Last updated: September 8, 2024
Place
A River Through Time
Christy Hoover
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez, LA
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Louisiana's many rivers and bayous provided paths for travel and trade. Goods, people, animals, communications, and even diseases were carried on the waters by dugouts, barges, and steamships over the centuries. The river, once the main channel of the Red River was called la riviere aux cannes (river of canes) due to the large river cane (Arundinaria gigantea) brakes or thickets which once grew on the banks.
Larger plantations had their own steamboat landings along this vital transportation link to send cotton and other goods to New Orleans and Shreveport. After the Red River shifted course, the water level in Cane River often dropped quickly, stranding boats. The addition of two dams in the early 1900s created a 34-mile-long lake.
Larger plantations had their own steamboat landings along this vital transportation link to send cotton and other goods to New Orleans and Shreveport. After the Red River shifted course, the water level in Cane River often dropped quickly, stranding boats. The addition of two dams in the early 1900s created a 34-mile-long lake.
The Caddo
Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the Cane River was hoe to the Adaes and the Natchitoches, tribes of the Caddo Nation. These native peoples used the river resources in a variety of ways. The river cane was woven into baskets and other items. Freshwater mussel shells were used as temper in Caddoan pottery and later for shell buttons.
Louisiana pearlshell mussel (Margaritifera hembeli), Native American shell-tempered pottery sherd, and river cane basket.