Melanie Lee-LeBouef, Opelousas tourism and Main Street Director, shows the new trash cans at Le Vieux Village in Opelousas.
Places
Azaleas Decorate The Approach Of Opelousas Springtime
It’s been often said that Opelousas appears most well-dressed and picturesque during the beginning of spring.
Lafleur Made The Right Decision With Glass Company
Richard Lafleur had experienced the situation before, but his solution 40 years ago required a different approach.
New Courthouse Fire Escape Noticeably Arrives
Entrances and streets around the St. Landry Parish Courthouse were spectacularly blocked for a lengthy period of time Wednesday morning as an exterior fire escape was added to an ongoing $2 million renovation project, according to parish president Jessie Bellard.
Photo from the Past – Unidentified Opelousas Home
Undientified Opelousas home from the early 1900s. Anyone know what home this is?
Photo From The Past – Downtown Washington Early 1900s
Driving through downtown Washington, LA a century ago.
Early Coffee at Ole Opelousas Market House
Since the beginning of the Opelousas town market in early 1800s, there was always a meat market operated from there, as well as other businesses such as Gil’s Coffee Shop, established during the latter part of that century.
2022 Historic District Preservation Awards Presented
Each year the City of Opelousas honors property owners for special contributions and efforts in preserving historic architecture in the city.
Louisiana Author Ruth Laney’s New Book Set to Be Released
The book Cherie Quarters: The Place and the People That Inspired Ernest J. Gaines by Louisiana author Ruth Laney is set to be released on October 19, 2022
Expert Care, Locally Owned: Richard Medical Clinic Reopens in Familiar Location
Richard Medical Clinic, at 507 N. Market St. In Opelousas will have its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday October 4, 2022, at 12:00 pm to commemorate it’s reopening to the community.
Photo From The Past – The First Yambilee Building
This rare photo from the past shows the first Yambilee office on Court Street in downtown Opelousas as it appeared in 1946.
Wildlife In St. Landry – Bobcat
Bobcat in St. Landry Parish – by Wildlife Photographer Berchman Soileau
The St. Landry Progress – The Donato Brothers, Emerson Bentley and the 1868 Opelousas Massacre
After reviewing the materials I’ve collected over the last 40 plus years of researching the newspapers of Opelousas, I feel an important paper to the history of our town is one that was almost forgotten
Meet Wildlife Photographer Berchman Soileau
St. Landry Now is proud to announce the start of a new feature. Berchman Soileau, a native and current resident of St. Landry Parish and Opelousas will be submitting his wildlife photographs as a featured item of interest each week.
Photo from the Past: Christman Building
This is a photograph from c. 1908-09 of the Christman Building on West Landry Street in downtown Opelousas. It was owned by Ben Christman, an Opelousas businessman who operated in town over a century ago. (Photograph courtesy of David Parnell.)
Is St. Landry The Real Gateway To Acadiana?
Is Lafayette guilty of geographic misdirection or does Bill Rodier have it right?
Opelousas Business and Merchants Organizations – Over the Years
Following the US Civil War, the merchants and businessmen of Opelousas started to discuss the possibility of organizing for promotional purposes. Although earlier groups were formed over the years before the war, they eventually dispersed because of the war. By the 1870 decade the town was rebuilding, and new businesses were opening. At that time some of the local merchants began to organize, and several groups were started, but with not much success until the 1890s.
The Opera Houses of Old Opelousas – Part Four. The Opera House That Never Was
We know Opelousas had an opera house as early as the 1830s, with the first being called the Opelousas Varieties. There was also the Opelousas Opera House, Perrodin’s Hall, Littell’s Opera House and the Sandoz Opera House. But there was a plan for another opera house that would have outdone all the rest. Unfortunately, it never got built. Read the story of the Opera House That Never Was.
Ethel Park Dedication Previewed With Reception
The Ethel Park project dedicated Saturday in the Town of Washington was celebrated in advance Friday night as hundreds crammed into the historic Wolff Reception and Banquet Hall for a gala ceremony and preview event.
The Opera Houses of Old Opelousas – Part Three
It was a magical time in Opelousas. A time when there were opera houses in the city. We learned about some of the earliest Opera Houses of old Opelousas, the ones that operated during that century. In Part two we left our story as the 1800s was coming to an end, and Opelousas was moving into a new century. Part Three continues the story of the Opera Houses of Old Opelousas.
Opelousas Downtown Market – Saturday, July 30, 2022
Opelousas Downtown Market will again be opened for business this Saturday, July 30, 2022 from 10:00AM until 2:00PM on the beautiful St. Landry Parish Courthouse Square. St. Landry Now will be there. Come see our booth and visit with friends while you shop the numerous booths.
Construction Begins for Arnaudville Fire Department Building
The construction of a new volunteer fire department building in Arnaudville scheduled for completion sometime in 2023 began Friday morning with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony.
Opera Houses of Old Opelousas – Part Two
The story of the Opelousas Opera Houses continues: By the end of the 1880s and into the early 1890s, the appeal of the Opelousas Opera House and Perrodin’s Hall was starting to fade. The talk of the town at that time became “a new more modern opera house is needed.”
Washington To Hold Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Ethel Park
The highly anticipated opening of Ethel Park is finally happening in the Town of Washington. Celebrate the occasion just a little early on August 5 at 6pm at the Wolff Hall right along Washington’s Main Street. Then, be there Saturday morning (August 6) for the official dedication and ribbon cutting.
Photos From The Past: The Depot in Washington, LA – Early 1900s
Photographs of the Depot in Washington courtesy of Tommy Lafleur and were used in the book Through A Lens, Early 20th Century Washington, LA. – Photo Album of Ophelia Pitre Lafleur – by Carola Lillie Hartley and Tommy Lafleur.
The Opera Houses of Old Opelousas – Part One
From its humble beginning in the 1700s, Opelousas provided different forms of entertainment for its citizens. In the early days one could find musical performances and other forms of entertainment at ball rooms in the local hotels, at social halls located on the second floor of downtown business places and even local homes.
Journey Back In Time to Explore The Old Gibbs Corner
Ever wonder as you ride through Opelousas what it must have been like one hundred or even two hundred years ago? This story will bring you back in time and show the changes made to just one corner in old Opelousas over its centuries of existence. Let’s explore the corner of Bellevue and Court streets, originally known as the old Gibbs Corner.
Washington Had the First Cotonseed Oil Mill in the Parish
William Schwing came to Washington from the New Iberia area in the early 1880s and along with his brothers John and Joseph opened the Pelican Oil Mill in town, believed to be the first cottonseed oil mill in the southwest Louisiana area.
Photo from the Past – Shopping in Washington, LA c.1908-1915
This photo from the past shows a group of young ladies enjoying themselves on Main Street in Washington over a century ago.
Opelousas Trivia – Cedar Crest Country Club and Golf Course.
Did you know before there was a Cedar Lane Club, there was the Cedar Crest Country Club and Golf Course? The opening of that golf course created great excitement in and around Opelousas.
Photos from the Past – Daly Motors of Opelousas
In 1922, Frank Truman Daly became the area salesman and associate dealer for the Dodge Motor Car Company.
Photo from the Past – Perrodin’s Hall – 1882-1892
Located on the corner of East Grolee and Main streets, the building in this
photo from the past was one of the Opera Houses of Opelousas, known as
Perrodin’s Hall.
The Buildings and Other Attractions of Le Vieux Village
Located on U. S. Highway 190 at the east entrance to the city, Le Vieux Village du Poste des Opelousas is a historic treasure. Created by the Opelousas Tourism and Activities Committee in 1988, development of the village took over two decades. Today the village features historic buildings of interest to the St. Landry Parish area of southwest Louisiana.
Photo from the Past – Sam Perkins Livery Barn on Landry Street
During the 1870s to the 1890s, the old livery barn, facing Landry Street but located on the grounds of the hotel, was owned by James Samuel “Sam” Perkins (1847-1892).
Le Vieux Village du Poste des Opelousas – A Historic Treasure
At the East entrance to Opelousas sits a historic treasure known as Le Vieux Village du Poste des Opelousas, the Old Village of the Opelousas Poste. Created in 1988 by the Opelousas Tourism and Activities Committee, the history of the development of the area where the village is located goes back over fifty years.
Photo from the Past – Governor’s Mansion in 1972
The Governor’s Mansion once stood on the corner of Grolee and Liberty streets in Opelousas. It is pictured on this post card, produced 50 years ago.
Photo from the Past – Boscoe Hotel on Bellevue Street
The Boscoe Hotel operated on Bellevue Street in downtown Opelousas from 1932 to about 1940.
Photo from the Past – Interior of Toby’s Little Lodge – 1977
Interior of Toby’s Little Lodge in 1977.
Opelousas Historic District is Appealing to Home Buyers
Historic residential Opelousas is getting more than a passing glance from investors and contractors who have also begun considering the city as a perhaps place to live.
Photo from the Past – Dezauche – Chauvin – Womack Home early 1900s
CAROLA LILLIE HARTLEYPublisher and Contributing Writer Dezauche – Chauvin – Womack Home on North Lombard Street in the Opelousas Historic District. The home was owned by several Opelousas families over the years. This photo from the past, belonging to Joann Caillouet, is on loan to Fredric James Larson, Jr., the present owner of the historic Read More…
