Featured Photograph: A view of Main Street looking South from Bellevue Street in downtown Opelousas during the mid-1890s. The large building to the right is the Littell Opera House that became the Sandoz Opera House at that time. (Carola Lillie Hartley collection.)
On Tuesday, July 25, historian Carola Lillie Hartley will present, “A Visual Historic Tour through Opelousas” at the Opelousas Museum & Interpretive Center. The evening will include images, stories and historical facts about the area. The public is invited to attend.
Ms. Hartley will begin with discussion of the earliest inhabitants of the region, including the Opelousas tribe that the town is named after. Highlights will include arrival of the eighteenth-century settlers, who established Opelousas as a military post in 1764. She will discuss governmental leadership of the French, Spanish and finally the United States. Ms. Hartley will also cover the economic growth that came with the railroad, new businesses and newcomers. The presentation will also include struggles regarding segregation and the decline of downtown Opelousas. The talk will conclude on an optimistic note about cultural and economic progress that leads us into a bright future.
The event takes place on Tuesday, July 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Opelousas Museum, 315 N Main St., Opelousas, LA 70570.
Carola Lillie Hartley
Carola Lillie Hartley is a Louisiana native, preservationist, local historian, and the author of many published works. With a career spanning over 50 years in Community and Tourism Development and Downtown Revitalization, she has discovered and celebrated the histories of interesting and diverse cities from Louisiana to Kentucky to New Jersey; yet Opelousas still holds her heart.
Learn more about Carola Hartley here: https://www.stlandrynow.com/bios/carola-hartley/
