Fort Saint Jean Baptiste State Historic Site, Natchitoches
French-Canadian trader Louis Juchereau de St. Denis was on a mission to establish trading ties with Mexico. After traveling up the Red River, he encountered a massive logjam. At this spot, he built two crude huts, which became Fort St. Jean Baptiste. St. Denis became the commander of the fort in 1722, and the colony thrived until his death in 1744.
In 1731 an attack by the Natchez Indians exposed the vulnerabilities of the small French fort, prompting French officials to send engineer François Broutin to construct a stronger fort.
Note the wooden shoes which were used like snow shoes or rain boots.
The fort continued to be garrisoned by French marines until 1762, when France’s defeat in the French and Indian War forced it to cede Louisiana to Spain. Spanish authorities continued to operate the fort as a military outpost and trading center.
American Cemetery
It saddens me when cemeteries need major love and care. This is the oldest cemetery in the Louisiana Purchase. The American Cemetery contains graves that date to colonial times. Buried within its grounds are war heroes, doctors, politicians, educators, a former mayor who was murdered and the plantation owner from Melrose plantation that we visited yesterday who had 10 children with a slave whom he set free by the time of his death. Shame on this town for not having a volunteer group to mow and care for this treasure. Like so many southern cemeteries lots of young deaths in the 1920’s due to the plague and influenza.
We drove through the small Northwestern State University.
And to end our tour of Natchitoches we visited the old courthouse built in 1896. Moving on in the morning.
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