In January of 1823, the Louisiana Legislature carved Lafayette Parish out of the western portion of Saint Martin Parish. At that time, there was already a jail building close to the Pinhook outpost settlement of Vermilionville. John and William Reeves owned land adjacent to the outpost and donated property for the purpose of building the […]
Discover Lafayette’s Past – Southwestern Louisiana Institute Established in 1901
The City of Lafayette and its leaders have a strong history of stepping up to provide great technological services to its residents. In fact, Lafayette Utilities Systems was proposed by city leaders after the world watched in awe as the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair was lit up by electricity; the desire for pressurized water, as […]
Discover Lafayette’s Past: The Heymann Performing Arts Center
Architect A. Hayes Town designed the first municipal auditorium in Lafayette in 1957, under the direction of Mayor Jerome Domengeaux and Herbert Heymann. Their vision was to serve the eight-parish area of South Louisiana we now call Acadiana. Construction on the auditorium was completed in 1960 at 1373 S. College Road. 60 years later, we […]
Discover Lafayette’s Past – Marquis de Lafayette
Are you familiar with the story of the Marquis de Lafayette, the man Lafayette, Louisiana is named after? The Marquis de Lafayette was a hero of the American Revolutionary War, having served under General George Washington in several crucial battles. He was only 19 years old when he came to the states and he had no previous […]
Self Respect: That Knowing Sense of One’s Intrinsic Worth
“Self-respect is a discipline, a habit of mind that can never be faked but can be developed, trained, coaxed forth. It was once suggested to me that, as an antidote to crying, I put my head in a paper bag. As it happens, there is a sound physiological reason, something to do with oxygen, for […]