Natchitoches, Louisiana

Natchitoches, established as a trading post on the Red River by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis in the winter of 1713–14, became the westernmost French post in Louisiana. Its influence prevented further eastward expansion of the Spanish. There was much conflict over boundaries and Indian trade between Natchitoches and Los Adaes, a Spanish garrison fifteen miles to the west, but an extensive international trade, much of it contraband, was carried on; on the whole, the two nationalities were good neighbors. Natchitoches was the eastern outlet for raw products of early Texas and in turn a source of manufactured goods. A gateway to Texas for explorers and colonizers, the town figured in many diplomatic and military incidents: in 1719 the Natchitoches commandant drove the Spanish temporarily from Los Adaes; in 1731, with the help of the Spanish it fought for its existence against the Natchez Indians; as a frontier garrison it was a focal point in the formation of the Neutral Ground in 1806; and it was a rallying point and a base of supply for the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition of 1812. With the admission of Texas to the Union, Natchitoches ceased to be influential in Texas history.