Kelli West, director of marketing and communications for the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau spoke to the Natchitoches Lions Club about the upcoming conference for the Jefferson Highway Association, which will be held in Natchitoches April 24-27. The Jefferson Highway was originally founded in 1915 and stretched from Winnipeg, Canada to New Orleans. The Jefferson Highway was the first intercontinental highway to run North to South.

This highway is still present today. Local Natchitoches citizens can still see the remnants as they travel along Hwys. 71 to 84, even on current Jefferson Street. Yes, Jefferson Street was named after the Jefferson Highway.

The highway is still being celebrated by the Jefferson Highway Association, a group working to identify, preserve, interpret, and improve access to the Jefferson Highway and its associated sites.

The public is invited to attend the educational sessions on Thursday, April 25 at the Chateau St. Denis, located on Second Street, to learn about the Jefferson Highway – the past, present and future, and the impact the highway had on Louisiana, and Natchitoches.

The schedule for Thursday, April 25 is:

9:00 Welcome and Announcements

Mike Curtis, President-Elect, Jefferson Highway Association

9:15 Traveling the Jefferson Highway: The Past, Present and the Future

Roger Bell, Vice President- Elect, Jefferson Highway Association

10:15 Images and Memories of the Jefferson Highway in Louisiana

Mary Linn Wernet, University Archivist, Northwestern State University of Louisiana

11:15 Louisiana Historic Byways and Tourism in Louisiana

Sharon Calcote, Louisiana Office of Tourism

12:00 Lunch on your own

Downtown Natchitoches

2:00 Jefferson Highway Mapping Presentation and Workshop (Louisiana-emphasis)

Mike Curtis, President-Elect, Jefferson Highway Association

Please RSVP for the Thursday sessions by calling (318) 352-8072.