Historic Front Street is undergoing a major project to make way for improved utilities,

handicapped accessibility, and a safer, smoother roadway. In compliance with federal preservation law, archaeology is being conducted to learn more about early life in Natchitoches.

View of Front Street in 1904, between Touline and Trudeau Streets, facing north with Church St. Bridge visible at right. (Photo courtesy of Millspaugh Collection, Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Watson Memorial Library, Northwestern State University of Louisiana.)

Recent view of Front Street archaeology, facing southwest. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Gerard, Regional Archaeology Program, Northwestern State University of Louisiana)

Archaeologist carefully screens for items such as animal bone, prehistoric pottery, historic ceramics, bottle glass, architectural remains, and other artifacts. The items’ lo-cations link the deposit to a specific household, business, or event, and are the basis for discovering what life was like then. (Photo courtesy of D. Fuqua, NPS)

What Happened to the Bricks?

Archaeologists and engineers are working to minimize the loss of information by doc-umenting and recovering evidence of the past. This work is being coordinated by the Louisiana Department of Transporta-tion & Development (LA DOTD).

Funding provided by Cane River National Heritage Area

People have lived in this area for hun-

dreds of years. In order to predict the sorts of ar-chaeological deposits that might be encoun-tered, take note of the 1732 map of Natchitoches by French engineer Fran-çois Ignace Broutin that has been overlain with the modern street pattern.

1732 Broutin Map of Natchitoches with modern streets superimposed. (Historic map detail courtesy of Dr. Vincas P. Steponaitis.)

What Was Here Before the Bricks?

In 2003 researchers conducted historical research to anticipate what might be encountered within the bounds of the Front Street project. Note the five structures to the right of Front Street identified as C (“Engine House”), D (“Market House”), and ad-joining structures E (“Joseph Tauzin’s cake shop and store rented to Lemon & Jackson”), F (“Lanfant & Landreaux”) and G (“A. Coe”) on this 1823 plan. De-posits associated with these ventures may well be lo-cated within and immediately adjacent to the current area of the Front Street roadbed.

Front St. project area and modern roadbeds overlain on a detail from B. Leonard’s 1823 plan of “Front or River Street” (Courtesy of Coastal Environments, Inc. and the Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Watson Memorial Library, Northwest-ern State University of Louisiana.)

Funding provided by Cane River National Heritage Area

Archaeologists recover artifacts (objects made and used by humans), features (non-portable de-posits such as privy shafts, wells, cisterns, cellar holes, building foun-

dations, trash middens, etc.), and learn a tremendous amount from the pre-cise locations and associations (what is found with what) among objects.

Archaeology is a system-atic process in which de-

tailed notes, measurements, drawings and photographs are kept so as to main-tain precise three-dimensional control over the loca-tions from which artifacts were recovered or features encountered. Being able to distinguish a jumbled fill deposit from a sealed (and therefore datable) con-text is not easy. Interpretation relies upon careful observation of the layering of soil from which the ar-tifacts were recovered.

Eighteenth-century pot-tery sherds (pieces) of types common to the Natchitoches region. (Photo courtesy of the Regional Archaeology Program, Northwestern State University of Loui-siana)

Beneath the Bricks: What are They Finding?

Late eighteenth- and early nine-teenth-century ceramic sherds (piec-es) common to the Natchitoches region. (Photo courtesy of the Re-gional Archaeology Program, North-western State University of Louisi-ana)

On Front Street—and elsewhere across Natchitoches—ar-chaeologists regularly encounter both low-fired, locally-

made pottery as well as high-fired, mass-produced ceramics such as those depicted at right. Materials recovered thus far reveal Native American, French, Spanish, and Anglo-American cultural affiliations.

Funding provided by Cane River National Heritage Area

Front Street Archaeology:

See What’s Beneath the Bricks!

Funding provided by Cane River National Heritage Area

Front Street Archaeology:

See What’s Beneath the Bricks!

Funding provided by Cane River National Heritage Area