Martin Duralde, commandant at Opelousas Post from 1795 to 1803, was the leading political figure in southwestern LA the last years of the Spanish Era. Duralde occupied and developed a 1423 acre tract along the Upper Teche by 1781. He served as . . . — — Map (db m98859) HM
Arnaudville lies at a crossroads of bayous Teche and Fuselier, and it's Bayou Teche that separates the town into two parishes: St.
Landry and St. Martin. This unique location made the town a major center of commerce with a main road that follows . . . — — Map (db m286296) HM
The levee that surround this section of the lower Atchafalaya Floodway are about 15 miles apart and were built in the 1930s. Their construction- and the straightening of the Atchafalaya River in this area- forever changed the Atchafalaya . . . — — Map (db m114176) HM
"The Atchafalaya elevated expressway is hereby designated the Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge in honor of the brave members and veterans of the Airborne forces and the patriotic spirit they represent...." The Legislature of Louisiana Act 793 . . . — — Map (db m114177) WM
Cypress Island Preserve supports many alligators, including in some of the largest in Louisiana. While visiting the preserve between March and October, you may see alligators up to 10-15 feet long along the western edge of Lake Martin. Alligators . . . — — Map (db m114500)
This site is the birthplace of the first bishop of the
Diocese of Lafayette, Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard.
Born August 15, 1879, Jeanmard belonged to
St. Bernard Church where he received baptism,
confirmation, first holy communion, and served . . . — — Map (db m286944) HM
English Side Located one block south at 123 Van Buren
Street is the birthplace of the first bishop
of the Diocese of Lafayette, Bishop Jules B.
Jeanmard. Born August 15, 1879, Jeanmard
belonged to St. Bernard Church where he
received baptism, . . . — — Map (db m129998) HM
English: Founded 1859. Long recognized for its culinary artistry in the preparation of crawfish. The 1958 Louisiana Legislature officially designated Breaux Bridge "La Capitale Mondiale De L'Ecrevisse" in honor of its centennial . . . — — Map (db m125810) HM
In 1771, Acadian pioneer Firmin Breaux began buying the land from which the present
day city of Breaux Bridge would evolve. In 1799 Breaux built a footbridge across our
beautiful Bayou Teche to help ease the passage for his family and neighbors. . . . — — Map (db m287016) HM
Breaux Bridge has a long, rich and proud military heritage. It has given generously to our nation of its men and women, many of whom were decorated for bravery, some achieved positions of great responsibility and unfortunately, many gave their . . . — — Map (db m130189) HM WM
St. Bernard School was established in 1891 by the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration who were invited to Breaux Bridge by Reverend Antoine
Borias. Many students attended the school until they celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation, and then . . . — — Map (db m284769) HM
Many, many years ago, there was a huge and venomous snake. It was so large and so long that its size was not measured in feet, but in miles. Its head was at what is now known as Morgan City and its body stretched beyond St. Martinville and Breaux . . . — — Map (db m129967) HM
First native Diocesan Priest from Breaux Bridge, LA. Ordained June 10, 1903 First Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette Consecrated Dec. 8, 1918 — — Map (db m130192) HM
This world famous institution is recognized for its role in the preservation and restoration of our Cajun culture and heritage. It ranks today as one of Breaux Bridge's most prominent landmarks — — Map (db m49067) HM
Poché's is noted for the preparation of the culinary foods, boudin and gratons. It is from the Antoine Poché family ca. 1859 that originates the name of this village, Poché Bridge. — — Map (db m111729) HM
Scholastique Picou Breaux founded our wonderful city when she was just 33 years old. A determined Acadian woman, she drew up Plan de la Ville du Pont Breaux, the plan for the Village of Breaux Bridge. Her plan included land for a school, a church, a . . . — — Map (db m85949) HM
Since its settlement in the late 1700s by Catholic French Acadians, the village of Pont Breaux
(now Breaux Bridge) has been a gathering place for the faithful of the area. Initially,
services were held in private homes and by 1840 a group of . . . — — Map (db m284280) HM
1891 St. Bernard School established by perpetual adoration at request of Fr. Barias 1903 June 18 Mother M. Augustine signed contract with J.A. Petty to build St. Bernard School at cost of $13,000 1905 May 4 building completed and opened as a day & . . . — — Map (db m152336) HM
Breaux Bridge's first Catholic chapel was built in 1841. In 1847, St. Bernard's Parish was established and our first substantial church was erected in 1857.
This church, built in 1933-34 by local craftsmen, was the pinnacle of Rev. P.A. Borel's . . . — — Map (db m85948) HM
This turntable bridge was built in 1852 and replaced in 1891. The bridge was moved 3 miles downstream and served as a crossing for the community of Ruth until 1992. The bridge was in place when Breaux Bridge was incorporated on March 14, 1859.April . . . — — Map (db m129778) HM
This Queen Anne Revival cottage was built in 1896 by Edmond Pellerin. The carpenter, Emile Bergeron, built the entire house of local cypress and the house remains the finest example of rural farm life in Breaux Bridge at the end of the 19th . . . — — Map (db m129779) HM
This beautiful Acadian home and grounds was the site chosen by Maj. A. Gallway, 173rd N.Y. Volunteers for the encampment of his Union Troops, April 21, 1863.This house has been continuously occupied by Valery Thibodeaux's descendants since the time . . . — — Map (db m129966) HM
Truly born on the bayou, Breaux Bridge has remained connected to its waterway despite modern advances. Downtown Breaux Bridge
and Bridge Street are intersected by Bayou Teche, and Main Street parallels the bayou, with a significant historic . . . — — Map (db m286303) HM
Wetlands are described simply as any area that floods regularly and supports plants that are adapted to flooding. Wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming rate in the United States and elsewhere. For example, although Louisiana only accounts . . . — — Map (db m114492) HM
Preserving Cajun cuisine along the bayou for more than 150 years, Poché's is the legacy of the Antoine Poché family from which the
name Poché Bridge originates. Current Poché's owner, Floyd Poché, remembers his grandfather having a little wooden . . . — — Map (db m286300) HM
The Atchafalaya River is North America’s fifth-largest river according to discharge and, together with the Mississippi, accounts for about 90 percent of the freshwater discharge into the Gulf of Mexico.The Atchafalaya River is North America’s . . . — — Map (db m114219) HM
Approximately 100 yards to the West is the probable resting place of General Louis Hebert, C.S.A. Born in Iberville Parish in 1820, Hebert was graduated from West Point in 1845 third in his class. After an army service of two years, he resigned to . . . — — Map (db m84916) HM
Lake Dauterive is home to one of the oldest documented cypress trees in Louisiana. The approximately 1,000-year-old tree has a circumference of 17 feet and a diameter of 5.4 feet.Though named as two separate lakes, Lake Dauterive and Lake . . . — — Map (db m120925) HM
Annual flooding in the Acthafalaya Basin provides an ideal crawfish habitat. Today, most of Louisiana's crawfish production comes from farms,
but the Basin still leads in the production of wild-caught crawfish.The Atchafalaya Basin is one of . . . — — Map (db m114220) HM
Acadians who had accompanied Beausoleil Broussard on his initial journey to the Teche region in 1765 took up Spanish land grants
near present-day Parks. They named their settlement La Pointe du Repos (Point of Rest) and were joined by non-Acadian . . . — — Map (db m286310) HM
Alligators have been around since the age of the dinosaurs. Found only in the southeastern United States, American alligators inhabit freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, swamps, and bayous. Oftentimes you may only see their eyes, heads or . . . — — Map (db m115603)
Latin: Sacerdos ordinatus a de Quelen Parisüs 1826. Rector St. Martini Ecclesiœ Atakapas 1851-1887. Canonicus et vicarius forensis Totum se devoit suis parochianis. Numquam laborem recusavit Tandem die Assumptionis requievit 1887. . . . — — Map (db m193142) HM
Roving savage tribe who settled here prior to the French, partly Christianized and civilized by missionaries. Dedicated November 5, 1961. — — Map (db m66369) HM
Numerous towns, villages and cities border Bayou Teche and serve as reminders of the waterway's importance as an early transportation corridor.Central to the ecology, economy and spirit of Louisiana is the network of waterways—rivers, . . . — — Map (db m115683) HM
The original Deportation Cross, near Grand-Pré National Historic Site in Nova Scotia is located in the vicinity of the embarkation of the victims of the Acadian Diaspora of 1755. Dedicated on July 24, 1924.
La Croix originelle de la . . . — — Map (db m85293) HM
The Duchamp Opera House was built in 1830, making it not only the oldest
building in St. Martin Parish, but also one of the oldest in Acadiana.
It is also thought to be the oldest surviving opera house in the country.
The second floor hosted . . . — — Map (db m286894) HM
Evangeline, the prototype of the Acadian maiden, was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his epic poem of the same name. The monument was donated by Delores del Rio after she starred in the motion picture production of Evangeline which was . . . — — Map (db m94314) HM
Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" immortalized the tragedy of the Acadian exile from Nova Scotia in 1755. This oak marks the legendary meeting place of Emmeline Labiche and Louis Arceneaux, the counterparts of Evangeline and Gabriel. . . . — — Map (db m66354) HM
He was a man of great social consciousness.
In works like Evangeline and Hiawatha
and his collection of anti-slavery poems
Longfellow helped to preserve cultural memory.
From remarks by Dr. Layne Longfellow at the unveiling in . . . — — Map (db m66363) HM
A native of St. Martinville, Simon studied law at Harvard under Joseph Story and Simon Greenleaf, earning his degree in 1846. As 14th Judicial District Judge from 1853 to 1865, Simon was to become the second of four generations of judges. While . . . — — Map (db m66359) HM
Once connected to the Atchafalaya River, Lake Fausse Pointe was cut off from the river's flow and sediment deposits once the Atchafalaya Basin levees were completed in the 1930s. The lake's shape has remained the same ever since. Though named . . . — — Map (db m115555) HM
In the early 1950s, a five mile levee was built around a naturally occurring open body of water within a cypress-tupelo swamp to hold water throughout the year. This created Lake Martin as it is known today.Located in the heart of Acadian . . . — — Map (db m114538) HM
Raised Creole cottage constructed circa 1815 using boussillage, pegged cypress beams and bricks hand made by slaves using clay from Bayou Teche. — — Map (db m115679) HM
This parish was one of the sites proposed by Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard, Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette, to afford a place of work for African-American priests ordained in the United States in 1934. Rev. Maurice Rousseve, SVD and his . . . — — Map (db m125811) HM
Charles Durand, Pre-Civil War sugar planter, credited with planting this alley.
In legend a family wedding party rode down the alley canopied by giant spider webs dusted gold and silver. Ca 1795-99 Spanish Grant to Jacques Fontenette. — — Map (db m101673) HM
On this site lie buried officers of The Attakapas Militia serving under General Bernardo Galvez In the march to and capture of Baton Rouge and Manchac September 1779. Commandant Alexandre-Chevalier de Clouet Major Louis Du Crest Corporal Jean . . . — — Map (db m104468) HM WM
Spanish Lake is an example of a bluff lake, which forms in areas between the bayou bank and the higher bank that runs along the edge of a river's drainage area.Spanish Lake, formerly called Lake Flamand and later Lake Tasse (meaning . . . — — Map (db m115825) HM
One of the oldest in the state. Established in 1765 by Rev. Jean Francois, Capuchin priest and missionary. It is just the same as when it was built having been repaired but not changed. — — Map (db m71584) HM
Side A (English) City developed c.1795 ~ c.1890 through unusual semi-feudal arrangement where town property holders paid an "annual and perpetual" rent to the congregation of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church.Side B (French) . . . — — Map (db m66367) HM
Honors all persons exiled from Nova Scotia in 1755.
It reflects the burning faith of their 'Sacred
attachment to the homeland and to their religion'.
Dedicated 10 December 1995
Endorsed by
The Louisiana Junior Chamber of Commerce . . . — — Map (db m287589) HM
This building erected 1835-40. As an inn it welcomed travelers and was a center for the town's social activities. Since its purchase in 1899 by the Sisters of Mercy, it has been used as a private school. It was placed on the National Register of . . . — — Map (db m85292) HM
Can you hear the church bells ring? Rising over St. Martinville is the steeple of Saint Martin de Tours Church, one of the oldest
Catholic churches in America. The arrival of the Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1765 shaped the fabric of St. . . . — — Map (db m286432) HM
