Jeanerette is the part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area; its parish is also one of the 22 included in the Acadiana region, which has had a high proportion of Francophones.

In the 18th century, French colonist Pierre Zerangue acquired the land where Jeanerette developed from the Spanish government.

Under Spanish law, if a person occupied a piece of property for two years, they could apply for title to the land under an "order of survey settlement."

[citation needed] Colonist Nicholas Provost acquired property extending from the present-day experimental farm to the St. Mary Parish line.

The town derived its name from John W. Jeanerette, a native of South Carolina who had moved to the developing area in the 1820s.

First he worked as a tutor for a planter's family, as did numerous educated young adults from northern states in the antebellum period.

Having saved some money, Jeanerette purchased Pine Grove Plantation circa 1830, which was formerly known as Beau Pré (meaning lovely meadow/pasture).

[5] During the 19th century, to the north along the Bayou Teche a settlement was developed by free Créoles of color; it is now known as Grand Marais.

Jeanerette was incorporated as a town in 1878 and Joseph E. Provost became the first mayor; its economy was based on the cypress lumber and sugar industries.

Today, additional sources of income include oil and natural gas, salt, carbon black, a garment distribution center, and fishing.

[7] Jeanerette was the home of dentist and politician Paul N. Cyr, Huey P. Long's lieutenant governor and political opponent.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2), all land.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs sponsors the Chitimacha Day School southwest of Jeanerette in the Charenton community of unincorporated St. Mary Parish.