Still hanging on: Campti, Louisiana

An 1816 map, published by John Melish, shows that Campti was already a quite prominent settlement in the early American period. Notice other parts of this map - family names of the plantation owners are depicted as communities on the map, as these farms were pretty much self-contained villages in this era (Rumsey).

Campti lies in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, just up the road from the Grand Ecore. According to local historian Kate Kreator (1940), it was here where Custis and Freeman began their expedition up the Red River in 1806, and where some German socialists settled in the 1830s until Yellow Fever killed most of them.

In an 1816 map of Louisiana, Campti was already denoted as Tulin's Campte (where le Grappe had his store) along an important road that connected the saw mill with the salt works and with Natchitoches.

In 1864, retreating Union troops burned most of Campti save for its Catholic Church, but the abundant lumber allowed the town to regain its footing. In 1956, a fire forced the Crawford Mill to close, which, according to 1960 article by Ed Kerr, caused a "chain reaction" in which other businesses closed. Today, the main employer in Campti is the Red River Mill, run by the International Paper Company.

Campti is an old French Creole settlement with lots of interrelated histories among its families. Its historical museum displays the works from a number of local artists.

The Catholic Church hosts a large cemetery.

Downtown Campti is lit, ha ha.