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For Immediate Release
December 15, 2021

2021 Opelousas Main Street Ornament features Historic Silos

2021 - Opelousas Silos Graphic with pricing

(Opelousas, LA) – Opelousas Main Street, Inc. and the City of Opelousas Tourism are excited to present the 2021 collectible holiday ornament featuring the historic silos located on Highway 190 at the east entrance to the city.

The Opelousas Silos stand tall as a welcome and a reminder of days gone by, when Opelousas was an agricultural society. Built in 1916 by David Briggs on Boagni family land, the silos stand some 34-feet high and 16-feet wide. The original structures were made of brick with cedar shake roofs. They also featured ladders and windows.

The history of that land begins long before the two grain storage silos were built. Judge Theophilus Collins, one of the first judges in St. Landry Parish, was one of the original land owners. Later, Dr. George Hill, an immigrant from Ireland, purchased the property in 1826, which he named Belmont. Following the death of Dr. Hill on April 3, 1873, the plantation was sold in 1875 and eventually owned by Dr. Edward M. Boagni, a noted planter, financier and stock raiser and the great-grandson of Judge Theophilus Collins. White Hall stood on that property until it was destroyed by fire at the turn of the 20th century. Robert Leslie Waterbury, husband of Gladys Mae Boagni, Dr. Boagni’s granddaughter, was the final land owner. The property was sold in 1999 for commercial development.

This 2021 collectible ornament is the tenth in a series of collectible ornaments. The first collectable Christmas ornament debuted in 2012 and featured the famed Jim Bowie Oak and the old Homère Mouton Law Office. The rest of the ornaments include Hope, Hook & Ladder Co. #1 (2013), St. Landry Catholic Church (2014), the Old St. Landry Parish Courthouse (2015), St. Landry Lumber (2016), Old Governor’s Mansion (2017), Michael Prudhomme Home (2018), Holy Ghost Catholic Church (2019) and the Old Post Office-Federal Building (2020).

Priced at $16 each, the ornaments are available for purchase at Sebastien-Dupre Fine Jewelry, Back in Time, Opelousas Tourist Info Center and online at 2021 Main Street Holiday Ornament Order Form. Proceeds from the project go towards preservation and promotional projects for downtown Opelousas.

For more information email at tourism@cityofopelousas.com.

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