Louis Juchereau de St. Denis

Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis (September 17, 1676 – June 11, 1744) was a French-Canadian soldier and explorer best known for his exploration and development of the Louisiana (New France) and Spanish Texas regions. He commanded a small garrison at Fort de la Boulaye on the lower Mississippi River, built in 1700, and founded Fort St Jean Baptiste de Natchitoches in northern La Louisiane, as they called the French colony.

St. Denis was born at Beauport, New France (Quebec), the eleventh of the twelve children of Nicolas Juchereau (1627-1692), Seigneur du Chesnay and Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies; member of the Sovereign Council of New France. His paternal grandfather was the elder brother of Noël Juchereau des Chatelets. His mother, Marie Thérèse Giffard de Beauport, was the daughter of Robert Giffard de Moncel, Sieur de Moncel à Autheuil, and the 1st Seigneur of Beauport, Quebec. His brother was the grandfather of Louis Barbe Juchereau de Saint-Denys (1740-1833), 1st Marquis de Saint-Denys, ancestor of Marie-Jean-Léon, Marquis d'Hervey de Saint Denys.

St. Denis' parents apparently were able to send him to France to further his education. In late 1699, St. Denis sailed from La Rochelle with the second expedition of Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville (his first cousin), arriving in Louisiana. St. Denis commanded a small garrison at Fort de La Boulaye, named for a commune in the Bourgogne region of France. The fort was constructed in 1700 on the Mississippi River about 20 kilometers below the future development of New Orleans; it was designed to protect French interests against the Spanish and English in the region. St. Denis also commanded a fort at Biloxi Bay, where the French founded another settlement. St. Denis also explored to the west of the bay and up the Mississippi River, where he journeyed to the lower Red River. These expeditions to the northern areas brought St. Denis into contact with the Karankawa and Caddo tribes and taught him invaluable wilderness skills specific to the area.

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