Editing Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana (section)

== History ==
In colonial days, "The settlement extended from Natchitoches down to Twenty-four Mile Ferry in 1812. An Indian trail extended from Natchitoches across [[Rigolette de Bon Dieu]], at [[Petit Ecore]], thence across the country to [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]]. This old trail passed by Choctaw Springs, south-east of [[Montgomery, Louisiana|Montgomery]], two very large springs on the site of Frazier's old saw mill. This was the camping place for soldiers, French and Spanish."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Louisiana historical quarterly v.3. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3609721&seq=47 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=HathiTrust |page=39 |language=en}}</ref>

Natchitoches Parish was created by the act of April 10, 1805, that divided the [[Territory of Orleans]] into 12 [[parish]]es, including [[Orleans Parish, Louisiana|Orleans]], [[Iberville Parish, Louisiana|Iberville]], [[Rapides Parish, Louisiana|Rapides]] and Natchitoches. The parish boundaries were much larger than now defined, but were gradually reduced as new parishes were organized following population increases in the state. The parishes of [[Caddo Parish, Louisiana|Caddo]], [[Claiborne Parish, Louisiana|Claiborne]], [[Bossier Parish, Louisiana|Bossier]], [[Webster Parish, Louisiana|Webster]], [[DeSoto Parish, Louisiana|DeSoto]], [[Bienville Parish, Louisiana|Bienville]], [[Jackson Parish, Louisiana|Jackson]], [[Sabine Parish, Louisiana|Sabine]], [[Red River Parish, Louisiana|Red River]], [[Winn Parish, Louisiana|Winn]], and [[Grant Parish, Louisiana|Grant]] were eventually formed from Natchitoches' enormous territory. Natchitoches Parish has had fifteen border revisions, making it second only to [[Ouachita Parish, Louisiana|Ouachita]] parish in number of boundary revisions.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

During the [[antebellum period]], numerous large cotton plantations were developed in this area, worked by enslaved African Americans. The parish population was majority black and enslaved by the time of the Civil War. There was also a large [[mixed-race]] population of free [[Creoles of color]]. Among the institutions they founded was the [[St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church]], built in 1829. It is a destination on the [[Louisiana African American Heritage Trail]].

In May 1861 [[free people of color|free men of color]] in the area known as [[Isle Brevelle]] began to organize two militia companies. Other free men of color of Campti and that area enlisted in the Confederate Army later in the war; and it is believed that they were accepted into a predominately white company because of their longstanding acceptance in the community. Many of the free people of color were related to longtime white families in the parish, who acknowledged them.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jaGDoE1FB78C&dq=John+D.+Winters+%2B+Civil+War+%2B+Louisiana&pg=PA110 Lawrence L. Hewitt, Arthur W. Bergeron, Chapter: "Louisiana's Free Men of Color in Gray"], in ''Louisianians in the Civil War'', University of Missouri Press, 2002, pp. 110-114</ref>

After the war, during [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] and after, there was white violence against freedmen and their sympathizers blacks in the aftermath of emancipation and establishing a free labor system. Most planters continued to rely on cotton as a commodity crop, although the market declined, adding to area problems. In the late 19th century, a timber industry developed in some areas.

Since the late 20th century, the parish has developed considerable heritage tourism. It also attracts people for fishing and other sports, including spring training on [[Cane River Lake]] by several university teams.

{{expand section|date=April 2019}}

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