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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