Perhaps.
But I was not aware that visiting them necessarily implies an approval of everything associated with them. If you use that standard, you should not visit Rome on the grounds that Christians were once thrown to the lions in the Coliseum. Or, even worse, sometimes lions themselves were killed by gladiators. And you may have heard that some of the emperors were not very nice people. Furthermore, Greece, the cradle of democratic government, should not be visited because the ancient Greeks failed to allow women and non-citizens to vote. And slaves comprised a huge percentage of the population there as in most other ancient civilizations. Stay away from the Taj Mahal because Indians (you know, Asian Indians, the only real Indians ) once enforced a caste system in which all men were definitely not created equal. No visit to the Great Wall because Chinese women used to be inhumanely crippled by having their feet bound. For that matter, you should not cross the line into Michigan because Michiganders are, well, because they are just not good enough to be Buckeyes.
It seems to me that one of the major benefits of travel is that it exposes us to a variety of different ways of looking at things. None of which we are absolutely required to agree with. At least not yet. Vicki is sometimes inclined to think that disagreement with her on virtually any topic constitutes racism. Even so, she is still willing to drink our wine. And invite us for dinner. Fortunately, she is also willing to set aside abstract theory when it conflicts with her affection for actual people. Which may be the best we should expect from anyone.
Shirley and I have toured any number of historic homes. Some you might recognize because of their association with historic figures: Washington's Mount Vernon, Jefferson's Monticello, Madison's Montpelier, Monroe's Highland or even the Rutherford B. Hays home at Spiegel Grove in Fremont. We think you might enjoy visiting restored homes and public buildings in Colonial Williamsburg, Charleston and Savannah, Scottie's Castle in Death Valley, Buffalo Bill's Victorian mansion in Ogalala, NE, or the estates built by Thomas Edison and Henry Ford in Fort Meyers, FL. Quite a few of the homes we have visited were simple pioneer cabins in Shenandoah, the Blue Ridge, and the Smoky Mountains. Lincoln's Birthplace doesn't count because the "cabin he was born in" is not really the cabin he was born in. (With that said, you should go anyway next time you are headed south of Louisville.) All these places have contributed to our better understanding of how people once lived and how clever they had to be merely to survive without technologies we take for granted. How, for example, do you keep dairy products from spoiling or meat from rotting without electricity?
But all this discussion of historic connections may get in the way of the purely aesthetic pleasures associated with admiration of architectural design and craftsmanship. If you have toured homes during the Old West End Festival, you were probably much more impressed by the fundamental beauty than by the history. You probably don't know and don't care about the social and/or political attitudes of the original owners or even the current owners. If you are at all like Shirley and me, you just find the experience fascinating.
So, here are some photos of impressive homes between New Orleans, LA and Vicksburg, MS--but in no particular order.
Technically, this does not belong because it is not along the Mississippi River but Mobile Bay. It is Beauvoir, home of Jefferson Davis, thrown in just to annoy Vicki.
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