Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site

Visit Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site and gain a better understanding and appreciation of the customs and cultures of the early inhabitants of Natchitoches. Open Wednesday - Sunday 9AM-5PM

Natchitoches was founded by a French Canadian, Louis Antoine Juchereau de St.Denis, in 1714 while he was en route to Mexico from Mobile, Alabama, on a trade mission. When he reached the village of the Natchitoches Indians on the Red River, he had two huts constructed within the village and left a small detachment there to guard the stores and trade with the inhabitants. This became the first permanent European settlement in the territory later known as the Louisiana Purchase.