The Gateway to South Louisiana
The Bill Landry Orchestra, originally assembled and known as the Louisiana Six, played Dixieland jazz all along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas. The family band was wildly popular in Cajun Country, and they were mentioned as early as 1918 in The Daily Advertiser when they played at the Martin Dance Hall in Scott. […]
Ben Berthelot has served as Executive Director of the Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission since 2012 and in that role, is an enthusiastic and effective spokesperson for the restaurants, hotels, and related industry tourism professionals that support our region’s unique cultural attributes. In this episode of Discover Lafayette, Ben visits with Jan Swift about the […]
“Homelessness is one paycheck away for many people in America and Covid-19 is really testing this,” says Leigh Rachal, Executive Director of Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness and Housing (“ARCH). Leigh has served in this capacity for four years and each day she is guided by her “belief in the wild idea that housing is […]
The arrival in 1880 of the railroad in Lafayette, in what was then known as Vermilionville, opened a new era of growth and opportunity for locals. It also attracted many new residents. The Sabine was the area’s first work locomotive that reached Vermilionville as tracks from New Orleans were completed. The arrival of the railroad […]
Lafayette General Hospital evolved from the Lafayette Sanitarium, the first hospital in Lafayette. The Sanitarium was founded in 1911 by Doctors L.O. Clark, J. Franklin Mouton, and L.A. Prejean. It was located on St. John Street and had five or six beds, eventually expanding to 84 beds. By the 1950s the facilities were inadequate and […]