Natchitoches, Louisiana

==History==
===Early years===
Natchitoches was established in 1714 by [[French Canadian|Canadien]] explorer [[Louis Juchereau de St. Denis]]. It is the oldest permanent European settlement within the borders of the 1803 [[Louisiana Purchase]].<ref>{{cite web|title = City of Natchitoches|url = http://www.natchitochesla.gov/|website = natchitochesla.gov|access-date = 16 January 2016}}</ref> Natchitoches was founded as a French outpost on the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] for trade with Spanish-controlled [[Mexico]]; French traders settled there as early as 1699. The post was established near a village of [[Natchitoches (tribe)|Natchitoches Indians]], after whom the city was named. Early settlers were French Catholic immigrants and creoles (originally meaning those ethnic French born in the colony). French creoles acquired lands that were developed in the antebellum years as cotton-producing [[Magnolia Plantation (Derry, Louisiana)|Magnolia Plantation]] and [[Oakland Plantation (Natchitoches, Louisiana)|Oakland Plantation]]. Each has been preserved and is designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]].

After the United States' [[Louisiana Purchase]] of 1803, migration into the territory increased from the US. Natchitoches grew along with the population in the parish. Initially, the Americans were primarily of English and Scots-Irish ancestry and of Protestant faith. They developed several cotton [[plantations in the American South|plantation]]s along the Red River. Numerous enslaved African Americans were brought to the area through the domestic slave trade to work the cotton, and provide all other skills on these plantations, generating the revenues for the wealthy planters before the Civil War.

The United States Government established a [[United States Government Fur Trade Factory System|federal fur trade factory]] here in 1805. It was removed to [[Sulphur Fork Factory, Arkansas|Sulphur Fork, Arkansas]] in 1818.<ref>Wesley, Edgar Bruce (1935). ''Guarding the frontier.'' The University of Minnesota Press, p. 40.</ref>

In the 1820s and early 1830s, Natchitoches also served as a freight transfer point for cotton shipped from parts of east [[Texas]]. Cotton shippers used a land route crossing the [[Sabine River (Texas–Louisiana)|Sabine River]] to Natchitoches, where the freight was transferred to boats, and floated down the Red River to [[New Orleans]].<ref name=holbrook>{{cite news|jstor= 30236594|title=Cotton Marketing in Antebellum Texas|last=Holbrook|first=Abigail Curlee|journal= The Southwestern Historical Quarterly|year=1952|volume=73|number=4|pages=431–455}}</ref>

When the course of the Red River shifted,<!--when was that? 19th century?  --> it bypassed Natchitoches and cut off its lucrative connection with the Mississippi River. A {{convert|33|mi|km|adj=on}} [[oxbow lake]] was left in the river's previous location which became known as [[Cane River Lake]].

===Civil War===
During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Natchitoches was set on fire by Union soldiers who retreated through the town after their failed attempt to capture [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]]. [[Confederate cavalry]] pursued the fleeing soldiers and arrived in time to help extinguish the flames before the town was destroyed. [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] was destroyed by Union troops in 1864, but both Union and Confederate troops were responsible for severely damaging plantations along the river during the war, including Magnolia and Oakland. 

Radford Blunt published the ''Natchitoches Republican''. He was also a candidate for the state legislature. William H. Tunnard edited the paper.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUdVpRBKPjgC&q=%22radford+blunt%22|title = Geo. P. Rowell and Co.'s American Newspaper Directory|year = 1874}}</ref>

===20th century===
As the parish seat, Natchitoches suffered from the decline in agricultural population through the mid-20th century, and grew at a markedly lower rate after 1960. The mechanization of agriculture had reduced the number of workers needed, and many moved to cities for jobs. By the early 1970s, the town's businesses were declining, along with many area farms, and buildings were boarded up.

In the mid-1970s, Mayor [[Bobby DeBlieux]] and other preservationists believed that attracting tourists to the area, based on its historic assets of nearly intact plantations and numerous historic buildings, could be a key to attracting visitors, reviving the town, and stimulating new businesses. Over the years, he worked with a variety of landowners and local people to gain support for designating a historic district in the city. He also supported making a national park out of the working area of [[Magnolia Plantation (Derry, Louisiana)|Magnolia Plantation]], which had many surviving outbuildings from the 19th century, and from [[Oakland Plantation (Natchitoches, Louisiana)|Oakland Plantation]], both downriver in the parish.<ref name="thompson">[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/22/us/reaping-what-was-sown-old-plantation-landowner-tells-her-family-s-truth-park.html Ginger Thompson, "Reaping What Was Sown On the Old Plantation; A Landowner Tells Her Family's Truth. A Park Ranger Wants a Broader Truth."], ''The New York Times'', June 22, 2000. Retrieved May 3, 2018</ref>

By the end of the 20th century, the mile-long French colonial area of downtown, which lies along Cane Lake, was designated as a [[National Historic Landmark District|National Historic District]]. Many buildings were adapted as antique shops, restaurants and souvenir emporiums. To accommodate tourists, the town had 32 bed-and-breakfast inns, the highest in the state.<ref name="thompson"/> By 2018, that number had increased to 50.

The plantation country surrounds Cane River Lake. The markedly intact downriver Magnolia and Oakland plantations were designated as [[National Historic Landmarks]], and are part of what has been developed as the [[Cane River Creole National Historical Park]],<ref name="thompson"/> which was authorized in 1994,<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/cari National Park Service: Official '''Cane River Creole National Historical Park''' website]</ref> with the support of US Senator [[J. Bennett Johnston]]. He was a cousin by marriage of Betty Hertzog, the last of the family to live in the great house at Magnolia.<ref name="thompson"/>

Tours and interpretive programs at both sites continue to attract visitors, especially as they grapple with telling the difficult history of slavery and its aftermath at the plantations. They also cover the contributions of blacks and [[Creoles of color]] to the community.<ref name="thompson"/> In April 2022, the city council added Juneteenth as an official city holiday.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Holdiness |first1=Timothy |title=Natchitoches adds Juneteenth as official holiday |url=https://www.ktbs.com/news/natchitoches-adds-juneteenth-as-official-holiday/article_fa654994-c595-11ec-ba36-27583a26769f.html |access-date=26 August 2023 |work=KTBS |date=26 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Since the late 20th century, the 35-mile [[oxbow lake]] has served as the spring-break training location for numerous university [[Rowing (sport)|crew]] teams,<ref name="lake"/> from universities such as the [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]], [[Kansas State University]], [[University of Kansas]], [[Wichita State University]], [[Murray State University]], [[University of Central Oklahoma]], and [[Washington University in St. Louis]], as well as [[Northwestern State University]]. In the spring of 2018, LSU, Alabama, Texas and Georgia were also represented. Tourists interested in sports often visit in this period to watch the sports teams.<ref name="lake"/>

Over the years, the city and parish have improved conditions with a riverbank stabilization project and a water pump project to improve water levels in the lake. This directs water from Hampton Lake into Bayou Possiant, which feeds Cane River Lake.<ref name="lake">[https://natchitochesparishjournal.com/2018/03/22/nine-college-rowing-teams-using-cane-river-this-month/comment-page-1/ "Nine college rowing teams using Cane River this month"], ''Natchitoches Parish Journal'', March 22, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018</ref>

In March 1965, nine children were among seventeen people killed in a natural gas pipeline explosion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gas Blast Kills Seventeen in Louisiana |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/louisiana/53/natchitoches-la-gas-pipeline-explosion-mar-1965 |access-date=21 November 2020 |publisher=The Corpus Christi Times |date=4 March 1965}}</ref>

Natchitoches was the site of the 1973 plane crash that claimed the life of singer-songwriter [[Jim Croce]]. Croce had performed a concert on campus for [[Northwestern State University]] students at Prather Coliseum. He was killed less than an hour later in a plane headed to [[Sherman, Texas]]. The crash may have been a result of the pilot suffering a fatal heart attack.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/jim-croce-five-others-die-in-plane-crash-19731025 "Jim Croce and five others die in plane crash"], ''Rolling Stone'', October 25, 1973</ref>