Mary, at the Rodney, MS Facebook page, we learned that a stop was needed on the trip from Woodville to the port at Fort Adams, so a pond was dug, thus the name Pond, for the animals making the journey to the river.

We continued on our way and stumbled upon Bethel Farms Plantation. The stand out front promises a vegetable stand during the growing season!

We made our way back to Woodville, took a few pictures and decided to head to Natchez (I am sure food was involved in this decision:).

                                                 

We drove along Lower Woodville Road to get back to Natchez.  This has got to be one of the oldest roads we have ever taken.  Last time I was at this end of Lower Woodville it was dark and rainy.  This time I could see just how deep the road was.  It was almost like driving through a tunnel!

On a spur of the moment decision, we decided to cross the Mighty Mississippi River and take another attempt to find the Mamie S. Barrett.  Several people have posted pictures before of this beached behemoth, but our last attempt to find her left us lost in New Roads, LA and a long way from home.
A co-worker of Heather's gave her some directions, which I am proud to say she relayed to me flawlessly which was unusual. And we found her!

Mamie S. Barrett, built 1921, washed up in 1993

 We hear she is for sale...if anyone wants to work her over, make her seaworthy, and offer us a free tour:).

Here is the view of the river from Deer Park, LA.  No wonder the old towboat decided to make her final rest here...

So that was our journey today.  From the fort that once brought Christianity to the Natives to the final port of call for an aging tugboat, all in all it was a pretty awesome day!

Until next time
~ Rosemary

Oops! We did it again!

Usually, I bribe Heather out of the house with the promise of food.  Today, she got ME.

This morning she said if I would bring her nephews to see her, she would get us a pizza for lunch and hang out this afternoon.  I don't know what I was thinking! I had planned on cleaning my house and working on some projects that have been neglected I have not quite finished yet.  Instead, I loaded up the boys and headed to Heather's house.  We then headed to the pizza place about 10 minutes away (for they are the only ones who serve breakfast pizza...if you have not had this magical concoction...you should really try it..AMAZING!)

The pizza place happens to be in a small place called Cranfield, MS.  Heather has family from this area, and we have cruised around there before, but decided, "what the heck" let's see what else we can find here today.

Not much seen but horses thus far...

We found our way to Kingston, MS.  I have driven through Kingston before...if you count flying past a sign on Highway 61 between Natchez and St. Francisville.  I did not know that Kingston had once been a bustling little town.  After passing the Community Center, we were following signs for the Kingston Methodist Church.  Little did we know that Kingston Methodist Church was this...

Kingston Methodist Church has been here a minute.  According to documentation inside, it is one of the earliest Methodist churches in the state.  Organized in 1800, it is still in operation today! Upon arriving we were met by tour guides...

                                       

Ok...so they were dogs...but come on...one was in a sweater and better dressed than Heather or myself!.  These sweet fur balls followed us while we wandered the grounds around this lovely church.

On the National Historical Registry, Kingston Methodist Church has recently been rejuvenated to it's former glory. The church was full of information! They had a guest book and photo album of the renovations.  It really was a very beautiful church.

Here is where we learned that the original founders of the Kingston Church were Jersey Settlers.  The Jersey Settlers were buried in the Kingston Plantation Cemetery.  In order to be buried in this cemetery today, you have to have proof that you are a descendant of the original settlers!

I never figured we would actually find the cemetery, I mean, we accidentally found the church! We said goodbye to our four-legged friends tour guides and decided to head on down the road and see what else Kingston had to offer.  We were oogling admiring Hillside Plantation home and it's beautiful view of a fog shrouded valley, when low and behold we found the Kingston Cemetery!

We had barely caught our breath at having stumbled upon the church only to have found out way to the resting place of the Jersey Settlers! We were on a roll.  Yes it was cold and no one was dressed for an adventures outing, but someone one was making sure we stumbled upon amazing things this day!

Some of these stones dated back to the early 1800's.  The original Jersey Settlers were buried right THERE! It was awesome! Every one of the souls buried here can be linked back to the original Kingston founders.  I don't know about you, but I was impressed!

We decided to take the back roads home instead of returning from which we had come.  Sometimes this is a good idea...sometimes you wind up places like this...

I am not sure how much you recall from previous posts, but my partner in crime, cohort, sister-in-law has a small issue with bridges...in their best condition.  She was not amused! Seeing as the map said this would get us home (and yes I did pull up my GPS for this little adventure) we crossed the wooden planked bridge.  Now, I wish I could say this was the scariest part of our day...but we had one more almost wet our pants moment un-nerving mishap.

Hold on to your teeth people...I am going to tell you...picture this...

We are trundling along a rural gravel road.  We pass a somewhat sketchy, elderly man on the side of the road at what appears to be a dumping area and momentarily debate whether he was adding to or taking from the pile.  Not too much further along we pass this car...

Heather told me to back up so she could take the picture...the fact that the car has "smile" spray painted on it amused her.  As I am backing down the gravel road I realize there is yet another car in the grass ahead of us.  After taking her pictures we are headed back up the road with the biggest dog that I never saw...seriously...I caught the blur from the corner of my eye and heard the "WOOF" through Heather's open window, before we all screamed and I hit the gas like we at the race track! There were probably 10 cars spanning the last 50 or so years abandoned on this rural gravel road. We never saw a house or where the dog came from/went to. It really freaked us out.

Needless to say we headed directly home.  Well, if you count the road we were taking was flooded out and we had to find another route that did not require us to revisit the scene from "Nothing But Trouble."

We eventually did make it out, laughing at our crazy day.  From stumbling upon the amazing Kingston Methodist Church to the death defying bridge and points there after...it was all in all a great day!

If you follow us on Instagram or even Twitter then you can keep up with us when we are out and about!

Until next time ~ Rosemary

2015 from Union Church, MS

Happy New Year from Instead of Doing Dishes!

I hope you enjoyed 2014 and are geared up 2015.

The past year saw some great things from Instead of Doing Dishes.  We went on our first Spring Break Extravaganza, visited old favorites, toured homes in both Louisiana and Mississippi, made new friends all over, and learned a LOT!

I feel as if we were so busy in the last few months of 2014 that we neglected Instead of Doing Dishes. My vow is for that to change in 2015!  In other words, our resolution for 2015 is to travel more and share it with you, our faithful readers :)

In order to fulfill our resolution, we took today to roam around! You knew we couldn't stay cooped up to much longer...right?!?

Our goal for today was Union Church, Mississippi, which is located in Jefferson County.  We first ran errands in Meadville, and found ourselves walking back and forth past the Franklin County Museum.  Yes, there is a museum in Franklin County.  The curator was not available but the lovely ladies of the MSU Extension Office next door allowed us to take a look.

               

Lots of great information organized by community.

                                                             




We did learn about these interesting "pipes."

So, these are not actually pipes.  Turns out they are tree limbs that were submerged in water.  Due to the minerals in the area's water supply, over a long period of time, tree limbs become hollow and take on the appearance of metal pipes.  Pretty cool!

It may not take a lot of time to peruse the Franklin County Museum but it is definitely worth the trip.

We then wandered down "Hospital Road" towards Union Church.  We have already covered several churches and stops along this road.

We almost made it out of Franklin County before we found this sign.

(In case you can not read that, the organization date is 1801!)

Cool Springs Methodist Church is a one room church set back at the end of a gravel road.  Situated on a grassy hill, the whole area just whispered peaceful. According the information collected for the "Franklin County Remembers" book, Cool Springs is one of the first organized Methodist churches in Mississippi.  It is thought to have been organized in 1801, but no one knows where the original building was located.  Originally it was part of the Natchez District.  It changed districts many times.  The only records remaining are of quarterly meetings while it was in the Meadville District, in 1869.

Cool Springs Methodist seems to have never had a large congregation and barely scraped by throughout the 1800's.  Records indicate that services may have been suspended for the entire year of 1886.

The building that remains today was built in the 1920's.  It was at that time "modernized." This word means they took out the wood heaters and installed gas, as well as installing asbestos siding. Just think, to "modernize" now would be to add Wi-fi and a sound system.

According the sign on Meadville/Hospital Rd., The church has their Homecoming services once a year.  I assumed regular services had recently been canceled (at least in the last 10 years).  But, a letter written to the Mississippi Methodist Conference by the members of Cool Springs stated that monthly meetings were only bringing in "a congregation of two or three" so they no longer required a preacher. This letter was dated March 14, 1965. That means this lovely spot in rural Franklin County has set empty 364 days out of the year for the past 50 years!

The church building is surrounded by a small, yet well kept, cemetery.  Some beautiful headstones can be found here.  One stood out to us.

Inside this fence is...well...nothing.  No headstone.  The sign on the roof of the structure reads, "Josephine, daughter of Asa & Margaret Watson, mother of Ada R. Sanders & Edward C. Sanders."
That is it. Leaves us wondering and searching for information on "Josephine."

A little further down the road we discovered Perth.  I am pretty sure we were in Jefferson County at this point.  We were riding along following a sign for a church, when Heather glanced out her window and discovered this beauty!

No idea what this house is, other than lovely.  I have been attempting to do some research but have come up empty handed thus far.

From there we got back on track and headed for Union Church. We only got side tracked one more time at the Buie Cemetery off of Meadville Road. This was one of the oldest cemeteries we have ever visited.  My research later showed the Buie's to have been a prominent family in early Union Church.

I drove through Union Church a few weeks ago and recalled an old church building that I wanted to show Heather.  Before we got that far, we swung through the Union Church Cemetery.  To be such a small town, the cemetery is huge!  We decided that we did not have the time today to roam the cemetery, but the Union Church Presbyterian across the street caused us to stop in our tracks.

 

The Union Church Presbyterians organized in 1817, making it the oldest Presbyterian church in the state (if you count that in 1817 Mississippi wasn't even a state yet...).  Once the church was established the "Scotch Settlement" quickly grew up around it, taking the name Union Church.

I then took Heather to the building that I saw on my previous trip.

 

Thanks to some friends on Facebook, we were able to determine that this was the Galatia Baptist Church.  This is one of those buildings which, although old, antiquated, with a little work could be turned into something functional once again.

We had seen what we came to see in Union Church.  We did stumble, well...Heather stumbled and skidded and slid to an old bridge she spotted off of Highway 28.

                                                        

Maybe an older section of Highway 28, but the setting was pretty awesome.

So this was our first trip of the new year!  We found some things we didn't expect, but really enjoyed the day out and about.

Don't forget to follow Insteadofdoingdishes on Instagram  and Insteadofdishes on Twitter for up to the minute pictures when we are on the road.  You never know where we will show up :)

Happy New Year!
Until next time ~ Rosemary