Just a little ways south of Natchitoches in Central Louisiana lies a land that time forgot. Along the banks of the Cane River, the 116,000-acre Cane River National Heritage Area preserves the origin stories of a distinctive culture—an evocative landscape in which Spanish, French, African and American Indian influences met, mixed and mingled during the 1700s, creating a community of descendants proud to call themselves Louisiana’s “Cane River Creoles.”
“Our Creole culture is the basis of all other Creole cultures in Louisiana, and each one is slightly different in language and customs and traditions,” said Paige Alost, executive director of the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau.
A great way to get to grips with those customs and traditions is by exploring the Cane River Creole National Historic Park, which extends from downtown Natchitoches and along both banks of the Cane River, encompassing 65 structures and more than a million historic artifacts at sites including Oakland Plantation, The Magnolia Plantation Complex and the newest addition to the Cane River National Historical Park, the Texas & Pacific Railway Depot. Meticulously conserved windows into Louisiana’s past, these sites and others reveal how agriculture intertwined the lives and business dealings of white landowners, enslaved people and gens de couleur libre, or free people of color.
“Down river” (which is how many locals refer to the area closer to the mouth of the river), you’ll find two-hundred-year-old Melrose on the Cane, where nine historic buildings mark the site where a formerly enslaved woman named Marie Therese Coincoin built a thriving tobacco and cattle business, ultimately turning Melrose into one of the largest plantations to be owned by free people of color. In ensuing years, Melrose survived the Civil War that destroyed nearby Magnolia, was home to one of Louisiana’s most celebrated Black folk artists, Clementine Hunter; housed the Melrose freedman school, and ultimately served as an artists’ retreat until being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. A world unto itself, Melrose is a destination in which a visitor could easily spend an entire day immersed in the many-layered history of Creole Louisiana.
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One Saturday each month, the historic Cane River Commissary does double duty as destination restaurant AND Creole zydeco hotspot.
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Cane River Commissary serves Creole and Cajun classics including meat pies, chicken and sausage gumbo, and fried green tomatoes, sandwiches, and libations.
Six miles “down river” from Melrose stands the Cane River Commissary, a historical landmark you absolutely won’t want to miss. The second Saturday of each month, the Commissary transforms from destination restaurant to Zydeco hotspot, serving delicious Creole and Cajun classics including savory meat pies, chicken and sausage gumbo, and fried green tomatoes alongside tasty pizzas, sandwiches and libations. Zydeco tunes fill the air while the food and drinks flow, providing locals and visitors alike with the chance to celebrate the unique culture, history and people of the Cane River region.
To learn more about area attractions and to plan your tour, visit natchitoches.com/things-to-do/toursandattractions/
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