French and Spanish Territory The land that became St. Landry Parish was inhabited since at least 10,500 B.C., as deduced from excavations of three prehistoric dwelling sites. By the 15th century, the
Opelousa Indians settled in the area situated between
Atchafalaya River and
Sabine River (at the border of Texas-Louisiana). The Opelousa were war-like and preyed on neighbors to defend their own territory. The first European recorded in the Opelousa territory was a French trader named Michel de Birotte. He came in 1690 and negotiated with the Opelousa nation. Nine years later, France named
Louisiana as a colony and defined the land occupied by the Opelousa as the Opelousas Territory. The area south of the Opelousas Territory between the Atchafalaya River, the Gulf of Mexico and
Bayou Nezpique, occupied by the Atakapas Indians (Eastern
Atakapa), was named Atakapas Territory. In 1764,
France established the Opelousas
Post slightly north of the contemporary city of Opelousas (near present-day
Washington). Some Indians sold land to the newcomers. When the Eastern Attakapas Chief
Kinemo sold all the land between
Vermilion River and
Bayou Teche to Frenchman
Gabriel Fuselier de la Claire in 1760, however, the angry
Opelousa tribe exterminated the Attakapas (Eastern Atakapa). France ceded Louisiana and its territories to
Spain in 1762. Under Spanish rule, Opelousas Post became the center of government for Southwest
Louisiana. By 1769 about 100 families were living in Opelousas Post. Between 1780 and 1820, the first settlers were joined by others coming from the Attakapas Territory, from the
Pointe Coupée Territory, and east from the Atchafalaya River area. They were joined by immigrants from the
French West Indies, who left after Haiti/St. Domingue became independent in a slave revolution. Most of the new settlers were French, Spaniards,
French Creoles,
Spanish Creoles,
Africans and
African-Americans. The group from Attakapas Post included many
Acadians. These were French who migrated from
Nova Scotia in 1763, after their expulsion by the English in the aftermath of France's defeat in the Seven Years' War (known in North America as the French and Indian War). They were led by
Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie. D'Abbadie was Governor of the territory from 1763 to 1765. The French community built
St. Landry Catholic Church by 1766, dedicated to
St. Landry (Landericus) of Paris, the
Bishop of Paris in the 7th century. On April 10, 1805, after the United States had acquired the
Louisiana Purchase, the post was named the town of Opelousas and became the seat of the County of Opelousas, part of the
Territory of Orleans. In 1807, when the territory was reorganized into parishes, Opelousas was designated the seat of St. Landry Parish.
Purchase by the United States The
United States gained control of the territory in 1803 through the
Louisiana Purchase. Americans from the South and other parts of the United States began to migrate to the area, marking the arrival of the first large English-speaking population and the introduction of the need for more general use of English. The parish's boundaries encompassed about half the land of the Opelousas Territory, between the
Atchafalaya River and
Sabine River, between
Rapides Parish and
Vernon Parish, and
Lafayette and
St. Martin Parishes. Since then, the area of the parish has decreased, as six additional parishes have been created from its territory. These include
Calcasieu,
Acadia,
Evangeline,
Jeff Davis,
Beauregard, and
Allen. The city of
Opelousas has been the seat of government for the St. Landry Parish since its formation. St. Landry Parish originally consisted of all the territory in the current parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, and St. Landry. Over time, it was separated into three different parishes. The southwestern portion of St. Landry was broken off to become
Acadia Parish in 1886. A bill was introduced in the Louisiana House of Representatives entitled "An act to create the parish of Nicholls, and to provide for the organization thereof." The title was later changed to read: "An act to create the parish of Acadia." Father Joseph Anthonioz, the first pastor of the Catholic Church at
Rayne, is credited with having suggested the name, Acadia Parish. The bill passed the house on June 11, the senate on June 28, and was approved by Governor
Samuel D. McEnery on June 30. On October 6, an election was held to affirm the creation of the parish, with 2,516 votes for and 1,521 votes against the creation. St. Landry was divided again when the northwestern portion was broken away. In June 1908, a bill was passed to create a new parish out of a portion of St. Landry Parish. This new parish became named
Evangeline Parish in 1910. Prior to creation of the new parish, Eunice and
Ville Platte were in competition for the new parish seat. Ville Platte was selected by voters on April 12, 1909. After the election, Eunice declared it would remain in St. Landry Parish. ===
Opelousas massacre=== In the aftermath of the ratification of Louisiana's Constitution of 1868 and the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, tensions between white Democrats and Black Republicans in St. Landry Parish escalated throughout the summer of 1868. On September 28, white schoolteacher and Republican newspaper editor Emerson Bentley was attacked and beaten by three
white supremacists while teaching a classroom of Black children in
Opelousas, Louisiana. Rumors of Bentley's death, while unfounded, led both Black Republicans and white supremacist Democrats, including the St. Landry Parish chapter of the
Knights of the White Camelia, to threaten violent retribution. In the days following Bentley's subsequent covert flight to New Orleans, the massacre began. Heavily outnumbered, Black citizens were chased, captured, shot, murdered, and lynched during the following weeks. While estimates of casualties vary widely, several sources number the deaths between 200 and 300 black people and several dozen whites, making it the bloodiest massacres of the
Reconstruction Era and among the deadliest in American history. Following the massacre, the Republican Party in St. Landry Parish was eliminated for several years.
2019 black church fires During 10 days,
three black churches, the St. Mary Baptist Church over 100 years old (March 26, 2019), Greater Union Baptist Church (April 2, 2019), and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (April 4, 2019) set on fire by a vandal and this incident raised officials concern that the fires started by
racist and
radical group or person. Finally, police arrested the vandal who was the son of a
St. Landry Parish sheriff's deputy. Holden Matthews, 21, has been charged with the arson attack on black churches. ==Geography==