Where We Practice: The History of Lafayette
Louisiana
Any Lafayette attorney or Louisiana attorney who
practices in Lafayette Louisiana will tell you that
the city is located right in the heart of Acadiana
and is one of the few societies that has its own
colorful heritage, the unique Cajun/Creole Culture,
which gives it a remarkable distinction from the
rest of the world!
Lafayette, the
unofficial capital of Cajun Country, is a metropolis
which displays an extraordinary mixture of tradition
and progressiveness. Having a rich French heritage
blended with Spanish, American, Indian and African
influences, the city represents a colorful
combination of lifestyles.
Lafayette lies 15
miles west of the Atchafalaya Basin and 35 miles
north of the Gulf of Mexico and exhibits the
subtropical climate typical of South Louisiana. The
city is situated in a geographical area of forests
and prairies interlaced with bayous, swamps and
marshes.
The first known
inhabitants, the Attakapas Indians, were known to
have populated the Lafayette area in the 1700s. The
exact date when the first European settlers reached
the Lafayette area is not known. A census conducted
in 1769 by Spanish Governor O'Reilly indicated a
population of 409 for the area.
The historical event
of the 18th century which had the greatest cultural
impact on Lafayette was the migration of the
Acadians from French Canada. Approximately 18,000
French-speaking Catholic inhabitants settled Acadie
(now Nova Scotia) in 1605 and lived there under
French rule until 1713 when the region went into
English hands.
Families were
separated and as the Acadians went to sea under
dreadful conditions, more than half lost their
lives. The exiles ended up in many locations and in
1784, the King of Spain consented to allow them to
settle in South Louisiana. The Acadians then joined
a scattering of their people who had arrived as
early as 1765 from the Caribbean and the East Coast.
For Lafayette, in
1821, Jean Mouton (an Acadian) donated land for the
construction of a Catholic church. On May 15, 1822
Bishop Duborg created the church parish of St. John
the Evangelist of Vermilion which encompassed the
area from Mouton's plantation south to the Gulf of
Mexico and west to the Sabine River.
A settlement grew
around the church and on January 17, 1823, the
Louisiana Legislature created Lafayette Parish from
the western portion of what was St. Martin Parish.
Mouton made a second land donation to the new
community, this time for a courthouse. The town of
Vermilionville became the new parish's seat. The
settlement grew and the town of Vermilionville was
renamed Lafayette in 1844 in honor of the French
Marquis de Lafayette.
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