Napoleonville (Bayou Lafourche)
– Name changes according to events

During his exploration of the Lower Mississippi in 1699 Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (born in Montreal and considered as the “Father of Louisiana”) ascended the great river going northwest to Washas Country. Where the waters split like a fork, he then descended southeast the Washas River, which became Bayou Lafourche, before flowing into the … Read more

West Baton Rouge (Brusly)
– From the ship Beaumont to Molaisonville

In 1785 between July 29 and December 17, seven ships arrived from France (from the ports of Nantes and Saint-Malo) to New Orleans, more precisely the Bon Papa (with 38 Acadian families on board), the Bergère (73 families), the Beaumont (51), the Saint-Rémi (89), the Amitié (68), the Ville d’Archangel (60), and the Caroline (28), … Read more

Church Point
– Formerly Plaquemine Brûlé

As the Louisiana man with the butterfly tie attests (in French) in a short documentary from Radio-Canada’s archives (at the accompanying link), the Acadians settled in the Cajun Prairie to raise cattle and indulge in agriculture as they did prosperously in Grand Pré in Acadia (now Nova Scotia) before the Great Upheaval. The colonization of … Read more

Carencro (Lafayette)
– A name the meaning of which remains a mystery

About 12 kilometres separate the city of Carencro in the suburb of Lafayette and Bayou Carencro which is located in St. Landry Parish northeast. Between the Carencro and Teche bayous, the Carencro Prairie stretches over several square kilometres, an area suitable for raising cattle to supply New Orleans with meat, and for celebrating Courir de … Read more

Abbeville (Vermilion Bayou)
– A chapel without parish status

Acadian colonization along the lower part of Vermilion Bayou (also called the Vermilion River) took place around the present-day municipality of Abbeville, seat of Vermilion Parish, between the Têche and Queue de Tortue bayous in southwestern Louisiana. Unfortunately, historical writings tell us very little about the twenty-five or so Acadian families who came from the … Read more

St. Gabriel
– Monitoring Anglo-Americans above all

In 1764, following the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years’ War between France and Great Britain, the Anglo-Americans erected Fort Bute on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River at the confluence of the Iberville River, now Bayou Manchac. The Spaniards then controlling Louisiana responded by building Fort San Gabriel de La Manchac two … Read more

Opelousas (Prairie des Coteaux)
– Towards the Cajun Prairie

Opelousas’ Post was one of the first French colonies in Louisiana. It was founded around 1720 as a military base and trading post among the native Appalousa nation which occupied the region. In 1765 when about forty Acadians arrived from Fausse Pointe where a bad epidemic had decimated several of their compatriots, Jacques Guillaume Courtableau, … Read more