A history of Natchitoches,
since 1714
Postcards, papers and photographs of Natchitoches from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Natchitoches was established in 1714 by Canadien explorer Louis Juchereau de St. Denis. It is the oldest permanent European settlement within the borders of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Natchitoches was founded as a French outpost on the 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 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 and Oakland Plantation. Each has been preserved and is designated as a National Historic Landmark.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Natchitoches’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewThe war in Louisiana - view of Na…, 1864: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Natchitoches
See all 33 →
Natchitoches, decade by decade
1930s
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as The war in Louisiana - view of Natchitoches The war in Tennessee - rebel massacre of the Union troops after the surrend… (1864) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.