From Azaleas to Zydeco: My 4,600-Mile Journey through the South

McDonald’s Comes to St. Francisville

McDonald’s Comes to St. Francisville Louisiana was the eighth state on the Journey. They call things by different names here. The local governmental unit known as a county in the other forty-nine states is a parish in Louisiana. Most people say it’s the French-Canadian influence. Except that the French-Canadians, known as Cajuns, settled the land on the west side of the Mississippi River, and this was still on the east side of the river. The parishes east of the river—the “Florida Parishes”—have a different history. The Florida Parishes began as part of West Florida, which was owned up until 1763 by the French, who later gave it to the British. The Brits owned West Florida for twenty years, until the end of the American Revolution, when they gave it to Spain. Most of that time, these lands were wild and unknown. The Spanish government decided to develop West Florida by offering Americans generous land grants if they would take up residence. Tories looking for a fresh start after the American Revolution and leaders of the failed Whiskey Rebellion took the Spaniards up on their offer. Americans of English descent settled on West Feliciana’s best land nearer the Mississippi River. The Scotch and Irish Americans from Tennessee, Kentucky, North Georgia, and North Alabama settled the less productive land of East Feliciana later. These immigration patterns created distinctions still evident today. West Feliciana has more Episcopalians and Tidewater-style plantation houses, while East Feliciana Parish has court258 house squares and is largely Baptist. While these cultural distinctions have blurred in the past two centuries, you’ll still find a lot more rednecks in East Feliciana Parish than in West Feliciana Parish even today. Spain owned the area until 1810 when, after the Battle of Baton Rouge, self-rule took the form of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. After running the Spanish out, the Republic of West Florida, including southern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and that part of Louisiana east of the Mississippi River, existed for about ninety days. The freedom fighters passed a constitution patterned after the United States Constitution, and named St. Francisville the capital of this short-lived republic. Its only chief executive officer was Fulwar Skipwith, a Virginia Cavalier instrumental in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase, who then moved to the area a few years afterward. Fulwar Skipwith, possessor of one of the all-time-great names for a politician, was a distant cousin of Thomas Jefferson. St. Francisville, the parish seat of West Feliciana Parish, is a quiet little town of 1,500 people. Located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and just a few miles from Highway 61, St. Francisville is thought by some to be the oldest town in the Florida Parishes. (Highway 61 is the same highway I traveled through the Mississippi Delta, where it is known as the “Blues Highway.”) Forty years ago, it looked as if St. Francisville was doomed. With Baton Rouge some thirty miles away, St. Francisville was a tiny backwoods Louisiana town off the main highway in the middle of nowhere. But St. Francisville hung on economically with money from tourists attracted to the large live oaks, Spanish moss, and lovely plantation homes. In the intervening decades things have changed. The city of Baton Rouge has sprawled, eventually reaching the southern part of West Feliciana Parish. As growth crept closer, more houses were built and more people came. If you build enough houses anywhere in America, a McDonald’s soon follows. It’s a sign of progress. A few years ago, the golden arches came to St. Francisville—though not to downtown St. Francisville. The downtown isn’t on the highway. McDonald’s, all about the traffic count, is located just outside of St. Francisville on Highway 61. Residents talk about when McDonald’s came. It was a huge status deal having their own McDonald’s and not having to drive to Baton 259 Rouge for a Big Mac. A new McDonald’s was only the beginning. More people came—hungry people who wanted their food and wanted it fast. Other fast food providers arrived: Church’s Chicken, Sonic, and Subway. So many high-calorie choices, so little time. Once the restaurants arrived, roads had to be widened. Highway 61 is now five lanes, with convenience stores and franchised fast food restaurants. The U.S. 61 right-of...