Show OLDER THAN NEW ORLEANS ancient records show that town of natchitoches has a right to claim earliest settlement antly kiil in it ill alln lilston ry of amil I 1 aim 1111 1111 a time thore ns it 11 splinted between tile 1 nakli ij ain 1 S s us to ti willell lillei motion guiti in should 1 the riblet pt lie avell tile red kid and rivers livers about tin the ahse 1 1 of t the seventeenth secant century ill alln spaniards SF d a lit ost nt adapts ilis or 01 Ail Ad alc illse oil in the east i list idl of till S iliano and in fit 1714 go ipnar ip nur split sent Ju chereau d de 0 st denis to t i i piilini lii lINi it post lit some on it tle tl 0 ivd alardin mm tin the historian mys that the ot of st emlis 11 fr tile lit double purpose of finding it 11 bent allt fur fr Cro s goods und mul checking the advances nd inces vances of the i vim hoi nere MIO to rol bomi ill s im ills in the neighborhood of f st left a few settlers bottles at n but it was not nol until 1717 that ali it a perin permanent allent fort ns erected thore chidi liili intakes i nut nat a little ohler than new orleans r dummit describes this fort 03 it square palis palisade nde where hare a little gar ear akon was ns kept 1 i pt us ns a barrier against the A catholic mission wa view tile lie sibille till people few fett in win illers vere ert not able to to employ it 11 rosh lent priest und fur for soine cine years they thi were eie hy by litt lier margil and other oilier missionaries futher ins came 1 tine in ill 1765 nil ill alic humble Inks mission loll into alie lie church of of st francis I 1 wit ell today Is ono of the historical cut catho to lie lilt dili arks ilu of tile the nation DU ilie anil natchitoches was tin nn important trading post the spaniards from the we west st of the sabine would come back with puck pack mules heavily laden with pel tries dried diled buffolo tongues silver front from the Alex mexican lenn mines etc to exchange for or dry goods and other feces hurles buries in 1824 isnac isaac wryght began run a steamboat between nutche turtles CS and tile settle settlements joints furt aurther lier down the river and this added to the of tile the town as a commer caul center with the establishment of shreveport and the advent of the railroads some of 0 the trade was diverted frota natchitoches but being located in one of tile the richest sections of the alie stute state tile town jovn has continued to prosper when in 1884 the general assembly provided for the establishment of a state normal school the lu cation of the school was thrown open to general cola competition petition and the most liberal in iii were offered by hatchl boches the parish and city of hatchl purchased and donated to tile the baute ibo acres of land including u goud good building which had formerly belonged to the nuns of the sacred libart |