This wonderful, silent color home movie film shows an epic trip made in the late 1930s or early 1940s from Washington, D.C. across the South through Virginia and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park into Florida, and then a plane ride to Havana, Cuba. It was titled simply “Down in Dixie” on the canister. The film has many noteworthy segments, including rare shots of African Americans working in cotton fields at around the 34 minute mark.

Opening titles:Washington: The Capitol City (:07). Train on tracks, cars on a highway, bridge over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (:15). Lincoln Memorial, White House (:50). U.S. Capitol building (1:05). Lincoln Memorial (1:49). Washington Monument (2:12). Lincoln Memorial (3:00). Jefferson Memorial (3:17). Memorial Continental Hall(4:22). The White House (5:29). U.S. Capitol building as the sun sets (6:36). Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (7:12). USS Maine Memorial (7:45). Arlington National Cemetery (8:13). Mount Vernon in Virginia, the former plantation of George Washington, the first President of the United States (8:19). People walk around the grounds of Mount Vernon (9:58). A close look at the home’s tower shows the building is being restored. 48-star USA flag (11:01). Horse and buggy (11:36). Jamestown, Virginia. Nearby, recreations of a 1610s fort and a Powhatan Indian village (12:03). Yorktown, VA, Fusiliers’ Redoubt sign and cannons, buildings (13:02). Cars drive streets of Yorktown, VA, shops on the main street (15:13) including a barber and a “telephone office”. Colonial Williamsburg, a historic district and living-history museum where actors in period costume depict daily Colonial life in the streets, stores and workshops (17:26). Williamsburg Inn (19:03). Bruton Parish Church, located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Episcopal parish (19:39). Actors in Williamsburg, VA (20:16). Public gaol (22:08). Governor’s Palace & Gardens (22:53). Great Smoky Mountain National Park sign, inside the park. The Park straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. Streams, rivers and waterfalls appear along hiking routes that include a segment of the Appalachian Trail (26:26). Fall foliage (27:48). Bears roam inside the park (29:00). Sign for Clingmans Dome, the highest peak, which offers scenic views of the mist-covered mountains (30:05). Running stream (31:57). Lake with foliage (33:56). Sharecroppers or African-American workers in the cotton field (34:19) and at (35:42) a primitive shack. Scenic overlook (36:05). Boats in a harbor (36:25). Tall trees (38:26), maple syrup harvesting (39:00). 5-10-25 cent store (40:01). Tall cathedral (40:45). Oranges on the tree (42:40). Palm trees (42:52). St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos stockade and fort (44:20). Woman tourist approaches door and opens it to Oldest House under four flags aka The González–Alvarez House, which is a historic house museum at 14 St. Francis Street in St. Augustine, Florida (46:06). Marine Studios entrance, The “World’s First Oceanarium,” Marineland opened in 1938 as “Marine Studios” (46:57). Dolphins in Marine Studios; fish inside giant tanks (47:50). Car drives down street (50:46). Boats in a marina (50:58). Florida beach (51:26). Tourists at a swimming pool (51:49). Tourists play with a beach ball on a beach before jumping into the ocean (52:28). People do calisthenics on the beach (52:49). Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Florida (52:59). People play golf (53:18). People get on a tourist boat to see the sights (53:56). Mansions of Miami Beach, FL (54:39). Plane takes off (56:44). Aerial cloud shots, parts of the airplane (57:05). Pan Am Airlines DC-3 on the ground (58:23) and then in flight to Havana, Cuba. (58:24) Havana’s airport followed by shots of the city. Trolley cars rumble down Havana streets (1:00:00). Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Havana (1:00:27). Cemetery in Havana (1:02:27). End card, indicating the person who filmed this was part of the Amateur Cinema League. ACL was a club that shared tips about home movie shooting and editing techniques.(1:04:46).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is