A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government , or capital city of a county or civil parish . The term is in use in five countries: Canada , China , Hungary , Romania , and the United States . An equivalent term, shire town , is used in the U.S. state of Vermont and in several other English-speaking jurisdictions.
151-505: Lafayette ( / ˌ l æ f i ˈ ɛ t , ˌ l ɑː f -/ LA(H) - F -ee- ET , French: [lafajɛt] ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana , located along the Vermilion River . It is Louisiana's fourth-most populous city with a 2020 census population of 121,374; the consolidated city-parish's population was 241,753 in 2020. The Lafayette metropolitan area
302-526: 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
453-410: 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
604-632: A large presence in Lafayette have included or currently include Albertsons , Amazon , Brookshire Grocery Company , CGI , First Horizon Bank , JP Morgan Chase , LUSFiber , the Ochsner Health System , Petroleum Helicopters International , Perficient , and Rouses Markets . Among these corporations, the Tennessee -based First Horizon Bank absorbed IberiaBank (a former Louisiana-based banking institution) in 2020. Other notable corporations stimulating
755-626: 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 the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan,
906-611: A raid on the blockhouse at LaHave, Nova Scotia. On September 11, a child was killed in a raid on the Northwest Range. Another raid happened on March 27, 1759, in which three members of the Oxner family were killed. The last raid happened on April 20, 1759, at Lunenburg, when the Miꞌkmaq killed four settlers who were members of the Trippeau and Crighton families. The Cape Sable campaign involved
1057-550: A region they called La Grande Ligne ("The Great Road", also known as "the King's Highway"). About 1,500 Acadians accepted the offer, but the land turned out to be infertile, and by the end of 1775, most of them abandoned the province. The British did not directly deport Acadians to Louisiana. Following the expulsion by the British from their home, Acadians found their way to many friendly locales, including France. Acadians left France, under
1208-501: A resolution calling for another charter commission to look at amendments to the charter and, if necessary, deconsolidation. The Lafayette Parish Council did not agree to the charter commission proposal. Public works and other services, such as land use and plat review, are operated by the Lafayette Consolidated Government to serve the city of Lafayette and unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish, and by contract some of
1359-415: A schooner at Fort Cumberland and killed its master and two sailors. In the winter of 1759, the Miꞌkmaq ambushed five British soldiers on patrol while they were crossing a bridge near Fort Cumberland. They were ritually scalped and their bodies mutilated as was common in frontier warfare . During the night of April 4, 1759, a force of Acadians and French in canoes captured the transport. At dawn they attacked
1510-469: A total area of 55.65 square miles (144.1 km), of which 55.57 square miles (143.9 km) is land and 0.08 sq mi (0.21 km) (0.19 percent) is covered by water. The city of Lafayette's architecture is diverse, with a collection of more than eight downtown structures listed within the National Register of Historic Places . Downtown Lafayette landmarks include Old Lafayette City Hall and
1661-561: A warehouse near Fort Edward, killed thirteen British soldiers, took what provisions they could carry and set fire to the building. Days later, the same partisans raided Fort Cumberland. By November 1756, French Officer Lotbinière wrote about the difficulty of recapturing Fort Beausejour: "The English have deprived us of a great advantage by removing the French families that were settled there on their different plantations; thus we would have to make new settlements." The Acadians and Mi'kmaq fought in
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#17328699645531812-597: Is a non-profit online news organization that has published since 2017. Licensing more than 22 FM and AM radio stations in its metropolitan area, Lafayette includes Valcour Records and ML1 Records in its metropolis. Major television stations include KATC 3 ( ABC ), KLFY-TV ( CBS ), KLAF-LD ( NBC ), KADN-TV ( Fox ), and KLPB-TV ( PBS ). Other major stations serving the Lafayette area include Alexandria 's KALB-TV (CBS and NBC), Baton Rouge's WBRZ (ABC), WAFB (CBS), WGMB-TV (Fox), WVLA-TV (NBC), and Lake Charles' KPLC-TV (NBC). According to Nielsen Media Research ,
1963-812: Is also home for the only two Cajun themed restaurants named Prejeans . (Located in Carencro and Broussard .) Lafayette is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns , the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Between 1995 and 2005, Lafayette was home to the Louisiana IceGators ECHL hockey team. In 2009, the IceGators returned as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League until 2016. Also from 2009 to 2012, Lafayette
2114-687: Is coterminous with Lafayette Parish. Lafayette is home to a regional office of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality , and the headquarters of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana , the state agency that oversees preservation and documentation of Louisiana French for tourism, economic development, culture, education, and the development of international relations with other Francophone regions and countries. The city of Lafayette
2265-571: Is debated by scholars. A census of 1764 indicates 2,600 Acadians remained in the colony, having eluded capture. In 1710, during the War of the Spanish Succession , the British captured Port Royal , the capital of Acadia. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht ceded the territory to Great Britain while allowing the Acadians to keep their lands. Reluctant to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain, over
2416-412: Is described as humid subtropical using Köppen climate classification . It has year-round precipitation, especially during summertime. Lafayette's highest temperature was 110 °F (43 °C) on August 27, 2023; it has hot, moist summers and warm, damp winters. Attakapa Native Americans were originally the primary residents of the Lafayette area before French colonization , concentrated along
2567-431: Is higher and not made of wetlands like much of the surrounding areas to the south and west of Lafayette. Lafayette does not suffer significant flooding problems, outside of local flash flooding. Lafayette has developed on both sides of the Vermilion River . Other significant waterways in the city are Isaac Verot Coulee, Coulee Mine, Coulee des Poches, and Coulee Ile des Cannes, which are natural drainage canals that lead to
2718-737: Is home to multiple sports venues: Blackham Coliseum , Cajundome , Cajun Field (now Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium) , Earl K. Long Gymnasium , Evangeline Downs , and Planet Ice Skating and Hockey Arena . Lafayette was home to minor-league baseball teams in various seasons from 1907 to 2000. Lafayette was an affiliate of the St. Louis Browns 1936–1941, Chicago Cubs (1955–1957) and San Francisco Giants (1975–1976). The Lafayette Browns (1907), Lafayette Hubs (1920), Lafayette White Sox (1934–1942), Lafayette Bulls (1948–1953), Lafayette Oilers (1954–1957), Lafayette Drillers (1975–1976) and Bayou Bullfrogs (1998–2000) all played in Lafayette. The teams were members of
2869-409: 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
3020-595: Is primarily served by the Lafayette Police Department , though the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office , Lafayette City Marshal , and University of Louisiana Police Department maintain jurisdiction throughout the city and surrounding area. Following nationwide COVID-19 trends from 2019 to 2020, Lafayette has experienced a rise in violent crimes per the Federal Bureau of Investigation . In 2020,
3171-417: The 1840 census and was promptly nicknamed "The Hub City." The city and parish of Lafayette are also known as the "Heart of Acadiana." As a result of its growth, the city and region have become major centers for the technology industry ; Lafayette also became a major center for health care and social services , aerospace , banking and retail . Notable corporations with headquarters or a large presence in
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#17328699645533322-606: The Battle of Jumonville Glen . French Officer Ensign de Jumonville and a third of his escort were killed by a British patrol led by George Washington . In retaliation the French and the Native Americans defeated the British at Fort Necessity . Washington lost a third of his force and surrendered. Major General Edward Braddock 's troops were defeated in the Battle of the Monongahela , and Major General William Johnson 's troops stopped
3473-568: The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist , Daigle House , First United Methodist Church , Holy Rosary Institute , Hope Lodge No. 145 , and Old Lafayette City Hall . Its educational institutions include the University of Louisiana at Lafayette , South Louisiana Community College , and Remington College . Lafayette is named after Marquis de Lafayette . Little is known about early settlements or if
3624-471: The Church of England was made the official religion. These acts granted certain political rights to Protestants while the new laws excluded Catholics from public office and the franchise (the right to vote) and forbade Catholics from owning land in the province. It also empowered British authorities to seize all "popish" property (Church lands) for the crown and barred Catholic clergy from entering or residing in
3775-670: The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States . Altogether, the Eastern Orthodox Church , Oriental Orthodox Churches , and non-mainstream Protestantism have constituted a significant minority in contrast to Catholic and Baptist missionary work. In a separate religious study by Sperling's BestPlaces in 2020, Judaism and Islam were tied as the second largest non-Christian religions within Lafayette and its metropolitan area. Jews began immigrating to
3926-620: The French conquered St. John's, Newfoundland on June 14, 1762, the success galvanized both the Acadians and the natives, who gathered in large numbers at various points throughout the province and behaved in a confident and, according to the British, "insolent fashion". Officials were especially alarmed when natives gathered close to the two principal towns in the province, Halifax and Lunenburg, where there were also large groups of Acadians. The government organized an expulsion of 1,300 people and shipped them to Boston. The government of Massachusetts refused
4077-635: The Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe commanded the naval and military forces, respectively. After the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), Wolfe and Hardy led a force of 1500 troops in nine vessels to Gaspé Bay , arriving there on September 5. From there they dispatched troops to Miramichi Bay on September 12, Grande-Rivière, Quebec and Pabos on September 13, and Mont-Louis, Quebec on September 14. Over
4228-464: The Gulf Coast League (1907), Louisiana State League (1920), Evangeline League (1934–1942, 1948–1957), Texas League (1975–1976) and Texas-Louisiana League (1998–2000). Lafayette teams played at Parkdale Park (1934–1942), Clark Field (1945–1957, 1975–1976) and Tigue Moore Field (1998–2000). In addition, the sport of trampoline developed in Lafayette. Jeff Hennessy 's gymnastics program at
4379-651: The Gulf Coast of the United States . It was part of the seabed during the earlier Quaternary period . During this time, the Mississippi River cut a 325-foot-deep (99 m) valley between what is now Lafayette and Baton Rouge. This valley was filled and is now the Atchafalaya Basin . The city is located on the western rim of this valley. The Lafayette area is part of the southwestern Louisiana Prairie Terrace; it
4530-582: The Haitian Revolution . Louisiana's population contributed to the founding of the modern Cajun population. (The French word "Acadien" evolved into the word "Cadien", which was later anglicized as the word "Cajun"). On July 11, 1764, the British government passed an order-in-council to permit Acadians to legally return to British territories in small isolated groups, provided that they take an unqualified oath of allegiance. Some Acadians returned to Nova Scotia (which included present-day New Brunswick). Under
4681-527: The LaHave River at Dayspring was killed and another seriously wounded by a member of the Labrador family. The next raid happened at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia on August 24, 1758, when eight Miꞌkmaq attacked the family homes of Lay and Brant. They killed three people in the raid, but were unsuccessful in taking their scalps, a common practice for payment from the French. Two days later, two soldiers were killed in
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4832-543: The Latin Church 's Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana . The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana was founded in 1918 and its see is the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist . Within the local Protestant traditions, Baptists have been the primary historic Protestant body affiliated with; the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and Progressive National Baptist Convention have been
4983-592: The Mississippi River and later, they settled in the Atchafalaya Basin , as well as in the prairie lands to the west—a region which was later renamed Acadiana . Some Acadians were sent to colonize places in the Caribbean, such as French Guiana , or the Falkland Islands under the direction of Louis Antoine de Bougainville ; these latter efforts at colonization were unsuccessful. Other Acadians migrated to places like Saint-Domingue , but they fled to New Orleans after
5134-536: The Province of Maine , a large, but sparsely populated exclave of the colony of Massachusetts. For four long winter months, William Shirley , who had ordered their deportation, had not allowed them to disembark and as a result, half died of cold and starvation aboard the ships. Some men and women were forced into servitude or forced labor, children were taken away from their parents and were distributed to various families throughout Massachusetts. The government also arranged
5285-552: 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
5436-666: The Seven Years' War . They intermarried with other settlers, forming what became known as Cajun culture, which maintained use of the French language and adherence to the Roman Catholic Church . Jean Mouton, an Acadian settler, donated land to the Roman Church for construction of a small Catholic chapel at this site. In 1824, this area was selected for the Lafayette Parish seat and was named Vermilionville, for its location on
5587-477: The Thirteen Colonies , then later transported to either Britain or France . Of an estimated 14,100 Acadians, approximately 11,500 were deported, of whom 5,000 died of disease, starvation or shipwrecks. Their land was given to settlers loyal to Britain, mostly immigrants from New England and Scotland . The event is largely regarded as a crime against humanity , though the modern-day use of the term "genocide"
5738-548: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette popularized the sport and produced more world champions — including his daughter, Leigh Hennessy — than any other location. Jeff Hennessy was also instrumental in getting trampoline into the Olympic Games, and several athletes from Trampoline & Tumbling Express in Lafayette have represented the United States at the Olympics. Lafayette has a consolidated city–parish government, known as
5889-462: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette , WHC, Inc., Walmart , Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center , Schlumberger , and Stuller, Inc. The University of Louisiana System 's other institutions and its Lafayette campus have contributed to a $ 10.9 billion impact on the state's economy. As one of the primary employers in Lafayette, the local university has made a statewide impact of $ 379 million in 2015. Prominent corporations with headquarters or
6040-438: The "Ste Anne's Massacre". On February 18, 1759, Hazen and about fifteen men arrived at Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas. The Rangers pillaged and burned the village of 147 buildings, two Catholic churches and various barns and stables. The Rangers burned a large store-house, containing a large quantity of hay, wheat, peas, oats and other foodstuffs, and killed 212 horses, about five head of cattle and a large number of hogs. They also burned
6191-566: The 1940s, Lafayette became a center of the oil and natural gas industry in Louisiana. In addition, the city and its metropolitan area became major centers for technology , health care and social services , aerospace , banking and retail from the latter 20th- and early 21st centuries. As of 2021, the consolidated city–parish's top employers have been the Lafayette Parish School System , Lafayette General Health, Wood Group Production Services, Lafayette Consolidated Government,
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6342-408: The Acadians ). A. J. B. Johnston wrote that the evidence for the removal of the Acadians indicates that the decision makers thought the Acadians were a military threat, therefore the deportation of 1755 does not qualify as an act of ethnic cleansing. Geoffrey Plank argues that the British continued the expulsion after 1758 for military reasons: present-day New Brunswick remained contested territory and
6493-469: The Acadians had to remain in port on their vessels for months. The Colony of Virginia refused to accept the Acadians on grounds that no notice was given of their arrival. They were detained at Williamsburg , where hundreds died from disease and malnutrition. They were then sent to Britain where they were held as prisoners until the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The Acadians who had offered the most resistance to
6644-501: The Acadians on the Petiticodiac . They arrived at present-day Moncton and Danks' Rangers ambushed about 30 Acadians who were led by Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil. The Acadians were driven into the river where three of them were killed and scalped, and the others were captured. Broussard was seriously wounded. Danks reported that the scalps were Miꞌkmaq and received payment for them. Thereafter, he went down in local lore as "one of
6795-714: The Acadians permission to land and sent them back to Halifax. Miꞌkmaw and Acadian resistance was evident in the Halifax region. On April 2, 1756, Miꞌkmaq received payment from the Governor of Quebec for twelve British scalps taken at Halifax. Acadian Pierre Gautier, son of Joseph-Nicolas Gautier, led Miꞌkmaw warriors from Louisbourg on three raids against Halifax Peninsula in 1757. In each raid, Gautier took prisoners, scalps or both. Their last raid happened in September and Gautier went with four Miꞌkmaq, and killed and scalped two British men at
6946-607: The Acadians refused to sign an oath of allegiance to Britain, which would make them loyal to the crown, the British Lieutenant Governor, Charles Lawrence, as well as the Nova Scotia Council on July 28, 1755, made the decision to deport the Acadians. The British deportation campaigns began on August 11, 1755. Throughout the expulsion, Acadians and the Wabanaki Confederacy continued a guerrilla war against
7097-458: The Acadians the legal right to leave Georgia and enter other colonies. South Carolina followed Georgia's example and expediated passports to Acadian exiles in hopes they would move on to other territories. Along with these papers, South Carolina authorities provided the Acadians with two vessels. After running aground numerous times in the ships, some of these Acadians returned to the Bay of Fundy. Along
7248-494: The Acadians to France during the second wave of the expulsion. Approximately 1,000 Acadians went to the Colony of Maryland , where they lived in a section of Baltimore that became known as French Town . The Irish Catholics were reported to have shown charity to the Acadians by taking orphaned children into their homes. Approximately 2,000 Acadians disembarked at the Colony of Massachusetts . There were several families deported to
7399-552: The Acadians' allegiance to the French and the Wabanaki Confederacy as a military threat. Father Le Loutre's War had created the conditions for total war ; British civilians had not been spared and, as Governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council saw it, Acadian civilians had provided intelligence, sanctuary, and logistical support while others had fought against the British. During Le Loutre's war, to protect
7550-526: The Annapolis region. They were victorious in the Battle of Bloody Creek (1757) . Acadians being deported from Annapolis Royal on the ship Pembroke rebelled against the British crew, took over the ship and sailed to land. In December 1757, while cutting firewood near Fort Anne, John Weatherspoon was captured by Natives—presumably Miꞌkmaq— and was carried away to the mouth of the Miramichi River, from where he
7701-480: The British claim to Acadia, putting villages at risk of attack from the Miꞌkmaq. Other Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath because they were anti-British. Various historians have observed that some Acadians were labelled "neutral" when they were not. By the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians, there was already a long history of political and military resistance by Acadians and the Wabanaki Confederacy to
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#17328699645537852-409: The British colonies. While there was clear animosity between Catholics and Protestants during this time period, many historians point to the overwhelming evidence which suggests that the motivation for the expulsion was military. The British wanted to cut off supply lines to the Miꞌkmaq, Louisbourg and Quebec. They also wanted to end any military threat which the Acadians posed (See Military history of
8003-456: The British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council ordered all Acadians to be expelled. In the first wave of the expulsion, Acadians were deported to other British North American colonies. During the second wave, they were deported to Britain and France, and from there a significant number migrated to Spanish Louisiana , where "Acadians" eventually became " Cajuns ". Acadians fled initially to Francophone colonies such as Canada ,
8154-609: The British in response to British aggression which had been continuous since 1744 (see King George's War and Father Le Loutre's War ). The first wave of the expulsion began on August 10, 1755, with the Bay of Fundy Campaign during the French and Indian War. The British ordered the expulsion of the Acadians after the Battle of Beausejour (1755). The campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand-Pré , Piziquid ( Falmouth / Windsor, Nova Scotia ) and finally Annapolis Royal . On November 17, 1755, George Scott took 700 troops, attacked twenty houses at Memramcook, arrested
8305-511: The British occupation of Acadia. The Miꞌkmaq and the Acadians were allies through numerous inter-marriages during the previous century. While the Acadians were the largest population, the Wabanaki Confederacy, particularly the Miꞌkmaq, held the military strength in Acadia even after the British conquest. They resisted the British occupation and were joined on numerous occasions by Acadians. These efforts were often supported and led by French priests in
8456-401: The British removing Acadians from present-day Shelburne County and Yarmouth County . In April 1756, Major Jedidiah Preble and his New England troops, on their return to Boston, raided a settlement near Port La Tour and captured 72 men, women and children. In the late summer of 1758, Major Henry Fletcher led the 35th regiment and a company of Gorham's Rangers to Cape Sable. He cordoned off
8607-583: The British settlers from attacks along the former border of New England and Acadia, the Kennebec River , the British built Fort Halifax ( Winslow ), Fort Shirley ( Dresden , formerly Frankfurt) and Fort Western ( Augusta ). After the British capture of Beauséjour , the plan to capture Louisbourg included cutting trade to the Fortress in order to weaken the Fortress and, in turn, weaken the French ability to supply
8758-608: The British—particularly those who had been at Chignecto—were reported to have been sent to the southernmost colonies (the Carolinas and the Colony of Georgia ), where about 1,400 Acadians settled and were "subsidized" and put to work on plantations . Under the leadership of Jacques Maurice Vigneau of Baie Verte , the majority of the Acadians in Georgia received a passport from the governor, John Reynolds . These passports gave
8909-478: The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist. Near these structures, Chase and Doubletree have been the area's tallest buildings at 15 and 16 stories. With the announcement of the latest addition to the city in over 40 years, two high-rise towers were planned and would stand 4 stories higher. In October 2021, it was announced only one high-rise tower would be constructed citing lack of interest in condominiums within
9060-617: The Chignecto region and were victorious in the Battle of Petitcodiac (1755). In the spring of 1756, a wood-gathering party from Fort Monckton (former Fort Gaspareaux ) was ambushed and nine were scalped. In April 1757, the same band of Acadian and Miꞌkmaw partisans raided Fort Edward and Fort Cumberland near present-day Jolicure, New Brunswick , killing and scalping two men and taking two prisoners. July 20, 1757, some Miꞌkmaq killed 23 and captured two of Gorham's rangers outside Fort Cumberland. In March 1758, forty Acadians and Miꞌkmaq attacked
9211-508: 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 the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it
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#17328699645539362-501: The French advance at Lake George . In Acadia, the primary British objective was to defeat the French fortifications at Beauséjour and Louisbourg and to prevent future attacks from the Wabanaki Confederacy, French and Acadians on the northern New England border. (There was a long history of these attacks from Acadia – see the Northeast Coast Campaigns 1688 , 1703 , 1723 , 1724 , 1745 , 1746 , 1747 .) The British saw
9513-410: The Lafayette Consolidated Government; parish voters agreed to consolidation of the city and parish governments in 1996. Lafayette's chief executive was initially called the city-parish president, but is now known as the mayor-president for the Lafayette Consolidated Government. Republican Monique Blanco-Boulet was elected to this office most recently. The consolidation of the city and parish has been
9664-502: The Lafayette area have included Amazon , Brookshire Grocery Company , CGI , JP Morgan Chase , Ochsner Health System , Petroleum Helicopters International , and Rouses Markets . Lafayette is home to a diverse population from Louisiana Creole and Cajun backgrounds. In 2014, Lafayette was named the "Happiest City in America.” The city and region's cultural icons include Alexandre Mouton House , Brandt House , Charles H. Mouton House ,
9815-404: The Lafayette television market was the 123rd largest in the United States as of 2019. 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 the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia
9966-400: The Lunenburg settlement nine times over a three-year period during the war. Boishebert ordered the first Raid on Lunenburg (1756) . In 1757, the second raid on Lunenburg occurred, in which six people from the Brisson family were killed. The following year, March 1758, there was a raid on the Lunenburg Peninsula at the Northwest Range (present-day Blockhouse, Nova Scotia ) when five people from
10117-422: The Miꞌkmaq in their warfare against the British. According to historian Stephen Patterson , more than any other single factor – including the massive assault that eventually forced the surrender of Louisbourg – the supply problem brought an end to French power in the region. Lawrence realized he could reduce the military threat and weaken Fortress Louisbourg by deporting the Acadians, thus cutting off supplies to
10268-423: The North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain . It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , and Prince Edward Island , along with part of the US state of Maine . The Expulsion occurred during the French and Indian War , the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War . Prior to 1758, Acadians were deported to
10419-444: The Ochs and Roder families were killed. By the end of May 1758, most of those on the Lunenburg Peninsula had abandoned their farms and retreated to the protection of the fortifications around the town of Lunenburg, losing the season for sowing their grain. For those who did not leave their farms, the number of raids intensified. During the summer of 1758, there were four raids on the Lunenburg Peninsula. On July 13, 1758, one person on
10570-423: The Removals. There is significant evidence in the correspondence of military and civil leaders for Anti-Catholicism . Faragher writes, "The first session of the Nova Scotia Assembly ... passed a series of laws intended to institutionalize Acadian dispossession" including an act titled "An Act for the Quieting of Possessions to Protestant Grantees of land formerly occupied by the French." In it and two subsequent acts,
10721-400: The United States . During 2015, the Lafayette metropolitan area also overtook the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area by population, becoming Louisiana's third largest metropolitan region. The city of Lafayette is located at 30°13′N 92°2′W / 30.217°N 92.033°W / 30.217; -92.033 (30.2139, −92.0294), in southern Louisiana's Acadiana region on
10872-879: 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
11023-537: The Vermilion River. Lafayette lies approximately 135 miles (217 km) from New Orleans , 59 miles (95 km) from the state capital of Baton Rouge , 75 miles (121 km) from Lake Charles , and 89 miles (143 km) from Alexandria . The city has an elevation ranging from 36 feet (11.0 m) to 49 feet (15 m) above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has
11174-570: The Vermilion River. After the Louisiana Purchase , American settlers began moving into the area and intermarrying among the French, enslaved Africans , and free people of color . Since 1860, Lafayette has grown from 498 to 121,374 residents at the 2020 U.S. census . Following the American Community Survey's 5 year estimates program, the city has continued population growth with an additional 2020 estimate at 126,674 residents. With
11325-542: The accommodation that Acadians and Anglo-Americans reached." As well, the British were clearly not concerned that the Acadians were French, given the fact that they were recruiting French " foreign Protestants " to settle in the region. Further, the New Englanders of Boston were not banishing Acadians from the Atlantic region; instead, they were actually deporting them to live in the heart of New England: Boston and elsewhere in
11476-583: The adoption of orphaned children and provided subsidies for housing and food for a year. The Colony of Connecticut prepared for the arrival of 700 Acadians. Like Maryland, the Connecticut legislature declared that "[the Acadians] be made welcome, helped and settled under the most advantageous conditions, or if they have to be sent away, measures be taken for their transfer." The Colony of Pennsylvania accommodated 500 Acadians. Because they arrived unexpectedly,
11627-505: The area had a different name prior to European colonization . The city was originally founded in 1821 as Vermilionville. The Attakapa Native Americans inhabited this area at the time of the first European encounter. French colonists founded the first European settlement, Petit Manchac , a trading post along the Vermilion River. In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, numerous Acadian refugees settled in this area, after being expelled from Canada after Great Britain defeated France in
11778-517: The area in the 1800s, and one of Louisiana's oldest continuously operated synagogues (Temple Shalom) has been present in the city since 1869. The historic synagogue of Temple Shalom originally functioned as an Orthodox Jewish congregation before joining the Reform Judaism movement. Lafayette's Jewish community has assisted in economic and cultural development of the area since their arrival. Established and occupied as an agricultural community until
11929-422: The area municipalities. Zoning rules apply only within the city and unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish. Some neighboring municipalities have adopted their own planning and zoning protocols. The suburban and rural cities and towns maintain independent city councils, local executives, police and fire departments, and other public services. The LPSS operates independently of any municipality, and its jurisdiction
12080-489: The area; the project was halted in January 2022 citing further difficulties. The attempted construction of new high-rises within the heart of the city followed efforts to redevelop the downtown area in the 2010s and attract further residents. Alongside high-rise construction projects throughout the downtown area, a 70-unit apartment development began in early 2022 spurring continued interest in urban development. Lafayette's climate
12231-411: The bottom of the river, raiding Kennebecais and Managoueche ( City of Saint John ), where they built Fort Frederick . Then they moved up the river and raided Grimross ( Arcadia, New Brunswick ), Jemseg , and finally reached Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas. Contrary to Governor Lawrence's direction, New England Ranger Lieutenant Hazen engaged in frontier warfare against the Acadians in what has become known as
12382-584: The cape and sent his men through it. One hundred Acadians and Father Jean Baptistee de Gray surrendered, while about 130 Acadians and seven Miꞌkmaq escaped. The Acadian prisoners were taken to Georges Island in Halifax Harbour. En route to the St. John River Campaign in September 1758, Monckton sent Major Roger Morris of the 35th Regiment, in command of two men-of-war and transport ships with 325 soldiers, to deport more Acadians. On October 28, Monckton's troops sent
12533-682: The church located just west of Old Government House, Fredericton . The leader of the Acadian militia on the St. John river, Joseph Godin-Bellefontaine , refused to swear an oath despite the Rangers torturing and killing his daughter and three of his grandchildren in front of him. The Rangers also took six prisoners. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign, also known as the Gaspee Expedition, British forces raided French villages along present-day New Brunswick and
12684-446: The city and metropolitan economies have been Lowe's , Costco , and various national retail and department stores in the Mall of Acadiana . By December 2023, Topgolf opened a venue in Lafayette. Ranking as one of the best places to retire in Louisiana according to Forbes in 2018, Lafayette was also ranked one of the best places for businesses and careers in 2019; according to Forbes , it
12835-514: The city and parish consolidated; the governments of the city and parish were merged, though five other incorporated municipalities continued to operate with their own municipal governments and departments. Since the beginning of the 21st century, a committee proposed the deconsolidation of the city and parish. In 2015, the city of Lafayette gained international attention for a mass shooting and murder-suicide at Grand 16 Theater ; this mass shooting spurred further discussion and debate on gun control in
12986-560: The city and region's historically Black or African American Baptist denominations, though the Church of God in Christ has also been a historically prominent African American Protestant body. Mormons , Lutherans , and Presbyterians have also maintained minority presences within the Lafayette municipal and metropolitan communities. Christians of other traditions including the Jehovah's Witnesses and united and uniting churches have been present in
13137-518: The city experienced 712 violent crimes up from 664 in 2019; according to a professor of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, violent crime was decreasing prior to the pandemic. In 2018 the city experienced 9 homicides, and 17 in 2020; for comparison, there were 195 homicides in New Orleans in 2020, and 100 in Baton Rouge. Altogether, Lafayette ranked as the 20th safest city overall in Louisiana, and
13288-464: The city proper's geographic foothold with exception to its northern neighborhoods. More than 34% of its Hispanic and Latino American population lived in the central-west portion of the city, and Black and African Americans primarily dominated the northern half of Lafayette city proper. Its Asian American community was dispersed throughout the whole city alongside multiracial Americans, and people of other races and ethnicities primarily lived near downtown or
13439-422: The city's border with Carencro . Having historic growth from the 20th and 21st centuries attributed primarily to the oil and gas industry, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette , and Acadiana tourism, an estimated 3.8 percent of the city's population was foreign-born from 2014 to 2019; of the foreign-born population, 33.6 percent were naturalized U.S. citizens. Altogether English , French , and Spanish were
13590-468: The city's metropolitan area since the 20th century. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the oldest nontrinitarian Christian denomination in Lafayette, and has one church in the city limits; the closest LDS churches outside of Lafayette are in New Iberia and Opelousas . There has been one Antiochian Orthodox jurisdiction operating since 2004; there is also a Coptic Orthodox mission under
13741-505: The city. The area's LGBT population have described Acadiana as "welcoming," though some members of the community in the 1970s declined to be photographed at public and private LGBT events. While regarded as welcoming, Lafayette's government was once under the Human Rights Campaign Foundation 's focus regarding non-discrimination in city employment; a local government spokesperson responded with reports of no complaints from
13892-523: The close conditions, while others were allowed to join communities and live normal lives. In France, 78 Acadian families were repatriated to Belle-Île-en-Mer off the western coast of Brittany after the Treaty of Paris. The most serious resettlement attempt was made by Louis XV , who offered 2 acres (8,100 m ) of land in the Poitou province to 626 Acadian families each, where they lived close together in
14043-418: 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
14194-420: 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
14345-576: The deportation orders, Acadian land tenure had been forfeited to the British crown and the returning Acadians no longer owned land. Beginning in 1760 much of their former land was distributed under grant to the New England Planters . The lack of available farmland compelled many Acadians to seek out a new livelihood as fishermen on the west coast of Nova Scotia, known as the French Shore. The British authorities scattered other Acadians in groups along
14496-490: The discovery of oil in the area in the 1940s. Since the discovery of oil, the city and parish have had the highest number of workers in the oil and natural gas industry in Louisiana as of 2018. With the issuance of a bond ordinance for a series of roads connecting nearby settlements; the establishment of the University of Louisiana System 's Lafayette campus; and the continued diversification of its economy, Lafayette and its metropolitan area have experienced population growth since
14647-663: The diverse cultures of Lafayette. Notable cultural gatherings have included the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles , Festival International de Louisiane , Boudin Cookoff and Bacon Fest, the Cajun Heartland State Fair, and Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette . Residents also celebrate their cultural identities through visiting Acadian Village or Vermilionville Historic Village . Highly regarded for its diverse food and restaurant culture, Lafayette has been regarded as having
14798-619: The early 20th century. After the American Civil War , most of the labor was done by freedmen , who worked as sharecroppers . From the 1930s, mechanization of agriculture began to reduce the need for farm workers. By 1898, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was established in the city as the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute. It opened in 1901, and changed its name to the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1960. The university's current name
14949-549: The establishment of Filipino communities along the coast of Louisiana (primarily in the Greater New Orleans area) up to established communities in the Acadiana region as of 2013. The city and area's Hispanic and Latino American population have existed since Spanish colonization of Louisiana . According to 2021 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau , its non-Hispanic or Latino white population have been prevalent throughout
15100-558: The expulsion in the popular 1847 poem, Evangeline , about the plight of a fictional character, which spread awareness of the expulsion. After the British gained control of Acadia in 1713, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of loyalty to become British subjects. Instead, they negotiated a conditional oath that promised neutrality. They also worried that signing the oath might commit male Acadians to fight against France during wartime and that it would be perceived by their Mi'kmaq neighbours and allies as an acknowledgement of
15251-450: The expulsion. Historian John Grenier asserts that Faragher overstates the religious motivation for the expulsion and obscures the fact that the British accommodated Acadians by providing Catholic priests for forty years prior to the Expulsion. Grenier writes that Faragher "overstates his case; his focus on the grand dérangement as an early example of ethnic cleansing carries too much present-day emotional weight and in turn overshadows much of
15402-450: The following decades some participated in French military operations and helped maintain supply lines to the French fortresses of Louisbourg and Beauséjour . As a result, the British sought to eliminate any future military threat posed by the Acadians and to permanently cut the supply lines they provided to Louisbourg by removing them from the area. Without differentiating between those who had remained neutral and those who took up arms,
15553-658: The following weeks, Hardy took four sloops or schooners, destroyed about 200 fishing vessels, and took about 200 prisoners. The Acadians took refuge along the Baie des Chaleurs and the Restigouche River . Boishébert had a refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle, which was probably located near present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec . The year after the Battle of Restigouche , in late 1761, Captain Roderick Mackenzie and his force captured over 330 Acadians at Boishebert's camp. After
15704-590: The foot of Citadel Hill. Pierre went on to participate in the Battle of Restigouche. Arriving on the provincial vessel King George, four companies of Rogers Rangers (500 rangers) were at Dartmouth April 8 until May 28 awaiting the Siege of Louisbourg (1758) . While there they scoured the woods to stop raids on Dartmouth. In July 1759, Miꞌkmaq and Acadians killed five British in Dartmouth, opposite McNabb's Island. By June 1757,
15855-536: The fort at New Gloucester . During this period, the Wolastoqiyik and Miꞌkmaq were the only tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy who were able to fight. On August 13, 1758, Boishebert left Miramichi, New Brunswick with 400 soldiers, including Acadians whom he led from Port Toulouse . They marched to Fort St. George ( Thomaston ) and unsuccessfully laid siege to the town, and raided Munduncook ( Friendship ) where they wounded eight British settlers and killed others. This
16006-427: The fort. During the expulsion, French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert led the Miꞌkmaq and the Acadians in a guerrilla war against the British. According to Louisbourg's account books, by late 1756 the French had regularly dispensed supplies to 700 natives. From 1756 to the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, the French made regular payments to Chief Jean-Baptiste Cope and other natives for British scalps . Once
16157-820: The fourth-most restaurants per capita in Louisiana since 2015. Home to the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory of Music, Chorale Acadienne, Lafayette Ballet Theatre and Dance Conservatory, the Lafayette Concert Band, and Performing Arts Society of Acadiana; as well as the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum , Acadiana Center for the Arts and Heymann Performing Arts Center, Lafayette has hosted Tyler Perry 's Madea's Farewell play in 2019. The 2018 television film , The Christmas Contract , set in Lafayette, features many Cajun Christmas customs. Lafayette
16308-461: The highest numbers of fatalities during the expulsion. By the time the second wave of the expulsion had begun, the British had discarded their policy of relocating the Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies, and had begun deporting them directly to France. In 1758, hundreds of Île Royale Acadians fled to one of Boishebert's refugee camps south of Baie des Chaleurs. The Petitcodiac River Campaign
16459-611: 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
16610-573: The influence of Henri Peyroux de la Coudreniere , to settle in Louisiana , which was then a colony of Spain. Louisiana was transferred to the Spanish government in 1762. Because of the good relations which existed between France and Spain, and because of their common Catholic religion, some Acadians chose to take oaths of allegiance to the Spanish government. Soon the Acadians composed the largest ethnic group in Louisiana. First, they settled in areas along
16761-422: The largest collective Christian group. Among Protestant Christians, the largest were non-denominational Christians with 26,860 adherents; Southern Baptists with 22,324; Progressive National Baptists with 19,324; United Methodists with 8,401; and Assemblies of God USA with 6,704 adherents. Owing in part to Spanish and French colonialism and missionary work , Christians have historically affiliated with
16912-543: The local LGBT community. In 2023, the community celebrated the second annual Pride Acadiana. In common with Louisiana's religious demographic, Lafayette and its metropolitan area are predominantly religious, dominated by Christianity . According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, the Catholic Church was the single largest Christian denomination with a reported 212,013 adherents, and Protestants were
17063-487: The median income stood at $ 34,588. The city had an employment rate of 60.4 percent, up from the state's 55.4 percent from 2014 to 2019. While in the predominantly conservative southern U.S. , Lafayette has maintained a substantial lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community since at least 1969, when some members of the Mystic Krewe of Apollo, a gay cultural, social, and service organization in New Orleans, arrived in
17214-451: The migration and population growth of European , African , and multiracial Americans since early settlement, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city has been predominantly non-Hispanic or Latino white , Black or African American, multiracial, and Asian . French , German , English , American , Irish , and Italian were the largest European ancestry groups among the non-Hispanic or Latino white population. Asian settlers arrived during
17365-477: The most 'obnoxious' Acadians and replace them with Protestant immigrants. In time the Protestants would come to dominate their new communities." Shirley wanted "peaceable [loyal] subjects" and specifically, in his own words, "good Protestant ones." Faragher compared the expulsion of the Acadians to contemporary acts of ethnic cleansing . In contrast, some leading historians have objected to this characterization of
17516-669: The most reckless and brutal" of the Rangers. Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1,150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas ( Fredericton, New Brunswick ) in February 1759. Monckton was accompanied by New England Rangers led by Joseph Goreham, Captain Benoni Danks, Moses Hazen and George Scott. The British started at
17667-405: The most spoken languages at home among the native and foreign-born populations. In 2022, the city's foreign-born population grew to 5.8%. Poverty remaining an issue in the city with an estimated 18.6 percent at or below the national poverty threshold in 2019, the median income for a family was $ 54,139 in 2020 and Lafayettiens had a mean household income of $ 79,216; among non-family households,
17818-517: The neighbouring towns destroying the plantations. On May 13, they raided Frankfort ( Dresden ), where two men were killed and a house burned. The same day they raided Sheepscot (Newcastle) and took five prisoners. Two people were killed in North Yarmouth on May 29 and one taken captive. The natives shot one person at Teconnet, now Waterville , took prisoners at Fort Halifax and two prisoners at Fort Shirley (Dresden). They also captured two workers at
17969-542: 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 was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after
18120-577: The offspring of such unions to be sent to English schools and raised as "English Protestants" (quote from a letter by Shirley). This was linked to larger anxieties in the realm over the loyalty of Catholics in general—as Charles Stuart 's Jacobite Rebellion was a Catholic-led rebellion as was Le Loutre's rebellion in Nova Scotia. Shirley, who in part was responsible for the Removals, according to historian Geoffrey Plank, "recommended using military force to expel
18271-546: The province, as they wanted no repeat of Le Loutre and his type of war . In addition to other anti-Catholic measures, Faragher concludes "These laws—passed by a popular assembly, not enacted by military fiat—laid the foundation for the migration of Protestant settlers." In the 1740s, William Shirley had hoped to assimilate Acadians into the Protestant fold. He did so by trying to encourage (or force) Acadian women to marry English Protestants and statutes were passed which required
18422-457: The region. The Wabanaki Confederacy and Acadians fought against the British in six wars, including the French and Indian Wars , Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War , over a period of 75 years. In 1753, French troops from Canada marched south and seized and fortified the Ohio Valley . Britain protested the invasion and claimed Ohio for itself. On May 28, 1754, the war began with
18573-532: The remaining Acadians and killed two hundred head of livestock to deprive the French of supplies. Acadians tried to escape the expulsion by retreating to the St. John and Petitcodiac rivers, and the Miramichi in New Brunswick. The British cleared the Acadians from these areas in the later campaigns of Petitcodiac River , Saint John River , and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1758. The Acadians and Miꞌkmaq resisted in
18724-488: The river; in 1836, the Louisiana State Legislature approved its incorporation. The area was initially developed by Europeans for agriculture, primarily sugar plantations , which depended on the labor of numerous enslaved Africans and African Americans . They made up a large percentage of the antebellum population. According to U.S. census data in 1830, some 41 percent of the population of Lafayette Parish
18875-581: The safest of Louisiana's four largest municipalities in 2021. Lafayette's major daily newspaper is The Daily Advertiser , owned by Gannett (publishers of USA Today ). Established in 1865 as the Weekly Advertiser , it purchased the local alternative paper, The Times of Acadiana in 1998. Other prominent newspapers in the Lafayette area include Acadiana Profile , Baton Rouge-based The Advocate and its local paper The Acadiana Advocate , The Independent , and UL-based The Vermilion . The Current
19026-399: The settlers had to be completely withdrawn from Lawrencetown (established 1754) because the number of Indian raids prevented settlers from leaving their houses. In nearby Dartmouth , in the spring of 1759, another Miꞌkmaw attack was launched on Fort Clarence , located at the present-day Dartmouth Refinery , in which five soldiers were killed. Before the deportation, the Acadian population
19177-404: The ship Moncton and chased it for five hours down the Bay of Fundy. Although Moncton escaped, one of its crew was killed and two were wounded. In September 1756, a group of 100 Acadians ambushed a party of thirteen soldiers who were working outside Fort Edward at Piziquid. Seven were taken prisoner and six escaped back to the fort. In April 1757, a band of Acadian and Miꞌkmaw partisans raided
19328-412: The shores of eastern New-Brunswick and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It was not until the 1930s, with the advent of the Acadian co-operative movements, that the Acadians became less economically disadvantaged. According to historian John Mack Faragher , the religious and ethnic dimensions of the Expulsion of Acadians are in addition to, and deeply connected with, the military exigencies cited as causes for
19479-426: The sort of communities Britain's colonial officials tried to discourage. More worryingly for the British authorities, some Acadians threatened to migrate north to French-controlled regions, including the Saint John River, Île Royale ( Cape Breton Island ), the coasts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Canada. Because the British believed their policy of sending the Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies had failed, they deported
19630-764: 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
19781-410: The subject of continuous public debate over the years. In 2011, a charter commission recommended deconsolidation, though parish voters rejected the recommendation. In 2018, voters separated the single city–parish council into a city council to represent the city of Lafayette and a parish council to represent Lafayette Parish. The mayor-president is still elected parishwide. In 2021, the city council passed
19932-700: 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 the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under
20083-416: 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
20234-443: The uncolonized northern part of Acadia, Île Saint-Jean (now Prince Edward Island ), and Île Royale (now Cape Breton Island ). During the second wave of the expulsion, these Acadians were either imprisoned or deported. Along with the British achieving their military goals of destroying the fortress of Louisbourg and weakening the Mi'kmaq and Acadian militias, the result of the Expulsion
20385-538: 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 ,
20536-412: The way, they were captured and imprisoned. Only 900 managed to return to Acadia, less than half of those who had begun the voyage. Others also tried to return home. The South Carolina Gazette reported that in February, about 30 Acadians fled the island to which they were confined and escaped their pursuers. Alexandre Broussard, brother of the famed resistance leader Joseph Broussard, dit Beausoleil ,
20687-562: The women and children to Georges Island. The men were kept behind and forced to work with troops to destroy their village. On October 31, they were also sent to Halifax. In the spring of 1759, Joseph Gorham and his rangers arrived to take prisoner the remaining 151 Acadians. They reached Georges Island with them on June 29. November 1759 saw the deportation to Britain of 151 Acadians from Cape Sable who had been prisoners on George's Island since June. In July 1759 on Cape Sable, Captain Cobb arrived and
20838-692: Was #25 in the cost of doing business, #200 in job growth, and #175 in education nationwide. Per U.S. News & World Report , its cost of living has contributed to it being ranked as the second best place to live in Louisiana. Located in Acadiana , Lafayette is a diverse city with a large and growing metropolitan population as of 2015. The Lafayette metropolitan area has a large Louisiana Creole , Cajun , and substantial foreign-born population ; an estimated 14,676 Lafayettiens were foreign-born residents in 2019. Additionally, more than 36% of foreigners came from Asia from 2014 to 2019. Many annual events celebrate
20989-561: Was Boishébert's last Acadian expedition; from there he and the Acadians went to Quebec and fought in the Battle of Quebec (1759) . In the first wave of the expulsion, most Acadian exiles were assigned to rural communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and South Carolina. In general, they refused to stay where they were put and large numbers migrated to the colonial port cities where they gathered in isolated, impoverished French-speaking Catholic neighbourhoods,
21140-440: Was Louisiana's third largest metropolitan statistical area with a population of 478,384 at the 2020 census. The Acadiana region containing Lafayette is the largest population and economic corridor between Houston , Texas and New Orleans . Originally established as Vermilionville in the 1820s and incorporated in 1836, Lafayette developed as an agricultural community until the introduction of retail and entertainment centers, and
21291-418: Was a series of British military operations that occurred from June to November 1758 to deport the Acadians who either lived along the river or had taken refuge there from earlier deportations. Benoni Danks and Gorham's Rangers carried out the operation. Contrary to Governor Lawrence's direction, New England Ranger Danks engaged in frontier warfare against the Acadians. On July 1, 1758, Danks began to pursue
21442-755: Was among them. About a dozen are recorded to have returned to Acadia after an overland journey of 1,400 leagues (4,200 miles (6,800 km)). After the siege of Louisbourg , the British began to deport the Acadians directly to France rather than to the British colonies. Some Acadians deported to France never reached their destination. Almost 1,000 died when the transport ships Duke William , Violet , and Ruby sank in 1758 en route from Île Saint-Jean ( Prince Edward Island ) to France. About 3,000 Acadian refugees eventually gathered in France's port cities and went to Nantes . Many Acadians who were sent to Britain were housed in crowded warehouses and subject to plagues due to
21593-498: 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. Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of
21744-514: Was chosen in 1999. In the 1940s, after oil was discovered in the parish, the petroleum and natural gas industries expanded to dominate the economy. By 2018, Lafayette had the highest number of oil and natural gas industry workers in the state. Since the latter half of the 20th century, Lafayette has hosted the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles , and was candidate as site for the New Orleans Pelicans NBA G League team in 2017. In 1996,
21895-598: Was enslaved. By 1860, the enslaved population had increased to 49.6 percent. Some free people of color lived in Lafayette Parish, as well; they made up 3 percent to a low of 2.4 percent between 1830 and 1860. In 1884, Vermilionville was renamed for General Lafayette , a French aristocrat who had fought with and significantly aided the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . The city and parish economy continued to be based on agriculture into
22046-471: Was estimated at 14,000. Most were deported, but some Acadians escaped to Quebec, or hid among the Miꞌkmaq or in the countryside, to avoid deportation until the situation settled down. In present-day Maine, the Miꞌkmaq and the Wolastoqiyik raided numerous New England villages. At the end of April 1755, they raided Gorham , killing two men and a family. Next they appeared in New Boston ( Gray ) and went through
22197-491: Was fired upon by 100 Acadians and Miꞌkmaq. The second wave of the expulsion began with the French defeat at the Siege of Louisbourg (1758) . Thousands of Acadians were deported from Île Saint-Jean ( Prince Edward Island ) and Île Royale ( Cape Breton Island ). The Île Saint-Jean Campaign resulted in the largest percentage of deaths of the deported Acadians. The sinking of the ships Violet (with about 280 persons aboard) and Duke William (with over 360 persons aboard) marked
22348-834: Was home to the Lafayette Wildcatters of the Southern Indoor Football League . It also became home to the Lafayette Bayou Bulls , a semipro football program started in 2003. The Lafayette SwampCats (1997–1999) and Lafayette Swamp Cats (2000–2004) soccer teams played in the city. The Cajun Soccer Club of the Gulf Coast Premier League was founded in 2013; Louisiana Krewe FC played in the Gulf Coast Premier League before joining USL League Two for its 2022 season. The Lafayette area
22499-563: Was sold or traded to the French, taken to Quebec and was held until late in 1759 and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham , when General Wolfe's forces prevailed. Approximately 55 Acadians, who escaped the initial deportation at Annapolis Royal, are reported to have made their way to the Cape Sable region—which included south western Nova Scotia—from where they participated in numerous raids on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia . The Acadians and Miꞌkmaq raided
22650-590: Was the devastation of both a primarily civilian population and the economy of the region. Thousands of Acadians died in the expulsions, mainly from diseases and drowning when ships were lost. On July 11, 1764, the British government passed an order-in-council to permit Acadians to return to British territories in small isolated groups, provided that they take an unqualified oath of allegiance. Today Acadians live primarily in eastern New Brunswick and some regions of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec and northern Maine. American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized
22801-574: 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 the later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been
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