We got an early start after calling the lock which was about 4 miles downstream. He said we could come on if we felt comfortable in the fog, “its pretty thick here”. There was no wind so the fog was thick in patches but we eased down to the lock, could not have moved without AIS and Radar.

The fog cleared pretty early and we stopped at the Waverly Mansion. There is an anchorage near a public dock so we dropped the hook and went sightseeing. There were no signs or maps at the dock so we were looking it on our iPad when Dave  and Nan Ellen from “Tip Sie Waci III” drove up. They had the courtesy car from the Columbus Marina. They gave us a ride, the mansion was only about a half mile away. We were blessed as Dave and Nan Ellen had just decided to check out the boat ramp before doing the tour. Blessings seem common at the Waverly Mansion.

The Survival and Restoration of Waverly Mansion is quite a Blessing. Our Guide told us the story about Colonel
George Hampton Young  building the Mansion in 1852 as the Plantation prospered. All of his sons were in the confederate army, the home was never occupied during the war and the Colonel  was able to make the transition from Slavery to share cropping.

Ultimately two of his son lived in the house but never had children. None of grandchildren wanted to live there so for more than 50 years it was vacant.  It is amazing that the place had such little vandalism. The four story building is open from the first floor to the copula. All the stairways are free standing. Most of the chandeliers are original as are several of the giant mirrors. This place had became a high school and college retreat while it is vacant. The original drapes in one parlor were all but gone, swatches had been removed as souvenirs. When Robert and Donna Snow researched replacing the drapes they would have cost 10,000 per window. Had the rest of the Mansion been vandalized it would not have been restored.

The story goes that Robert Snow , an antique dealer, heard about the house and drove 90 miles with his wife to visit it. The porches were rotted out, vines were growing from the roof and the door was open. They went in and decided to buy it. It took 8 months to get an agreement with the 12 decedents.

Truly a labor of love. Mr Snow lives in the house with a family member, they sit in a more modern part of the home while tours are conducted. They prepare the house for tours every morning 7 days a week. Most of the 26 years of restoration work was done by the Snow  family.

After Dave and Nan Ellen dropped us of we got back to the boat and headed south again. We were joined in the lock by “Monarch”. We talked to them as we cruised and were invited over for docktails after we anchored. It was great to get to know Marty and Jerry. They have been fulltime cruising for several years and are Gold Loopers. They will complete their third loop on the way to Marathon, their winter harbor. , becoming Platinum Loopers. We made plans to anchor with them tomorrow just above Demopolis at Rattle Snake Bend.

We did not vist the Steam Boat musem but it looked beatiful from the water.