Opelousas, Louisiana


Opelousas is a small city in 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 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 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 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.

History

Early years

Opelousas takes its name from the Native American tribe Opelousa who had occupied the area before European contact.
French traders, called coureurs de bois, 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 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 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.
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 the early Creole families. Other early French Creole families were Roy, Barre, Guenard, Decuir, and Bail. In 1820, Alex Charles Barre, also a French Creole, founded Port Barre. His ancestors came from the French West Indies, probably after the revolution in which Haiti 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 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 the two official languages of English and French. The city was incorporated by legislative act on February 14, 1821.

American Civil War

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 the 19th century created economic problems, worsened by the lack of employment diversity.
In 1862, after Baton Rouge was liberated by 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 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 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.

Reconstruction

After the defeat of the Confederacy and emancipation of slaves, many whites had difficulty accepting the changed conditions, especially as economic problems and dependence on agriculture slowed 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 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 the Black Codes, such police regulations restricted the freedoms and personal autonomy of freedmen after the Civil War in the South.

Refugee era and beyond

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 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 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 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, 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.

Demographics

RaceNumberPercentage
White 2,79917.73%
Black or African American 12,18377.18%
Native American340.22%
Asian1160.73%
Other/Mixed3972.51%
Hispanic or Latino2571.63%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,786 people, 6,248 households, and 3,527 families residing in the city.

Festivals

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 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:
  • Annual Gumbo Cook-off – January
  • Holy Ghost Festival – first weekend of November, near All Saints Day
  • Christmas Lighting of Le Vieux Village- first Friday every December
  • Opelousas Imperial Mardi Gras Parade- Mardi Gras
  • Opelousas Mardi Gras Celebration/Street Dance on Court St.- Mardi Gras