History of Lafayette, Louisiana

[1] The earliest records label the area as the Atakapa and Opelousas districts named after the local Native tribes.

By 1765, Acadians forcibly removed from Nova Scotia by the British expulsion were arriving in New Orleans, and the Spanish territorial governor began settling them in the Lafayette area at St. Martinville and Opelousas.

Both French and Spanish officials granted lands freely along the bayous Carencro and Vermilion.

[2] Two of the earliest settlers were Andrew Martin, Jean and Marin Mouton.

In 1804, Alexandre Mouton, the son of founder Jean, was born in Lafayette and would later become a U.S.