Gary Cathey, Chairman of the APHN’s Fall Tour of Homes and an APHN Board members, spoke to the Walter P Ledet Coffee Club at its meeting Aug. 21.

The APHN was formed in 1941 and this year it’s celebrating 75 years of history. Its original name, which not many people know, was the Old House Committee. Last year the Fall Tour of Homes Committee reinvigorated the tour by centering it around the works of the well known folk artist from Melrose Plantation, Clementine Hunter. Her paintings were on display at every property on the tour, making it the largest exhibition of her work to ever be shown.

This year the 63rd annual Fall Pilgrimage has a unique twist to it. Titled “Natchitoches Underground” the tour will feature cellars and tunnels of the Natchitoches National Historic District. Dates will be Oct. 13-15 for the following homes:

Candlelight Tour (Oct. 13 from 6-9 pm)
H.A. Cook Condo
Kaffie-Frederick General Merchantile
The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

Town Tour (Oct. 14 from 9 am – 4 pm):
Lemee House
Creole Cottage
Steel Magnolia House
Laureate House
Soldini House Cellar
LA Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest LA History Museum

Cane River Country Tour (Oct. 14 and 15 from 9 am – 4 pm)
John Carroll Jones House
Jones-Roque House
Cherokee Plantation
Oakland Plantation
Melrose Plantation
St. Augustine Church

New to the tour is a speaker series Oct. 14 at the Lemee House will the following guests:

Dr. Cathy Seymour- Secrets of an American Cemetery from 10-10:30 am
Frank F. Douglas, FAIA- Natchitoches Underground Architecture from 11-11:30 am
Dr. Pete Gregory- Caddo Indian Village Archaeology from 12-12:30 pm
James Hearron- If Cellar Walls Could Talk from 1-1:30 pm
Dr. Susan Dollar- The Underground Railroad in Natchitoches from 2-2:30 pm
Henry Maggio- Natchitoches Artifacts: A Show and Tell from 3-3:30 pm