East Texas - Nacogdoches and Natchitoches 3 day Tour

This tour starts off with a visit to Mission Tejas, the first mission in Texas, and a stop at the gift shop of the new Caddo Indian Mounds site. After the Visitor Center, we'll check in to the beautifully renovated Fredonia Hotel. During our stay we will have time to visit the Living History museum at Millard's Crossing, the Old University Building, the Durst Taylor House and Gardens, and the great downtown where you can shop 'til you drop!

Nacogdoches and Natchitoches were, the legend goes, the adult twin sons of an old Caddo chief, living near the Sabine River. Nearing the end of his days, the chief gathered his sons to make a request: Nacogdoches and his family were to walk three days toward the setting sun, while Natchitoches (pronounced “Nack-a-tish”) and his family walked three days toward the rising sun. Then they were to stop and build homes, and establish tribes far enough apart that there’d be no fighting over hunting grounds. We will learn about a later conflict known as "The Chicken War" between the Spanish and the French.

Natchitoches is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. We will learn about Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana. The downtown National Landmark Historic District is home to dozens of historic buildings and points of interest from the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. We will get to explore historic plantation homes, a replica of Fort St. Jean Baptiste and Louisiana’s oldest general store. Spanish and French have left strong influences in these two communities. We will get to spend the day with tour guides and shopping and dining in these wonderfully diverse towns.