Sunday, April 7 was our last Sunday in Rockport, Texas.
It was time to pack up for our Monday morning departure. After being in one
location for 4 months, it seems we had a lot of “stuff” to do—more so than what
we remembered. We said our final goodbyes to Jim and Connie (from Colorado),
Sue and Larry (from Colorado), and David and Pat (from Wisconsin). We will be
seeing them all again in Rockport, in just 6 short months.
Monday morning the 8th we did the final packing, paid our
final electric bill at the RV park office, and hit the road. Temperatures were
perfect for travelling, about 70 degrees at 10 a.m. when we left. We headed
east, making our way towards Beaumont, Texas for the night. About an hour into
our journey, we decided to pull into a rest area to check to make sure the
motorcycle ties are holding. We discovered that the awning we thought we had so
diligently secured had started to unwind in the wind. Argh!! So…we unloaded the
ladder from the truck and re-secured it with heavy duty zip ties and masking
tape. Thankfully, that fix held and we’ve had no more issues with it!
(Unfortunately, we didn’t remember to take a photo.)
As we drove through Houston, we passed a 5th
wheel with both driver side tires blown on the trailer and down on the rims.
Traffic was heavy, and he was approaching an overpass with no room to pull
over. Our hearts went out to them, and hope their dilemma was handled quickly.
(We continually pray for safety as we travel, and ask that you also pray for us…)
We see lots of interesting or funny things as we
travel, and this trip didn’t disappoint. As we were driving east on I-10, we
saw a large (dinner plate size) turtle attempting to cross the busy 4-lane
highway, with a cement Jersey barrier separating the lanes. Would love to know
what happened—hopefully the turtle made it safely one direction or the other!
246 miles later we arrive in Beaumont, to our “park”
for the night: Cracker Barrel! We had a wonderful dinner there, and
surprisingly, a good night’s sleep. Even with a huge truck stop across the
street, it was reasonably quiet.
Tuesday morning we leave Beaumont, heading to our final
destination, Port Gibson, Mississippi and the Grand Gulf Military Monument Park.
We had decided to use our GPS system “Maggie” (Magellan) rather than rely on
Google directions, but she directed us past our park turnoff and we ended up in
a nerve-wracking situation that required a
lot of maneuvering and backing up (an hour’s worth!) to get us back on
track. Whew!! By 3:30 p.m. we were at the park unhooking, unpacking, and
getting settled for the next 7 days’ stay.
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| Grand Gulf Military Monument Museum and RV Office |
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| Our site at Grand Gulf. |
It is truly spring in this part of the country, with
fields covered in the vibrant yellow of the rapeseed flower, and the vivid hue of the red clover. Wisteria grows in
wild abandon from trees lining the roads, providing the sweet and spicy
fragrance that wafts through the air, making one want to stop and “smell the
roses.”
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| Roses in front of the Claiborne County Court House, Port Gibson, Mississippi. Oh, the fragrance... |
Now for a bit of history.
Grand Gulf Military Monument Park is situated on the
east bank of the Mississippi River, about a third of the way up the state of
Mississippi. Settled by the French in the early 1700s, Grand Gulf seemed
destined to remain a small and unimportant outpost, until the advent of “King
Cotton” in the early 1800s. Because of its location on “Ol’ Miss,” Grand Gulf
became an important major port city from which cotton, produced in the fertile
Mississippi bottomlands, was shipped to northern textile mills. Wealthy
plantation owners even constructed an inland railroad line to facilitate
transporting their cotton to riverboats waiting to travel north. In addition,
many of the riverboats brought touring companies to Grand Gulf whose
performances ranged from classical dramas to contemporary musicals, thus making
the town a major cultural center for the area.
Grand Gulf played a significant role in the history of
the state, most specifically in the Civil War. A one-time boom town and major
river port, with a population of nearly 1,000, it faded into obscurity after
the war, due to an outbreak of yellow fever in 1843, followed by a devastating
tornado in 1853. The fatal blow occurred
between 1855 and 1860 when the currents of the mighty Mississippi ate away the
entire business section of Grand Gulf—55 city blocks. By the start of the Civil
War the population of this once grand town was reduced to a mere 158 people.
The Civil War destroyed what little was left of Grand
Gulf, with the Union armies twice occupying the area, burning the few remaining
buildings to the ground before withdrawing the second time. Even after this
devastation, Grand Gulf refused to die. It played one final role in the outcome
of the war before passing away forever. Anticipating an attack by Union General
Ulysses S. Grant, the Confederate forces under the direction of General John
Pemberton and General J.S Bowen moved their troops to Grand Gulf to fortify
their position. When Grant began his attack on April 29, 1863, the Confederates
were ready. The Union forces suffered heavy losses and retreated to the west
side of the Mississippi river, leaving this victory to the Confederates.
This victory was short-lived, however, as Grant moved
further south, and under the cover of darkness moved his troops and cannons
back across the river at a more southern location at Bruinsburg, where he met
much less Confederate resistance. His ensuing victory at Port Gibson left the
Confederates at Grand Gulf outflanked and hopelessly outnumbered, and in spite
of their earlier victory at Grand Gulf, the Confederate forces were forced to
abandon the town. Grand Gulf had fallen, and the town which had once been such
a center of activity, quietly passed away.
We’re fortunate that this part of history is being
preserved for generations past, present and future. This park was officially
opened in May of 1962, dedicated to preserving the memory of both the town of
Grand Gulf and the battle that occurred here. Listed on the National Register
of History Places, it includes Fort Cobun and Fort Wade (two other local battle
sites), the Grand Gulf cemetery, a museum, campgrounds, picnic areas, hiking
trails, an observation tower, and several restored buildings dating back to
Grand Gulf’s heyday—reminders of days gone by.
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| The Spanish House is still the original structure, dating back to the late 1790s, and one of two original structures on the Park grounds. |
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| These two photos, above and below are interior shots of the museum at Grand Gulf. |
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| The Roman Catholic Church on the Grand Gulf Military Monument Park grounds. |
We have many, many more photos of this area, which we'd be glad to send to you if you're interested.
~~~
Located just 10 miles from Grand Gulf is Port Gibson,
the county seat of Claiborne County, Mississippi. Port Gibson also played an
important role in the Civil War, when General Grant made it his first objective
in his 1863 campaign to capture Vicksburg. As struggle for the Confederate’s control
of the Mississippi River intensified, the value of this town’s location grew
exhibiting all the features of a major amphibious operation. It’s reported that
General Grant spared destroying Port Gibson saying, “it was too beautiful to
burn.” Grand homes date back to the early 1800s along with several churches
that line its main street. Giant oak, magnolia and pecan trees line its
streets. Numerous historical markers help trace the actual path of General
Grant’s march from his landing at Bruinsburg to Port Gibson.
Wednesday we paid a visit to the town of Port Gibson to
pick up a few groceries, and visit the local library to do some “computin’,” as
Grand Gulf RV Park has no cell service or WiFi. (It does, however, have decent
TV reception…)
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| Claiborne County Court House, Port Gibson, Mississippi. |
It soon became apparent that, as we visited these local
establishments, us “white folks” were greatly outnumbered. As we walked around
the town we discovered why.
In 1966 the local chapter
of the NAACP imposed an economic boycott on the majority of white-owned
businesses in Claiborne County (Port Gibson), demanding “change in the
treatment of African-American citizens, including employment opportunities, and
full enfranchisement of citizens.” This boycott continued off and on over the
next 11 years, causing most of the white-owned business to fail or close, thus
causing most of the whites to move to other more receptive communities. (We can
count on one hand the number of non-black folks we’ve seen since we’ve been
here.) In 1969, 17 of the boycotted merchants sued, among others, the national
NAACP to recover business losses and “to enjoin further boycott activity.” The
suit was upheld by the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1980, awarding $1.25
Million in damages, plus interest, to the 12 merchants bringing suit. In 1982
the State’s rulings were appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, who overturned the
ruling, stating the boycott “clearly involved constitutional involved
activity,” through which the NAACP and other defendants “clearly sought to
bring about political, social and economic change.” This boycott and ruling played an important
role in the Civil Rights movement.
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| A mural in downtown Port Gibson portraying the Civil Rights marchers and the boycott of white-owned businesses. |
Thursday the rains came—and came—and came…for a total
of over 4”. It began to rain at 4 a.m., and by 1 p.m. it was all over. We made
use of the inside time to thoroughly clean the inside of our trailer. After the
4 months of dusty Texas, it really needed it. We vacuumed, we scrubbed and we
dusted. It’s nice to be able to set something down without encountering a gritty
surface.
Friday we decided to ride the motorcycle on the south
end of the Natchez Trace, a major north-south trail from Mississippi to
Tennessee. The “trace” began as a key route for the Natchez, Chickasaw, and
Choctaw Indians as they followed their traditional ways of life; used by the
French and Spanish people venturing into a world new to them; and by people
building a new nation. Ohio River farmers, called Kaintucks, shipped their
crops and products down the Mississippi to Natchez or New Orleans on flatboats,
ultimately selling their flatboats for lumber when they arrived because they
couldn’t float them back upriver. This meant they rode horses if possible or
walked home, to begin this cycle all over again. The 450-mile-plus foot trail
from Natchez was the most direct route. Over the years hundreds of travelers
tramped the crude trail into a clearly marked path, and by 1810 it had become
an important wilderness road. As the trail was improving, other “comforts” were
being developed. Many inns, called stands, were built providing basic food and
shelter to the travelers. By 1820 over 20 stands were in operation along the
trace.
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| Mt. Locust, one of the oldest inns, or stands, on the Natchez Trace. |
Mount Locust is one of the oldest inns, or stands, on
the Natchez Trace. It was started in 1780 as a farm by a gentleman who
forfeited his fortune when he was jailed after leading a failed rebellion
against the Spanish. His former business partner, William Ferguson and wife
Paulina, purchased Mt. Locust in 1784 and operated the farm until William’s
death in 1801. A short time later Paulina married James Chamberlain, an
overseer at Mt. Locust, and together they built up the farm. With the growing
number of travelers on the trace, the Fergusons made the decision to turn their
home into a “stand,” offering a meal of corn mush and milk with sleeping
arrangements on the porches and grounds—all for 25 cents. As their business
prospered, a four-room, two-story annex was built behind the house to
accommodate the travelers in a more comfortable way. Mt. Locust was run as an
inn until the mid-1820s when the steamboat and other roads all but brought an
end to the Natchez Trace. Following James’ death sometime after 1810, Pauline
continued to run the farm that had become a thriving cotton plantation, during
which she raised 11 children by her two husbands. After her death in 1849 at
the age of 80, the Civil War brought an end to the plantation system and Mt.
Locust began a slow decline. Mt. Locust had been home to five generations of
Chamberlains, with the last leaving in 1944. The National Park Service began
restoration in 1954, returning the historic home to its 1820 appearance.
Also on Friday we visited the Windsor Ruins, one of the
great ante-bellum mansions of the 1800s. This three-story mansion was built by
Smith Coffee Daniell, II, the son of an Indian fighter turned farmer and
landowner. He married his cousin Catherine in 1849; they had three children
together. The mansion was begun in 1859 and completed in 1861, but
unfortunately Mr. Daniell lived only a few short weeks after it was completed,
dying at the age of 34.
Basic construction of the home was done by slave labor;
bricks for the 45’ columns were made across the road from the house. These
columns were then covered with mortar and plaster, and supported the roof line
thus providing protection for the galleries which encompassed the house at the
second and third levels. Skilled carpenters were brought from New England for
the finished woodwork; the iron stairs, column capitals and balustrades were
manufactured in St. Louis and shipped down the Mississippi River to the Port of
Bruinsberg several miles west of Windsor. The total cost of the mansion was
$175,000.
During the Civil War Windsor was used as an observation
post by the Confederates, and served as a Union hospital after the Battle of
Port Gibson in 1863.
On February 1890, fire broke out on the third floor
after a house guest accidentally dropped a cigarette in debris left by
carpenters making repairs there. Everything was destroyed except a few pieces
of china and 23 of the columns, balustrades and iron stairs. One flight of
stairs and several sections of the balustrades are now installed at the chapel
of nearby Alcorn State University. The Windsor property, entered in the
National Registry of History Places in 1971, is administered by the Department
of Archives and History’s Division of Historic Sites and Archaeology.
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| These columns are all that is left on the site of the Windsor mansion. |
~~~
Saturday we decided to really explore Grand Gulf
Military Park. We toured the numerous buildings on the property, climbed the
observation tower, and wandered through the Grand Gulf Cemetery where hundreds
of grave markers indicate where several soldiers as well as entire families are
laid to rest. Many graves mark the final resting place of infants and children,
who died from the devastating yellow fever in 1843.
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| The grave markers of one gentleman's 2 consorts and a daughter. |
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| The grave markers of 3 small children who died of yellow fever. |
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| A family plot. |
While on our trek, we met this couple from Alabama who
were taking advantage of the weather to see investigate the park. She had had a
stroke a few years ago, and he had a bum knee—so they made use of her scooter
and wheelchair to travel the park roads. Cute.
We rode down a ½-mile stretch of road, to the
Mississippi River, to take photos of the flood marker that indicates the river
levels during noted floods in the area. During the most recent flood, in 2011,
water rose to a record high of 57’1”. The park’s museum floor was flooded by
14” of water, so everything had to be moved to other locations until the
building was restored months later.
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| Note the water mark at 57'1". |
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| Dick is standing below this same marker; 57'1"is at the top. That's alot of water! |
Among the museum displays are muskets and cannon balls,
Union and Confederate uniforms, a frame for the hoop skirt so popular then and
other ladies’ clothing, as well as hundreds of arrowheads and other artifacts
either found in this area or donated by families and foundations whose roots
are here. Home “conveniences” are also on display, including the original
washing machines used in most of the households.
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| The washing machine; just one of the conveniences found in the homes of Grand Gulf in the 1800s. |
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| Notice the hoop skirt frame on the right. SO glad we don't wear these now! |
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| A hand-made ladies' lace fingerless glove. |
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| Muskets and cannon balls used in the Civil War, and on display at the museum. |
On one of our rides we found this old and weathered
church that has withstood the many floods that have devastated this area. If
walls could talk…
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| An old church at Grand Gulf that has endured through countless floods and a tornado. If only walls could talk... |
Later we rode the motorcycle into Port Gibson to take
photos of just some of the many large homes and churches in the town. It seems
that almost every building in town has some historical significance.  |
| Planter's Hotel |
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| Port Gibson City Hall |
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| Schillig Hotel (Isabella Bed and Breakfast) |
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| Person Home |
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| Disharoon Home |
We hope you are well, and will continue to follow us as
we slowly travel north.
Hugs,
RJ and Gail
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