Five Natchitoches Places That Matter: Archaeology, Architecture, and Community Memory

(Caption: Scott Lumry explains why Natchitoches’ Jewish Cemetery matters in a video on YouTube. This month, Natchitoches Preservation Network is filming videos about area sites of historic significance as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s This Place Matters campaign.)

Continuing through next weekend, I’ll be filming around Natchitoches Parish for our second year of involvement for the National Trust’s “This Place Matters” campaign. In light of that, I wanted to share some of the interesting information learned from five of the videos the Natchitoches Preservation Network has produced so far.

Five Places in the Record

– The topic of one of the most interesting videos we did last year featured the archaeological work done last year in preparation for the resurfacing of Front Street. The subject was a touchy one, but the Beneath the Bricks committee representative Julie Ernstein handles it positively in her narration, advocating “for our downtown’s archaeological past, and for good coordination between construction development required by state and federal preservation law.” One of the points she make is that photos and documents are only part of the story. Building foundations, beads, nails and other everyday items recovered during an excavation tell us just as much about our heritage.

– The Magers home is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s right in the middle of things, located near the downtown area between Washington street and Cane River. Nina Magers moved to the home with her family in 1961 and taught Art classes in the Natchitoches school system for the next 30 years. Ms. Magers taught me Art during a very memorable 9th-grade year and it was a delight to catch up with her again.

– Across town on the NSU campus is another National Register property. Lee H.Nelson Hall was named after a distinguished National Park Service architect. The building was built in the 1920s and was originally a women’s gym. It was restored (including the gym space) in 2001 to house the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, which advances the use of science and technology in preservation. Kirk Cordell, NCPTT’s executive director, narrates this video.

– The Jewish cemetery quietly occupies about once acre of space on the 900 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. drive. Scott Lumry took the time to narrate this video in order to draw attention to this nearly forgotten remnant of Natchitoches history. Graves from the 1830s to the 1970s are being threatened by foliage and downed trees. The Jewish community dates to the time of the Civil War. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the community had grown to the extent that Natchitoches had its own synagogue.

– Around the time of the Jewish Cemetery’s first interments, Tante Huppe was founded by one of the oldest Creole families in Natchitoches. The video is narrated by Bobby DeBlieux, a descendent of the founders. DeBlieux owns and operates the structure as a bed and breakfast on Jefferson street.

If you’d like to tell the National Trust about a place in Natchitoches Parish that matters to you, visit www.natchitochespreservation.ning.com and sign up for a time to schedule filming next Saturday. I’ll film, edit and post the video to YouTube.