What a fascinating site this is! Please include it, should you drive the Natchez Trace Parkway! (We’d received several recommendations from other travelers.) Photos are included of the gift shop, the cafe, and historical buildings on the grounds.
The gift shop:
A quote from “Guide to the Natchez Trace” (F. Lynn Bachleda):
“Louis LeFleur established a stand here in 1812 [note: “stands” were inns for travelers on the Trace.]. French Camp Academy, a school catering to the needs of young people who come from broken homes, traces its origins to the school founded here in 1822. Officially chartered in 1885 and once a project of the Presbyterian church, the school since 1950 has been interdenominational, free of ecclesiastical control. today it supports about 200 boarders and 85 students from the surrounding area. All students are encouraged to pay tuition, room and board, but no student is turned away if they cannot do so. French Camp Academy’s Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium, not open to Trace travelers, is the largest in the state, with 20 telescopes and other equipment. Sorghum made here in the fall sells quickly to the public.
French Camp has bed-and-breakfast lodging and is a wonderful place to stop for lunch.”
Here’s the menu:
The cafe is attached by covered walkway to the back of the gift shop building (the latter is to the left in this photo). You can see the porch, so pleasant for dining outside.
A further quote from the same source above: “The Council House Cafe, a ministry of French Camp Academy, is a wonderful place to stop for healthy portions of sandwiches, soups, and broccoli salad. All sandwiches are made with fresh homemade bread, and there’s fresh Mississippi mud cake and bread pudding for dessert. You can eat inside a log cabin or sit on the porch.”
We can attest to the delicious lunches! Our sandwiches were really good; the homemade bread was exceptional (fresh loaves are available for purchase in another building). The broccoli salad is wonderful! We didn’t dare tackle a dessert but, judging from everything else, one couldn’t help but be spectacular! Students from the Academy are the servers and help prepare the food.
After lunch, we toured the grounds and have provided photos of the historical buildings. This was very enjoyable and the buildings are well-maintained.
The John Dare House:
Please note the semi-enclosed “dog trot” running through the center of the ground floor. It’s a feature typical of historical homes in the Southeast. This walk-through allows for good air circulation in warm weather, a sheltered place to sit in hot or wet weather, and is named because the family dogs can just “trot” through. This example is interesting because it can be opened up in warm weather or closed off in cold temperatures. On either side of the “dog trot”, there are doorways into the main house, as well as doorways onto the front porch.
Here are 2 closer looks into the “dog trot” portion, one from each direction:
There is an intriguing display of outbuildings typical of the era of French Camp’s heyday. Click on the link below to view several more pictures:
We really enjoyed French Camp. It proved to be our day’s perfect rest stop and a great learning experience.
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