Opelousas

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Opelousas
Nickname : Zydeco Capital of the World, The Spice Capital of Louisiana
Opelousas (Louisiana)
Opelousas
Opelousas
Location in Louisiana
Basic data
Foundation : 1720
State : United States
State : Louisiana
Parish : St. Landry Parish
Coordinates : 30 ° 32 '  N , 92 ° 5'  W Coordinates: 30 ° 32 '  N , 92 ° 5'  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Residents : 16,493 (as of 2013)
Population density : 896.4 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 18.4 km 2  (approx. 7 mi 2 )
Height : 21 m
Postcodes : 70571
Area code : +1 337
Website : www.cityofopelousas.com
Mayor : Reginald Tatum

Opelousas is a city with the status City and the seat of the county government ( County Seat ) in St. Landry Parish in the US state Louisiana with 16,493 inhabitants (2013).

geography

Opelousas is right on Interstate 49 highway. Lafayette is 35 kilometers south.

history

The native inhabitants of the area were the small Indian tribe of the Opelousa (also known as Appalousa). French trappers used the place as early as 1690 as a trading center with the Indians and named it Opelousas after this people . Immigrants from Spain and Germany as well as Acadians from Canada and Creoles settled here in the 1700s and 1800s . French settlers came along with African slaves who were used on cotton plantations . Opelousas was designated the administrative seat of St. Landry Parish in 1805.

When the city of Baton Rouge fell to the Northern States during the American Civil War , Opelousas temporarily became the state capital in 1862. After the end of the civil war and the independence of the slaves, social tensions arose, especially due to the decline in economic power. On the other hand, the mixture of many different ethnic groups has had a positive effect up to the present day, especially in the field of culinary arts and music. Opelousas are nicknamed The Spice Capital of Louisiana (spice capital of Louisiana) and Zydeco Capital of the World (world capital of Zydeco ). Annual festivals with this focus are popular with locals and tourists.

Many historically valuable buildings, such as the Old Federal Building and Edward Benjamin Dubuisson House, are on the list of entries on the National Register of Historic Places in St. Landry Parish .

  • Old Federal Building

  • Edward Benjamin Dubuisson House

Demographic data

In 2013 a population of 16,493 people was determined, which corresponds to a decrease of 27.9% compared to 2000. The average age in 2013 was 32.4 years, below Louisianna's value, which was 36.0 years. More than 75% of the population are African American . 8.5% of the residents are due to immigrants from France.

sons and daughters of the town

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US Postal Service - ZIP Codes
  2. ^ History
  3. ↑ Festivals
  4. ↑ city ​​data

Web links

Commons : Opelousas, Louisiana  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files