Lafayette was founded as Vermilionville in 1822 by Jean Mouton, a prosperous landowner of Acadian descent whose donations of land for a Catholic church and the parish courthouse ensured the town's future. The arrival of the railroad in 1880, the founding of Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute in 1900, and the growth of the oil industry in the 20th century further contributed to the city's prosperity. Lafayette experienced its share of hard times brought on by the Civil War, regional flooding, hurricanes, and economic depressions, but survived on the strength andgenerosity of its close-knit citizens. Lafayette has long been known as the Hub City of Acadiana, the economic and cultural center of southwest Louisiana. Today it is widely known for its food, music, and festivals that celebrate not only its Cajun and Creole heritage, but also its many other European, Middle Eastern, and African cultural roots.

For more than 20 years, Jean S. Kiesel has been the Louisiana room librarian at the Edith Garland Dupr© Library, located at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. A majority of the images in this book were selected from collections in the University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collection of Dupr© Library.

ISBN:	9780738552613
FORMAT:	Paperback
PUBLISHER:	Arcadia Publishing
DATE:	9/19/2007
STATE:	Louisiana
SERIES:	Images of America
IMAGES:	200
PAGES:	128
DIMENSIONS:	6.5 (w) x 9.25 (h)