{"id":4360,"date":"2023-06-21T21:43:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T21:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=4360"},"modified":"2026-08-11T21:32:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:32:48","slug":"natchitoches-parish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/natchitoches-parish\/","title":{"rendered":"Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Natchitoches Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States, in the central part of the state<br \/>\nabout 65 miles southeast of Shreveport. It had a population of 37,515 at the 2020 census, an<br \/>\nestimated 36,089 by 2025, and covers 1,299 square miles (3,364 km2) centred near 31\u00b044\u2032N 93\u00b006\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Natchitoches is the parish seat and the parish&#8217;s only city; its postal code is 71457. The<br \/>\nparish holds 1 city, 1 town and 7 incorporated villages, plus a handful of census-designated<br \/>\nplaces and unincorporated communities along the Cane and Red rivers, and it runs on Central Time.<br \/>\nIts FIPS code is 22069.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Natchitoches Parish<\/h2>\n<p>Natchitoches Parish has 17 named places on record: 9 incorporated (1 city, 1 town and 7<br \/>\nvillages) and 8 census-designated or unincorporated communities with no local government of their<br \/>\nown. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers historic settlements and crossroads<br \/>\nwith no formal boundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Natchitoches<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>18,039<\/td>\n<td>71457<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vienna Bend<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,314<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Campti<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>887<\/td>\n<td>71411<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Provencal<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>528<\/td>\n<td>71468<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Natchez<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>489<\/td>\n<td>71456<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Point Place<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>382<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Goldonna<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>428<\/td>\n<td>71031<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Clarence<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>326<\/td>\n<td>71414<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ashland<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>194<\/td>\n<td>71002<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Robeline<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>117<\/td>\n<td>71469<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Powhatan<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>101<\/td>\n<td>71066<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Marthaville<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>90<\/td>\n<td>71450<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cloutierville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>71416<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Melrose<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>71452<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Grand Ecore<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chopin<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Isle Brevelle<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Vienna Bend and Point Place both appeared as census-designated places for the first time in the<br \/>\n2020 count, which is why their population figures look new against the parish&#8217;s older villages.<br \/>\nNeither had its own place-level data before that census. The parish&#8217;s Ashland is unrelated to<br \/>\nthe Ashland communities in Terrebonne and Tensas parishes further south and east &mdash; all three<br \/>\nshare the name but nothing else.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>71457 &mdash; Natchitoches (also serves 71497 and 71458, both single-purpose Natchitoches codes)<\/li>\n<li>71411 &mdash; Campti<\/li>\n<li>71468 &mdash; Provencal<\/li>\n<li>71456 &mdash; Natchez<\/li>\n<li>71031 &mdash; Goldonna<\/li>\n<li>71414 &mdash; Clarence (PO Box delivery)<\/li>\n<li>71002 &mdash; Ashland<\/li>\n<li>71469 &mdash; Robeline<\/li>\n<li>71066 &mdash; Powhatan (PO Box delivery)<\/li>\n<li>71450 &mdash; Marthaville<\/li>\n<li>71416 &mdash; Cloutierville<\/li>\n<li>71452 &mdash; Melrose<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Vienna Bend, Point Place, Grand Ecore, Chopin and Isle Brevelle have no ZIP code of their own;<br \/>\nmail there is delivered under Natchitoches&#8217;s codes, since all five sit within a few miles of<br \/>\nthe city along the Cane River corridor.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Natchitoches Parish sits in Louisiana&#8217;s Cane River country, a landscape of pine hills in the<br \/>\nnorth and river-bottom farmland in the south, split by the Kisatchie National Forest&#8217;s Kisatchie<br \/>\nRanger District. Of its 1,299 square miles, 1,252 are land and 47 are water, about 3.6 percent<br \/>\n&mdash; the Red River forms most of the parish&#8217;s water surface, and Cane River Lake, a 35-mile<br \/>\noxbow cut off when the Red changed course, runs past Natchitoches itself.<\/p>\n<p>Bienville Parish and Winn Parish lie to the north and northeast, Grant Parish to the east,<br \/>\nRapides Parish to the southeast, Vernon Parish to the south, Sabine Parish to the west, and DeSoto<br \/>\nParish and Red River Parish to the northwest. <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/bienville-parish\/\">Bienville Parish<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/winn-parish\/\">Winn Parish<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/grant-parish\/\">Grant Parish<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/rapides-parish\/\">Rapides Parish<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/vernon-parish\/\">Vernon Parish<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/sabine-parish\/\">Sabine Parish<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/desoto-parish\/\">DeSoto Parish<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/red-river-parish\/\">Red River Parish<\/a><br \/>\nall border Natchitoches directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Natchitoches Parish had a population of 37,515 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts<br \/>\nthe parish near 36,089 residents. Natchitoches and Vienna Bend are by far the two largest<br \/>\ncommunities, together holding more than half the parish&#8217;s population. The 2020 census recorded<br \/>\nthe parish at roughly 51.6 percent White and 39.8 percent Black or African American, with smaller<br \/>\nNative American, Asian and multiracial shares &mdash; the Native American figure reflects the<br \/>\nparish&#8217;s Adai Caddo and Natchitoches tribal communities. Population density works out to about<br \/>\n30 people per square mile of land, low for the region and typical of a parish that is more forest<br \/>\nand farmland than town.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Northwestern State University, in Natchitoches, is the parish&#8217;s single largest employer,<br \/>\ndrawing students and staff from across northern Louisiana. Natchitoches Regional Medical Center<br \/>\nanchors health care employment in the city, and the parish&#8217;s pine forests support a working<br \/>\ntimber industry across its northern half, feeding sawmills in and around Campti and Goldonna.<br \/>\nTourism built on the city&#8217;s French colonial core &mdash; guided by its status as a National<br \/>\nHistoric Landmark District &mdash; supports hotels, restaurants and tour operators along the Cane<br \/>\nRiver waterfront. The parish&#8217;s biggest annual event is the Natchitoches Christmas Festival of<br \/>\nLights, held from late November into January each year, which has run for more than nine decades<br \/>\nand draws close to a million visitors to the riverbank.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Louisiana legislature created Natchitoches Parish on 10 April 1805, one of the state&#8217;s<br \/>\noriginal 19 parishes, named for the Natchitoches people who lived along the Red River. Natchitoches<br \/>\ncity was founded earlier still, in 1714, by French colonial officer Louis Juchereau de St. Denis<br \/>\n&mdash; it is the oldest permanent European settlement in the territory the United States later<br \/>\nbought as the Louisiana Purchase, predating New Orleans by four years. The city was incorporated<br \/>\non 5 February 1819.<\/p>\n<p>Near present-day Robeline, the Spanish colonial outpost of Los Adaes served as the capital of<br \/>\nSpanish Texas for more than 50 years, from 1721 to 1773, sitting only a few miles from the French<br \/>\nfort at Natchitoches &mdash; the two rival colonial capitals faced each other across a border that<br \/>\ntook decades to settle. Along the Cane River south of the city, the Isle Brevelle community grew<br \/>\ninto one of the oldest and largest settlements of free people of color in the antebellum South,<br \/>\na heritage preserved today at the Cane River Creole National Historical Park and the Melrose and<br \/>\nOakland plantation complexes.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Interstate 49 crosses the parish north to south, running just west of Natchitoches. US Route 71<br \/>\nfollows the Red River through Campti and the city, and US Route 84 crosses east&#8211;west through<br \/>\nNatchitoches toward Winnfield and Many.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alexandria &mdash; about 50 miles southeast<\/li>\n<li>Shreveport &mdash; about 65 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Many &mdash; about 35 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Winnfield &mdash; about 30 miles east<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Shreveport Regional Airport, roughly 65 miles north, is the nearest major commercial airport.<br \/>\nNatchitoches Regional Airport, on the city&#8217;s south side, handles general aviation. Amtrak does<br \/>\nnot serve the parish; the nearest station is in Alexandria.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Natchitoches Parish located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in central Louisiana&#8217;s Cane River country, about 65 miles southeast of Shreveport,<br \/>\nbordered by Bienville, Winn, Grant, Rapides, Vernon, Sabine, DeSoto and Red River parishes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Natchitoches Parish?<\/strong><br \/>\n37,515 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 36,089.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Natchitoches Parish?<\/strong><br \/>\n1,299 square miles (3,364 km2), of which 1,252 square miles are land, making it one of<br \/>\nLouisiana&#8217;s largest parishes by land area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish?<\/strong><br \/>\nNatchitoches, founded in 1714 and incorporated in 1819, is the parish seat and only city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and villages are in Natchitoches Parish?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne town, Campti, and seven villages &mdash; Provencal, Natchez, Goldonna, Clarence, Ashland,<br \/>\nRobeline and Powhatan &mdash; alongside the city of Natchitoches and CDPs including Vienna Bend,<br \/>\nPoint Place and Marthaville.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Natchitoches Parish use?<\/strong><br \/>\n71457 and 71497 for Natchitoches; 71411 for Campti; 71468, 71456, 71031, 71414, 71002, 71469 and<br \/>\n71066 for the seven villages; plus 71450 for Marthaville and 71416 for Cloutierville.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Natchitoches Parish known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nBeing home to the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory, the Cane River<br \/>\nCreole National Historical Park, and the annual Christmas Festival of Lights.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/louisiana\/\">Towns and villages in Louisiana<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Natchitoches Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States, in the central part of the state about 65 miles southeast of Shreveport. It had a population of 37,515 at the 2020 census, an estimated 36,089 by 2025, and covers 1,299 square miles (3,364 km2) centred near 31\u00b044\u2032N 93\u00b006\u2032W. Natchitoches is the parish seat and the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 17 towns, villages and communities in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana - population and ZIP for each, plus Los Adaes and Cane River history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-4360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-louisiana","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9652,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4360\/revisions\/9652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}