Fort Jesup is a reminder of a young nation's growing pains and a relic of Louisiana's rich international heritage. When the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803 failed to clearly define the western boundary of Louisiana, which was also the western border of the country at that time, the United States claimed eastern Texas and Spain claimed western Louisiana. The ensuing dispute gave rise to the "Neutral Ground," an area where the laws of neither nation were enforced. Soldiers and settlers were kept out and rogues of various stripes ruled the region.

After the territorial boundary was finally fixed at the Sabine River by the Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819, the United States built Fort Jesup in 1822. Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor established and commanded the garrison, which was originally called Cantonment Jesup in honor of Taylor's good friend Brigadier General Thomas Sidney Jesup. Taylor's troops managed to establish law and order in the Neutral Ground and Fort Jesup remained an important military post for nearly 25 years.

Soldiers at Fort Jesup performed many duties which opened the frontier to American settlers: building roads, surveying the frontier, clearing the Red River and negotiating treaties. The garrison at Fort Jesup was also called on to control slave insurrections in Alexandria and to catch criminals trying to cross the border. The soldiers of Fort Jesup saw thousands of settlers move into the province of Texas and then watched Texas become independent of Mexican authority. In 1845, half of the U.S. Army traveled through the Fort Jesup area en route to war with Mexico.

The fort was abandoned in 1846 when it was no longer needed as a border outpost. One kitchen is the only historic structure remaining from the large reservation that once spread across the frontier. The reconstructed officers' quarters houses visitor information, interpretive exhibits and restrooms. This building was reconstructed with the assistance of historians from the Army Quartermasters General's Office and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 1961, Fort Jesup was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior and, as such, joined a select group of properties which have been recognized for their importance in American history.

Fort Jesup State Historic Site

Los Adaes, the symbol of New Spain in Louisiana, was once the capital of Texas and the scene of a unique cooperation among the French, the Spanish and the indigenous Native Americans. An area rich in archaeological finds, it thrives today as one of Louisiana's most intriguing state Historic Sites. Click here for additional information about excavations at and resulting discoveries about the history of Los Adaes, courtesy of the Louisiana Division of Archaeology.

Los Adaes dates back to the early 1700s when a Franciscan missionary, Father Francisco Hidalgo, urged the French governor of Louisiana to establish a post near east Texas. The missionary's objectives weren't purely religious; he knew that such an action by the French would alert New Spain and cause the Spanish government to re-establish previously closed Spanish military posts and Franciscan missions. The founding of Natchitoches in 1714 by the Frenchman St. Denis and the subsequent construction there of Fort St. Jean Baptiste had the predicted effect. In 1716, the Spanish established six missions and one fort in east Texas.

In 1719, an attack on Mission San Miguel - 15 miles from the French Fort St. Jean Baptiste - alarmed the Spanish and they built a new presidio, or fort, to counter any further French intrusion into Spanish territory. The Presidio Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes (Fort of Our Lady of Pilar at the Adaes) was surrounded by a hexagonal stockade with three bulwarks. In 1729, Spain designated Los Adaes the capital of the province of Texas. This made Los Adaes the official residence of the governor, and a house was constructed for him within the presidio. Los Adaes remained the administrative seat of government for the entire province for the next 44 years.

Life at Los Adaes was harsh. Poor land and crop failures meant constant food shortages and rainy weather often meant spoiled supplies. The nearest Spanish supply post was 800 miles away and that distance, combined with rain, floods and hostile Native Americans, resulted in chronic shortages of everything. Without the trade of the French at Natchitoches, the inhabitants of Los Adaes would have starved. Although Spain strictly prohibited trade with the French, the latter eagerly sought it. The French took advantage of supply shortages at Los Adaes, and an illicit trade soon flourished between the two posts.

In 1772, ten years after Louisiana was transferred to Spain, Los Adaes closed and the inhabitants moved to San Antonio. However, many of the 500 soldiers and family members soon left San Antonio and returned to Louisiana, where their descendants live today.

Los Adaes State Historic Site

Set in the piney hills of northwestern Louisiana, the Louisiana Country Music Museum contains exhibits that tell the story of how various folk music traditions developed in this region--from early gospel and string band music to the country sounds we enjoy today. The museum, which depicts a treble clef in its architectural design, also honors the contributions of the many Louisiana natives who have become prominent in the country music and gospel music professions. One of the most popular exhibits on display in the museum is the Louisiana Hayride exhibit, which discusses the history of the Louisiana Hayride program as well as its historic impact on country music. There are two rooms in the museum dedicated to the hayride, and its participants, particularly Louisiana natives. The museum contains costumes, instruments and pictures that have been donated by various country-western and folk performers, including Roy Acuff's fiddle and yo-yo, as well as one of Hank Williams Jr.'s shirts.

Within the museum, guests are invited to walk the musical history of our state, as well as enjoy the musical petting zoo, and learn about the instruments commonly used in bluegrass, folk, and country music traditions. On the grounds, an amphitheater serves as a showplace for the ongoing musical traditions of North Louisiana. Bluegrass, country, gospel and folk concerts are some of the exciting events taking place onstage throughout the year. Non-profit groups are also invited to hold events at the amphitheater and accompanying picnic pavilion, so that many visitors can enjoy the gorgeous outdoor setting. The picnic pavilion equipped with kitchen facilities, an ice machine and microwave oven, can be reserved online.

Local legend is that – in the last days of the Civil War – a local family had spoken with a Confederate soldier who had become separated from his troop, and the family later found his body. The family buried the young man, and his final resting place is marked at the state historic site; hence the name.

Rebel State Historic Site

Over 700 acres of wild and cultivated beauty, Hodges Gardens State Park, located in Sabine Parish, is a unique member of the State Parks system. Originally designed and opened to the public in 1956 by oil and gas businessman A.J. Hodges Sr., the site's gardens consist of a variety of plants and flowers, from a formal rose garden to bushes that colorful Southern standard, the azalea.


Hodges Gardens State Park

Located on Toledo Bend Reservoir, one of the country's largest man-made reservoirs, North Toledo Bend State Park provides a venue for a wide variety of water-related activities in a pleasant environment. And for land-based activities, more than 900 acres are available for camping, picnicking, hiking, and relaxing in the heart of nature.

Available day-use facilities include a meeting room which can be reserved for group functions, a full size swimming pool with restrooms for the summer season, and a laundry with all the conveniences for a long or short stay in the park. Nearby are entrances to two hiking/biking trails - a 1.5-mile loop and a more demanding 4-mile loop.

A boat launch with a double ramp, a large parking lot, boat rentals, and a fish cleaning station, provides access to the reservoir. Organizations associated with the Toledo Bend Reservoir host numerous freshwater fishing competitions which attract fishermen from around the country. Fishing, swimming, boating, hiking, picnicking, and relaxing – all of these activities and more are yours to enjoy at North Toledo Bend State Park.

North Toledo Bend State Park

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.

In 1716, Sieur Charles Claude Dutisné was sent to Natchitoches with a small company of colonial troops to build and garrison an outpost that would prevent the Spanish forces in the province of Texas from advancing across the border of French Louisiane. This strategic outpost was named Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches. Economically, Natchitoches evolved into a primary French trade center in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Native American tribes of the three Caddo Confederacies played a vital role in establishing trade and communication links among the French, the Spanish and the Native Americans of the region. The trade that developed with the Caddos forever changed the material culture of the tribes, and by the mid-18th century they were almost completely dependent upon French trade goods. The diplomatic success of the fort was assured when St. Denis was named commandant in 1722. His influence would thrive in the colony until his death in 1744.

The fort continued to serve as a military outpost and commercial trade center until 1762, when France's defeat by England in the French and Indian War forced her to cede the Louisiana colony to Spain. Under Spanish authority, the fort served as a trade center and a link in Spain's intracolonial communications network. But since its original purpose of protecting a territorial boundary no longer applied, the Spanish eventually abandoned the fort. The fort was in such ruins by the time the United States acquired the area in the Louisiana Purchase (1803) that the Americans could no longer use it, so they built Fort Claiborne nearby.

The site obtained for the replication of Fort St. Jean Baptiste is located on Cane River Lake (formerly the Red River) a few hundred yards from the original fort site. The fort replication was based upon Ignace Francois Broutin's plans and on extensive archival research in Louisiana, Canada and France. Construction began in 1979 under the direction of the late Samuel Wilson, Jr. and the Louisiana Office of State Parks. Building materials were obtained locally, and many 18th-century techniques were employed in the replication. Nearly 2,000 treated pine logs form the palisade and approximately 250,000 board feet of treated lumber went into the construction of the buildings. All of the hinges and latches were handmade at a nearby foundry. Further historical research is ongoing.

Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site

Pleasantly located on several small bluffs that extend over and into the Toledo Bend Reservoir, South Toledo Bend State Park offers a scenic, waterfront view from many vantage points. While the reservoir is nationally recognized as a destination for bass fishing tournaments, visitors to the park can also enjoy other outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, cycling, birding, camping and enjoying the many forms of wildlife in the area.

The area also is a common nesting ground for the bald eagle, which feeds from the plentiful supply of freshwater fish – including largemouth bass, catfish, bream and white perch – found in the Reservoir. The avid fisher can set out onto the reservoir at the two-lane boat ramp area, to also enjoy a freshly-caught dinner.

An open-air breezeway leads out to the observation deck and a majestic view of the reservoir lake and nearby islands. A 3,000-foot surfaced nature trail provides an opportunity for all visitors to explore the area around the Visitor Center and the RV camping areas.

Also nestled among the trees near the Visitor Center are several picnic tables, so visitors can enjoy a lunch or snack while enjoying their day at South Toledo Bend State Park.

Fort Jesup State Historic Site Maps

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Fort Jesup State Historic Site Description

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