Have you ever wanted to hear Diamond Bessie tell her own version of what happened to her when she was murdered? Ever been curious as to what those last few minutes were like on the Mittie Stephens as it caught fire and sank in Caddo Lake. This Saturday, April 20 from 5pm to 7pm, come on down to Oakwood Cemetery and watch four vignettes from some of this historic graveyard’s most famous residents. A donation of $10 per person is being requested and the tour should take an hour.
Posts Tagged ‘Civil War’
Trammel’s Trace Rendezvous Bringing History to Life
September 15th, 2011 by carriagehouse
Trammel’s Trace Rendezvous Brings History to Life
Are you a pre-1840’s re-enactor, period crafter or entertainer? Or a spectator or school group that wants to have some fun? Then come to the 4thAnnual Trammel’s Trace Rendezvous and American Indian Heritage Celebration at the Cypress Bayou RV Park, 1602 Highway 49 East, Jefferson, Texas. The event will take place November 11 and 12, 2011, with set-up beginning on November 8. Admission is $5 per person, per day and includes primitive camping. Children 5 and under are free. Living History Participants and Period Crafters will receive free entry for the weekend. Special pricing will be offered to school groups.
Mountain Men, Trappers and Indians get together on the bank of the Big Cypress Bayou to swap goods, tell stories and celebrate survival of another season. There will be a drawing on Friday morning for a bow or black power deer hunt on the property as well as a drawing for an opportunity to trap a beaver in the beaver pond. Hunters must have a valid hunting license. The drawings will be limited to participating living history re-enactors or period crafters.
The Rendezvous is a learning and teaching experience and is open to the public. It is an authentic pre-1840’s living history camp with demonstrations, competitions, children’s games, primitive black powder shooting matches, and tomahawk & knife throwing. Period crafters & artisans, buckskinners, Indians and Texas History Re-enactors and spectators – all are welcome.
The Rendezvous will feature a Day of Learning on Friday for school, church and youth groups, which will include a structured tour of Living History Demonstrations. For group pricing, visit www.TrammelsTrace.com.
Be sure to board the Historic Jefferson Railway’s narrated steam train to hear the history of Jefferson, Trammel’s Trace and the Caddo Indians as their tale unfolds along the Big Cypress Bayou for a five-mile, 35-minute round trip that will depart from the RV Park. Along the way, passengers view one of the few remaining Confederate powder magazines from the civil war era, the first artificial gas plant site in the state, as well as other historic sites.
The Jefferson Historical Society & Museum will be participating in Friday’s Day of Learning with school group pricing. Inside you can find examples of porcelains, potteries, paintings, early Jefferson home furnishings, and other collectibles. Be sure to visit their Caddo Room where you will learn about the people that inhabited this land before the Europeans arrived. In fact, nearby Caddo Lake is named after these peaceful tribes, who actually tie their own history back to that of the lakes.
For more information, visit www.trammelstrace.com, call 866-398-2038 or send an email to Info@JeffersonRailway.com. Also, visitwww.jeffersonmuseum.com or call 903-665-2775 or email jeffersonmuseum@yahoo.com
Texas Monthly About the Port Of Jefferson Civil War Re-Enactment
July 21st, 2011 by carriagehouse
If you have a few minutes today, you should definitely take time to read the wonderful article in this month’s Texas Monthly about my town of Jefferson Texas. The photographer and writer were here for our annual Battle Of Port Jefferson Civil War Re-Enactment that takes place the first weekend in May every year. They did a wonderful job of portraying our annual event.
The Skirmish Will Be Followed by a Ladies’ Tea
Our Pilgrimage Weekend and Battle Of Port Jefferson Civil War Re-Enactment are splendid affairs that have people showing up in period dress, fighting skirmishes and battles on our brick lined streets, touring our amazing antebellum homes and attending our grand balls. If you have not been here for this weekend, then you should put it on your bucket list. It is a must do and must see. I will even serve breakfast for you in my Civil War gown.
The Battle of Port Jefferson
April 12th, 2011 by carriagehouse
Today is the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
East Texans were a 1000 miles away from the first canon fire at Ft Sumter, and at that exact moment, they were all more concerned with their cotton farms and timber trade. Here in Jefferson, we were a bustling and busy riverport full of the promise of a bright and profitable future. As our high school teachers taught us all, the Act of the Northern Aggression (as it is referred to this side of the Mason Dixon Line) was a war that forever changed the South. The War Between States didn’t quite make it here to East Texas and to Jefferson. It ended in a bloody battle in Mansfield Louisiana but the repercussions are still felt here today. In fact for those of us that live in the South, the spectre and the remnants of the Civil War are all around us with grave markers still adorned with flowers and old confederate powder magazines along busy boat tour routes . It often feels like a not so distant memory…almost as if it is something that we discuss when friends gather around. In fact, we Southerners feel compelled to re-enact it year after year after year (almost as if we are expecting the outcome to change). Here in Jefferson, we host the Battle of Port Jefferson the first weekend of May each year.
In Jefferson, we try and imagine that it is 1864 all over again. What would have happened had the war not stopped downstream from us? What would have happened at the Battle of Port Jefferson? We know that the Union Army wanted to take what it considered a very strategic port, the Port of Jefferson. What would that battle have looked like and what would have happened to Jefferson?
If you are looking for something to do May 6th through the 8th, then come on down. The largest Civil War re-enactment in Texas will be right here that weekend.
I have to tell the story of last year, because as you know it is never a dull moment here at the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast. Tom and I were still serving breakfast when the Civil War broke out in front of our house…seriously, the Civil War. I was pouring a cup of coffee when a canon was fired and a brigade of soldiers on horseback came clomping and racing up the street. It startled me so badly that I almost dropped the carafe of coffee in one of our gentleman’s lap. Now you have to admit, you have never stayed at a B&B were breakfast was interrupted by the Civil War before, now have you. So Tom and I did what any sensible innkeeper would do. We told everyone to grab up their cups of coffee and head out to the porch where we watched the skirmish from the comfort of rocking chairs and porch swings. It was breakfast and a show. This year, we are going to be smart about it and serve breakfast a little earlier, so everyone will have time to find a place to watch the battles and skirmishes. You have to admit though, that makes a pretty good rookie innkeeper story.