Reflections and Memories of the Past

A few weeks ago I took a road trip to visit a friend, but it also included going back to where both sides of my family came from in North Central Louisiana.

Outside the village where my friend lives, I saw an amazing home that I had not seen since I was a very small child.

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This is what the house looked like back all those years ago.  Let me give you some history on this old place.

The Queen Anne Victorian style home was built in 1900 on eight acres outside the town of Farmerville, and was in its hey day a magnificent residence in the Piney Woods of Union Parish in North Louisiana. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

One of the original owner's daughters was the last to live in the home.  She allowed the area to grow up until only the turret was visible from the road.  I remember this process and was so disappointed when I could no longer see the house on our occasional trips up there.

When she died in the late 1970's, the house was left to completely deteriorate.  It was hidden and in total disrepair until the current owners found it in 2010 and saw the vision of this incredible place.

The Edgewood Plantation Bed & Breakfast.

It does not look like the same place.  It is now a Bed & Breakfast and event center.

The front porch and gorgeous staircase entry makes such a southern statement.  I love that they kept all the Victorian details in the renovation.

There is the rumor that there are paranormal happenings in the house, but since I didn't go inside I cannot verify that.

If you happen to be in North Louisiana and need an historic place to spend the night or get married, you will definitely want to consider the Edgewood Plantation.

Further down the road going east is the small stop-in-the-road known as Shiloh. 

All there is now, is the church on the same spot as the original built back ages ago.  It is now a brick building but in the exact place as the one my grandparents attended and my father preached in.

Beside the church is this ancient cemetery founded in 1849. The lower case "h's" in the spelling has always fascinated me and is still the first thing I notice.

My dad's parents and grandparents are buried here, and I'm sure there are earlier generations as well.  The headstones are so old and aged that it is impossible to read the names.

Marking the four corners of my grandparent's graves is this "L" granite stone.

My dad's dad died when I was five and unfortunately I have no actual memories with him.  I know he was a gently man who loved his family and animals immensely.

My grandmother lived with my uncle and his family but would visit us a couple times a year.  We loved her but were not as close to her as we had been to our maternal grandmother.  She died the year before my first child was born.

I did find the headstones of my great great grandfather, Tillman Porter and his sister.

I have been doing some research on Ancestry.com and finding these headstones was so exciting.  There are other ancestors buried here, but the headstones are too old to read.

I then went further down the road to the neighboring village where my mother and her ancestors lived, Dubach.

The Hamilton Cemetery is where the Colvin side of my family is buried.

My mother's dad died when she was only seven years old and the youngest of ten children.  I love what is written on his headstone, "He was beloved by God and man."  From everything I have found and heard about him, he truly was.

My grandmother lived with us until her death when I was nine, in 1954.

I can personally testify that my Mama truly built a monument of love in the hearts of all who knew her.  She certainly did in mine.  She was the most gentle, strong, quiet, sweet, and loving person.  She was an amazing godly lady.

I have so enjoyed going back through old newspapers and finding fascinating information on my ancestors.  What a legacy they passed on.

This was such an enjoyable road trip that encompassed a friend in the present, and memories and reflections from the past.