The Gateway to South Louisiana
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 […]
Olivia Savoie, co-founder of Raconteur Story Writing Services, has built a successful enterprise preserving lives and legacies through the written word. In this Discover Lafayette podcast with host Jan Swift, Olivia shared her lifelong love of writing and the joy she has always felt when in the company of older people. She has incorporated these […]
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 […]
Marilyn Castle, Chief Judge of the 15th Judicial District Court covering Lafayette, Acadia, and Vermilion Parishes, joined Jan Swift on Discover Lafayette to discuss how the operations of the courthouse have been impacted due to the pandemic shutdown. Judge Castle received her Juris Doctorate from LSU in 1976 and then served early in her career as […]