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Archive for the ‘Riverport Ambassadors’ Category

Living History at the Old Oakwood Cemetary in Jefferson,Texas

February 28th, 2011 by carriagehouse

On April 2, 2011, the Riverport Ambassadors, a group dedicated to promoting tourism and interpreting the  history of Jefferson, Texas, will be conducting a narrated dramatic tour of Old Oakwood Cemetery, one of Texas’ and Southeast U.S.A.’s most interesting final resting places.   At five gravesites, actors in period costume will dramatize biographies and events that made the lives of those buried within both significant and interesting.  This dramatization will be in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club’s ownership of the historic Excelsior Hotel.

 

Tours begin April 2, 2011 between 5:30 and 6:15pm

at the main entrance of the Old Oakwood Cemetery.

 

Five vignettes will be featured: 

  • Diamond Bessie (1854 – 1877) immortalized by the drama that has been viewed to sellout audiences for over fifty years, The Diamond Bessie Murder Trial.  Diamond Bessie, a New York manufacturer’s daughter turned prostitute, was murdered in Jefferson at age 23.
  •  German immigrants Kate Woods and daughter Amelia arrived in Jefferson in 1877 and purchased the Excelsior Hotel. 
  •  Bad guys Jesse Robinson and Bill Rose killed each other in a gun fight in 1871, and are buried handcuffed together in the same grave. 
  •  Jessie Allen Wise, historic Jefferson icon, for whom the Excelsior Hotel’s owner, the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club, is named. She will be immortalized by her granddaughter–civic leader and historian Mary  Margaret (Wise) Harvey.
  •  Confederate Captain Joseph H. Pratt, who commanded the 10th Texas Field Battery that supported Colonel William Henry Parsons under the flag of Parson’s Brigade during the War Between the States.  This distinguished battery fought gallantly throughout the South during the Civil War.

 

Donations to the Old Oakwood Cemetery to support restoration will be gratefully accepted. Cash or checks payable to Old Oakwood Cemetery Association.

 

Reserve your space for the April 2, 2011 tour at http://www.riverportambassadors.com/.  Tickets are also available at the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast by calling 903-665-9511

Riverport Ambassadors

August 3rd, 2010 by carriagehouse

This past July 4th weekend, the City of Jefferson introduced the Riverport Ambassadors program. What are the Riverport Ambassadors you ask? The Riverport Ambassadors are “persons in character.”

The Riverport Ambassadors wander up and down the streets of the Historic Riverfront District and introduce our visitors to what life was like back in 19th century Jefferson. You can see Civil War heroes, scalawags, railroad tycoons, clerks, church ladies, steam boat captains or other wonderful characters.

The Riverport Ambassador Program were created to enhance the “Riverport Experience” of Jefferson, Texas. They do so by having fun and dressing in period costume. All Riverport Ambassadors try to interact one-on-one with our guests and visitors. The mission of the Riverport Ambassadors is to promote tourism, support businesses and interpret the history of Jefferson.

The Riverport Ambassadors were so successful July 4th that they will be out every weekend starting the first weekend of September and continuing on until May. There is no better way for you or your children to learn about the wonderful riverport history of Jefferson then through the recreation of that history by the Riverport Ambassadors.

For more information, please contact us here at the Carriage House at 903-665-9511

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