Natchitoches Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805.
Natchitoches is a small city and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the indigenous Natchitoches people.
Kisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, United States, is located in the forested piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It is part of the Cenozoic uplands and has large areas of longleaf pine forests. It is one of the largest pieces of natural landscape in Louisiana, with some 604,000 acres (2,440 km2) of public land, more than half of which is vital longleaf pine and flatwoods vegetation. These support many rare plant and animal species. There are also rare habitats, such as hillside seepage bogs and calcareous prairies. The forest also contains and provides a buffer for the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness, a nationally designated wilderness area that contributes to protecting biodiversity of the coastal plain region of the United States.
Cane River Lake is a 35 mi (56 km) oxbow lake formed from a portion of the Red River in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It runs throughout the Natchitoches' historic district to the south and is famous for the numerous plantations, particularly Melrose being located on or near its banks.
Central Louisiana (Cenla), also known as the Crossroads region, is the part of Louisiana that includes the following parishes: Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, and Vernon.
The Cane River National Heritage Area is a United States National Heritage Area in the state of Louisiana. The heritage area is known for plantations featuring Creole architecture, as well as numerous other sites that preserve the multi-cultural history of the area. The heritage area includes the town of Natchitoches, Louisiana and its national historic district. Founded in 1714, it is the oldest community in the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase. Cane River Creole National Historical Park, including areas of Magnolia and Oakland plantations, also is within the heritage area.
Louisiana Highway 6 (LA 6) is a state highway located in western central Louisiana. It runs 54.52 miles (87.74 km) in an east–west direction from the Texas state line southwest of Many to U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) and U.S. Highway 84 (US 84) in Clarence.
Melrose is an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States, including the Melrose Plantation and surrounding area, on Louisiana Highway 119. In addition to the historic plantation, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park and Heritage Area encompass the Melrose area.
Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier was a planter, soldier and politician born in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He is the namesake of Bossier Parish, located east of the Red River across from Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana. Bossier City and the Pierre Bossier Mall shopping center in Bossier City are among the other places named for him.
Cloutierville is an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of the city of Natchitoches on the Cane River. The community is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area, off exit 119 of Interstate 49.
Robert Buford DeBlieux, usually known as Bobby DeBlieux, was a historian, preservationist, painter, an author, businessman, and a former Democratic mayor of Natchitoches, the oldest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery, or the Isle Brevelle church, is a historic Roman Catholic church and cemetery located in Melrose, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. It is the cultural center of Cane River's historic Créoles of color community.
Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site, or Fort des Natchitoches, in Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA, is a replica of an early French fort based upon the original blueprints of 1716 by Sieur Charles Claude Dutisné and company. The settlement which became the town of Natchitoches was founded in 1714 by French Canadian Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis as the first permanent European settlement in the lands later encompassed by the Louisiana Purchase. In 1722, Juchereau de St. Denis in 1722 became commandant of Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches. The fort was devised as a trading and military outpost to counter any Spanish incursions into French territory. Soon it became a center of economic significance, particularly with neighboring Caddo tribes. After 1764, Fort St. Jean was abandoned, with the transfer of Louisiana to Spain. The exact location of the fort has since been lost. In 1979, the fort was reconstructed in the vicinity of where the fort is believed to have been located. Today, the fort is an attraction within the Cane River National Heritage Area. The site is also host to living history re-enactments of what life in the fort was like in the 1750s.
Louisiana Highway 66 (LA 66) is a state highway located in southeastern Louisiana. It runs 19.62 miles (31.58 km) in a general east–west direction from the main entrance of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola to a junction with U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) north of St. Francisville.
The Bayou Teche Byway is a Louisiana Scenic Byway that follows several different state highways, primarily:
The Flyway Byway is a Louisiana Scenic Byway that follows several different state highways:
The Southern Swamps Byway is a Louisiana Scenic Byway that follows several different state highways, primarily:
The Zydeco Cajun Prairie Byway is a Louisiana Scenic Byway that follows several different state highways, primarily:
