Cane River Creole National Historical Park

Natchitoches Parish, La. – Beneath the surface of Oakland and Magnolia plantations, the roots of live oaks spread through the earth, grasping the soil and anchoring the trees. The oaks carry their bulk proudly, appearing regal in spite, or perhaps because, of the substantial girth of their trunks.

These ample boles, covered with rough bark, branch into limbs that stretch, with royal ambition, over the lush, history-steeped scene beneath them, striving to encompass it with their embrace.

Cane River Creole National Historical Park shares—and realizes—the ambition of the live oaks. Made up of two locations along the Cane River, the park encompasses centuries of history, starting in the 1700s, as well as the land on which that history unfolded.

The fields of the plantations and the many surviving buildings form an image that is both landscape and portrait, for these tracts and structures tell the stories of French colonists and their descendants, enslaved Africans and African Americans, Confederate and Union soldiers, landholders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African Americans who stayed in the region after the abolition of slavery, and the Creole culture.

“Louisiana’s Creole culture thrives in our park,” said Cane River Superintendent Laura Gates. “We’re excited to share it with visitors, and we invite everyone to come out and get acquainted with Creole music and other expressions of this rich culture.”

The color of Creole traditions, like the majesty of live oak trees and compelling historical narratives, await you at Cane River Creole National Historical Park. The last week of African American History Month (February) might be a particularly appropriate time for a visit, but throughout the year, the park commemorates and vivifies the experiences of the people who lived and worked here.

Learn more about Cane River Creole National Historical Park.