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68-402: Opelousas (French: Les Opélousas ; Spanish: Los Opeluzás ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish , Louisiana , United States . Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a junction here. According to the 2020 census , Opelousas has a population of 15,786, a 6.53 percent decline since the 2010 census, which had recorded a population of 16,634. Opelousas

136-526: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

204-662: A minor league baseball franchise that was based in Opelousas in 1907, 1932 and 1934–1941. The Indians were members of the Gulf Coast League (1907) and Evangeline League (1934–1941). The team played at Elementary School Park. The Opelousas Orphans played a portion of the 1932 season in the Cotton States League . Opelousas was an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians (1935–1937, 1939). Musician Billy Cobham recorded

272-468: A French Creole, founded Port Barre . His ancestors came from the French West Indies, probably after the revolution in which Haiti ( St. Domingue ) became independent. Jim Bowie and his family were said to have settled in the area circa 1813. In 1805, Opelousas became the seat of the newly formed St. Landry Parish – named after the church located there and in honor of Saint Landry – the parish

340-433: A chimney and its foundation. The one-story mansion was located on the corner of Liberty and Grolee Streets, just west of the heart of town. An observation tower was removed from the top of the residence in the early 1900s, but the remainder of the exterior was identical to its original construction in the 1850s. The entire roof section of heavy rafters was held in place by thousands of wooden pegs; not one nail could be found in

408-558: A contribution to the town's charity ball. The folk-rock singer Lucinda Williams mentions Opelousas in the song "Concrete and Barbed Wire" from her critically acclaimed album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road . Singer-songwriter and comedian Henry Phillips mentions Opelousas as one of the venues in his song "I'm In Minneapolis (You're In Hollywood)"'. Parish seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below

476-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

544-829: A dark color. Tribes in Texas used the Appalousa as middlemen in selling horses stolen from the Spanish to the French in New Orleans. Had relations with the Atakapas, Chitimacha , and Avoyel tribes of the surrounding region and acted as a middleman between them in trade. They received fish from the Chitimacha and Atakapa which was traded with the Avoyel for flint because they had an overabundance of it although it

612-420: A few historians, the Appalousa population in 1715 was roughly 130 men, and by 1908, there were 9 people in the tribe. There is debate over the population growth of the tribe but what is consistent is their slow decline towards the early 19th century. First mentioned in an unpublished report by Bienville (former governor of Louisiana), a small wandering tribe, 1715 the population was about 130 men/warriors, 1805

680-476: A household in the city was $ 14,717, and for a family was $ 19,966. Males had a median income of $ 24,588 versus $ 17,104 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 9,957. About 37.7% of families and 43.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 57.2% of those under age 18 and 32.0% of those age 65 or over. Opelousas takes its name from the Native American tribe Opelousa who had occupied

748-461: A language isolate) and French . (This area had been colonized by the French since the mid-18th century.) Their language is completely undocumented. In the early 20th century, anthropologists John R. Swanton and Frederick W. Hodge tentatively classified the Opelousa language as Atakapa. Their languages were linguistically similar as both Opelousa and Atakapa are Choctaw words. It is unclear whether

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816-406: A song called "Opelousas" on his 1978 album Simplicity of Expression – Depth of Thought ( Columbia Records JC 35457). The 1980s synthpop musician Thomas Dolby mentions Opelousas in the song " I Love You Goodbye " from his 1992 album Astronauts & Heretics . The narrator of the song describes being arrested by a sheriff who offers to let him go in exchange for a bribe, under the guise of

884-473: Is also home to Tony Chachere , a Louisiana spice company with a worldwide reach. The company makes a variety of seasoning blends, sauces, marinades, and other products. In September 1999, Wal-Mart opened a large distribution center just north of the city. It is generating an $ 89 million impact per year to the area, employing over 600 full-time workers. Opelousas was home to the Opelousas Indians ,

952-514: Is home to KOCZ-LP , a low power community radio station owned and operated by the Southern Development Foundation. The station was built by numerous volunteers from Opelousas and around the country at the third Prometheus Radio Project barnraising. KOCZ broadcasts music, news, and public affairs to listeners now at 92.9. It was originally on 103.7, but had to move due to a full-power station being licensed to 103.7. Opelousas

1020-518: Is home to The Mix KOGM 107.1FM, which is owned by KSLO Broadcasting, Inc. There are two TV stations based in Opelousas, KDCG-CD (Class A Digital) TV Channel 22 and K39JV, another low power on channel 39. The primary industries in Opelousas are agriculture, oil, manufacturing, wholesale, and retail. The horse racing track Evangeline Downs relocated to Opelousas from its former home in Carencro, Louisiana , in 2003. It employs over 600 workers. Opelousas

1088-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of

1156-503: Is still debated if these are all the same tribe. Du Pratz said that this tribe resided on lakeshores that had a black appearance due to the leaves that covered the bottoms of the lakes. This connects to one theory of how they received the names "black leg, black hair, black skull," etc. This is also debated as other historians and explorers have stated that the people of the tribe would paint their legs black to contrast with their lighter skin. As settlers pushed into Mississippi further west,

1224-474: Is the heart of a traditional Catholic region of French, Spanish, Canadian, and French West Indian ancestry. Catholic families in Louisiana took in more than 2,000 mostly Catholic orphans to live in their rural farming communities. In the year 1920, segregation at St Landry Catholic Church led local Black Catholics to establish their own parish, Holy Ghost . It has since grown to become the largest Black parish in

1292-590: Is the principal city for the Opelousas- Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area , which had an estimated population of 80,808 in 2020. Opelousas is also the fourth largest city in the Lafayette - Acadiana Combined Statistical Area , which has a population of 537,947. Historically an area of settlement by French and Spanish Creoles , Creoles of color , and Acadians , Opelousas is the center of zydeco music. It celebrates its heritage at

1360-465: Is thought to apply to Leonard Swamp (east of present-day Opelousas). During the period, this was the westernmost channel of the Mississippi River. Due to mineral deposits and the great number of leaves covering the bottom, the lake waters appeared black. The Appalousa who hunted and fished in the lake found their legs became stained black from these waters. Appalousa and Atakapa tribes originated in

1428-503: The Muskhogean tribe. The only diet known is fish, more specifically flounder, a favorite of the region, which they also used in trade for flints. The Appalousa went to war with the Avoyel tribe (that may have belonged to the larger Muskhogean tribe). As the latter refused to trade flints that they had an abundance of, some Avoyels were captured and according to some, they were eaten, although it

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1496-505: The 19th century created economic problems, worsened by the lack of employment diversity. In 1862, after Baton Rouge fell to the Union troops during the Civil War , Opelousas was designated the state capital for nine months. The governor's mansion in Opelousas, which was the oldest remaining governor's mansion in Louisiana, was the victim of arson on July 14, 2016, and the structure was reduced to

1564-612: The Black Codes, such police regulations restricted the freedoms and personal autonomy of freedmen after the Civil War in the South. In 1880, the railroad reached Opelousas. In the late 19th century, New York City social services agencies arranged for resettlement of Catholic orphan children by sending them to western rural areas, including Opelousas, in Louisiana and other states. At least three Orphan Trains reached this city before 1929. Opelousas

1632-536: The Creoles of Color Heritage Folklife Center, one of the destinations on the new Louisiana African-American Heritage Trail . It is also the location of the Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino . The city calls itself "the spice capital of the world", with production and sale of seasonings such as Tony Chachere 's products, Targil Seasonings, Savoie's cajun meats and products, and LouAna Cooking Oil. During

1700-530: The French. However, Andrew Jolivétte argues that descendants of these tribes assimilated and intermarried with Creoles . According to Claude Medford, a Choctaw craftsman, around the 1920s, the Appalousas camped at Ringrose plantation, sold palmetto stems and cane split baskets to the owners of the plantation and engaged in games of stickball with the Tunica . The population decreased due to conflict with whites and

1768-555: The Opelousas area until his successor, Luis de Unzaga , nullified that order and allowed Acadians to settle at the Opelousas. The first official land grant was made in 1782. Numerous settlers: French, Spanish, Creoles , and Acadians – mainly from the Attakapas Territory – came to the Opelousas Territory and acquired land grants. By the mid-1780s, land was granted at the site of contemporary Opelousas. (Some people confuse

1836-683: The Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival. Usually held the Saturday before Labor Day at Zydeco Park in Plaisance , the festival features a day of performances by Zydeco musicians, with the goal of keeping the genre alive. Additional annual events include: Opelousas is home to several public and private schools. Opelousas has many public high schools, which are Opelousas Senior High, Northwest High School, and Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts . Opelousas Junior High serves as

1904-596: The South's recovery. Social tensions were high during Reconstruction. In 1868, in what is known as the Opelousas massacre , whites killed 27 African Americans in a mass execution; they had been captured in a protest. Whites continued to attack blacks on sight for days. An estimated additional 23 to 200–300 freedmen were killed during this period. This series of murders comprised one of the single worst instances of Reconstruction violence in south Louisiana. Following this, Opelousas in 1872 enacted ordinances that greatly restricted

1972-590: The Southeastern Woodlands in Louisiana . They lived near present-day Opelousas, Louisiana , west of the lower Mississippi River , in the 18th century. At various times, they allied with the neighboring Atakapa and Chitimacha peoples. Michel De Birotte, who lived in Louisiana from 1690 to 1734 and spent 40 years living among the Indians, wrote the Appalousa lived just west of two small lakes. This description

2040-935: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

2108-561: The United States. In May 1927, Opelousas accepted thousands of refugees following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 in the Mississippi Delta. Heavy rains in northern and midwestern areas caused intense flooding in areas of Mississippi , Arkansas , and Louisiana downstream, especially after levées near Moreauville , Cecilia , and Melville collapsed. More than 81% of St. Landry Parish suffered some flooding, with 77% of

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2176-516: The area before European contact. French traders, called coureurs de bois (forest trappers and hunters), arrived in the Opelousas area in the early 1740s to trade with the Opelousas Indians. The French encouraged immigration to the Opelousas Post before they ceded Louisiana to Spain in 1762. Governor Jean-Jacques d’Abbadie opened the "Opelousas Country" to settlers in 1763. An official post

2244-488: The area middle school. The city has seven public elementary schools. It is also home to one of the campuses of South Louisiana Community College . The private schools are religiously based, including Opelousas Catholic School , Westminster Christian Academy, Apostolic Christian Academy, New Hope Christian Academy, and Family Worship Christian Academy. Opelousas is part of the Lafayette television and radio markets. The city

2312-453: The attic. Plans had been made to restore the building to some of its former splendor. The capital was moved again in 1863, this time to Shreveport , when Union troops occupied Opelousas. During Reconstruction , the state government operated from New Orleans . After the defeat of the South and emancipation of slaves, many whites had difficulty accepting the changed conditions, especially as economic problems and dependence on agriculture slowed

2380-493: The city limits of Opelousas.  The racial makeup of the city was 77.04% Black, 20.3% White, .04% Native American, .05% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, .43% Other Race, 1.08% two or more races, and 1.06% was Hispanic or Latino of any race. The 2010 United States Census , 16,634 people resided in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 74.8% Black, 21.9% White, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from some other race and 1.0% from two or more races; 1.2%

2448-488: The city of Opelousas in 1740. There is very little known about the practices and religion of the Appalousa tribe; however, tracing genealogy in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana lists Appalousas Indians that were buried and baptized. This list includes Appalousa Indians as well as Indians from other tribes across Louisiana. Joseph Willis, an African American Baptist preacher was among the tribe prior to 1812. According to findings from

2516-517: The counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of

2584-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in

2652-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

2720-514: The early Creole families. (This use of Creole meant ethnic French and Spanish people who were born in Louisiana. Later Louisiana Creole was a term applied to anyone with French, Spanish, and Canadian ancestry. Creoles of color were mostly assigned to mixed-race people, descended primarily from Native Americans, African-Americans, and ethnic French, with other heritage in more recent years.) Other early French Creole families were Roy, Barre, Guenard, Decuir, and Bail. In 1820, Alex Charles Barre, also

2788-400: The freedoms of black Americans. These codes required blacks to have a written pass from their employer to enter the town and to state the duration of their visit. Blacks were not allowed on the streets after a 10 pm curfew; they could neither own a house nor reside in the town, unless they were employed by a white person, and they were not allowed in the town after 3 pm on Sundays. Like

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2856-424: The imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of

2924-572: The increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan

2992-611: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

3060-477: The inhabitants directly affected. People in more southern areas of Louisiana, especially those communities along Bayou Teche , were forced to flee their homes for areas that suffered less damage. By May 20, over 5,700 refugees were registered in Opelousas, which had a population of only 6,000 people. Many of the refugees later returned to their homes and began the rebuilding process. During the tenure of Parish Sheriff Cat Doucet from 1936 to 1940 and 1952 to 1968,

3128-732: The later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With

3196-401: The name "Appalousa" is unknown but speculated to be Choctaw, with "aba" meaning "above" or "api" meaning "body" or "leg" followed by "lusa", meaning "black." The meaning of Opelousa changes depending on which Choctaw elements are correct, "aba" and lusa have translations to "black hair" but using "api" and "lusa" translates to "black legs." The tribe may have painted or stained their lower legs

3264-718: The name of this Indian tribe and territory, Opelousas, with that of the Appaloosa horse. But there is no connection; the name for the Appaloosa breed is derived from Palouse , a river named by the Nez Perce Northwestern Plains Indians.) After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 to France who had regained it in 1800, settlers continued to migrate here from St. Martinville . LeBon, Prejean, Thibodaux, Esprit, Nezat, Hebert, Babineaux, Mouton, and Provost were some of

3332-472: The other a warrior. The women's father did not approve and followed them to swamplands where they met and killed the warrior. The woman retaliated by stabbing herself which saddened the great spirit and hung her hair in an oak tree, turning gray and spreading through the trees over time. This story served as an example of the importance of Appalousa territorial history. This history also emphasized its profitability and economics which led French traders to establish

3400-414: The population was about 40 and 1814 the tribe was at about 20 members. The first record of Appalousa territory was found in the 1690s and it was not until 1712 that both the Opelousa and Atakapa regions were recorded as settlements in Louisiana. John Sibley reported in an 1805 letter to Thomas Jefferson that the Opelousa spoke a language different from all others but many understood Atakapa (itself

3468-491: The population. In 2000, 89.1% of the population over the age of five spoke English at home, 9.7% of the population spoke French or Cajun , and 0.7% spoke Louisiana Creole French . Of the 8,699 households, 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.7% were married couples living together, 26.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were not families; 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who

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3536-752: The provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized

3604-512: The same region in central-southwest Louisiana. Their 18th-century village had about 40 men. They raised corn, cattle, and pigs. From American State Papers, a member of the Appalousa and Atakapa region in 1814, said that both tribes had villages on the north and south parts of the bayou. The Appalousa are referred to as also the Lopelousas and Oqué-Loussas by Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz , an 18th-century French historian and ethnographer, but it

3672-648: The section of Opelousas along Highway 190 was a haven of gambling and prostitution. Doucet told historian Michael Kurtz that, with the return of Earl Long to the governorship in 1956, Doucet could bring back brothels and casinos and get a take of the proceeds. The annual Yambilee Festival in Opelousas began in 1946. The harvest festival took place on the last weekend in October. Activities included agricultural competitions, carnival rides, pageants, and parades with floats. John F. Kennedy once attended. The festival has since been cancelled. Since 1982, Opelousas has hosted

3740-764: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

3808-420: The tenure of Sheriff Cat Doucet , from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1952 to 1968, the section of Opelousas along Highway 190 was a haven of gambling and prostitution, the profits from which he skimmed a take. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 15,786 people, 6,248 households, and 3,527 families residing in the city. According to the 2018 United States Census estimate, 16,126 people reside within

3876-557: The territory that the Appalousas resided in came to be known as the Opelousas district which remains a district in Louisiana today. The name is also used for St Landry Parish in Louisiana. An 1890 history of southwest Louisiana reported, "Mr. Alfred Louaillier states that within his recollection there were more Indians to be seen in the streets of Opelousas than there are negroes at the present days." The Atakapa origin story, which they shared with neighboring tribes, describes two forbidden lovers from different tribes, one an elite woman and

3944-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

4012-460: The two official languages of English and French. The city was incorporated by legislative act on February 14, 1821. European and American settlement was based on plantation agriculture, and both groups brought or purchased numerous enslaved Africans and African Americans to work as laborers in cotton cultivation. African Americans influenced all cultures as the people created a "creolized" cuisine and music. The long decline of cotton prices throughout

4080-607: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

4148-402: The word "Opelousa" itself is unclear whether it is a Choctaw word, but translations from Choctaw include "black above", "black legs", and other variations. In 1805, John Sibley, Indian Agent of New Orleans territory, said that the word Appalousa meant "black head" or "black leg" and while similar to Atakapa , their language was unheard of but understood Atakapa as well as French. The origin of

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4216-448: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.24. In the city, the population was distributed as 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males. The median income for

4284-523: Was Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census of 2000, 22,860 people, 8,699 households, and 5,663 families resided in the city. The population density was 3,240.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,251.0/km). The 9,783 housing units averaged 1,386.6 per square mile (535.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 69.12% African American, 29.30% White, 0.10% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latino of any race were 0.88% of

4352-466: Was also known as the Imperial Parish of Louisiana. The year 1806 marked the beginning of significant construction in Opelousas. The first courthouse was constructed in the middle of the town. Later in 1806, Louisiana Memorial United Methodist Church was founded. It was the first Methodist church in Louisiana. Five years later, the first St. Landry Parish Police Jury met in Opelousas, keeping minutes in

4420-400: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Opelousa The Opelousa (also Appalousa ) were an Indigenous people of

4488-623: Was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government

4556-456: Was established in 1764; Frenchman Louis Gérard Pellerin was appointed as the first commandant on July 1, 1764. By 1766, Saint Landry Catholic Church was built. In 1769, about 100 families, mostly French, were living in the post. Don Alejandro O'Reilly , Spanish governor of Louisiana, issued a land ordinance to allow settlers in the frontier of the Opelousas Territory to acquire land grants. However, O’Reilly forbade Acadians from settling in

4624-469: Was most likely traded and exchanged with other tribes. Historians have come together to dismiss the fate of the Appalousa and other tribes of the southwestern region of Louisiana, writing that the Appalousa and Atakapas no longer exist. These smaller Native tribes were struck with disease, malnutrition, and colonization which may have contributed to this conclusion. Historians and researchers also pass on theories of intermarriage and interracial relations with

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