Courtesy Diamond Bessie Murder Trial

Courtesy Diamond Bessie Murder Trial

Started 68 years ago as a tour of historic homes, the Jefferson Pilgrimage has expanded over the years into a weekend of activities harkening to the town’s 19th-Century heyday as a Northeast Texas inland river port. Events taking place April 30-May 3 include five presentations of the Diamond Bessie Murder Trial at the Jefferson Playhouse; tours of four homes built between 1851 and 1893; a parade; reenactments of Civil War land and naval battles—including a locomotive chase and a gunboat on Big Cypress Bayou; living history encampments; twilight garden strolls; and a craft fair and sale. jefferson-texas.com/events or jeffersonpilgrimage.com.

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