Founded in 1714 near the Natchitoches village on the Red River, Fort Saint Jean Baptiste began as a small French trading and supply post established by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis. A proper fort was built in 1716 under Sieur Du Tisné to help block Spanish expansion from Texas into French Louisiana, and it grew into both a frontier military station and an important trading center, especially with nearby Caddo peoples. After a Natchez attack in 1731 exposed its weaknesses, it was rebuilt in stronger form. Active until 1762, the post eventually developed into Natchitoches, the oldest permanent European settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.