The Union in Cincinnati, Ohio

Natchitoches Right to Earliest Settlement Claim

Ancient records indicate Natchitoches claims as one of the earliest settlements in Louisiana with a 17th century French and Spanish rivalry over the Red and Sabine rivers. By 1717 a permanent fort and mission emerged, evolving into St. Francis cathedral, while trade and river steamboats boosted its prominence before railroads shifted some commerce. The town also donated land for a state normal school in 1884.