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 In
southeast Natchitoches Parish, Cloutierville was named for Alexis Cloutier, who
built the town on his plantation. The town was incorporated in 1822. Cloutierville
helped to service nearby plantations, especially Magnolia Plantation. The town’s
presence helped reduce travel to and dependence on Natchitoches. The celebrated
author, Kate Chopin, later inhabited Alexis Cloutier’s home, built along the Cane
River in the early 1800s. Today it is known as the Kate Chopin House and Bayou
Folk Museum. The town of Cloutierville and its main street, LA 491, parallel the
Cane River. Individual properties still run in obvious arpents from the river
to Bayou Charrette.
The town’s most commercially successful period came during the first half of the 20th century, when it was serving the workforces from nearby plantations, smaller farms, and the lumber industry. The town supported a string of services, such as banks, medical services, barbers, a cotton gin, several large general stores, a racetrack, and a multi-purpose “Opera House.” The largest storeowners competed briskly for business, sending school buses, wagons, or their own trucks to the plantations on Fridays and Saturdays. Cloutierville’s decline came following the end of large-scale logging operations and the mechanization of plantations that resulted in a significant depopulation of the surrounding areas.
 Today,
there are numerous historic structures lining the main street, including the Kate
Chopin House, the Carnahan Store, a circa 1900 bank, St. John’s Catholic Church
and cemetery, and numerous circa 1880 to 1930 tenant houses. Also, the town’s
cultural landscape has many other features along the riverfront that are indicative
of the plantation era, including pecan orchards, oak allees, remnant fence lines,
and various agricultural fields.
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