St. Martinville

St. Martinville is widely considered to be the birthplace of the Cajun culture and traditions, and is in the heart of Cajun Country.  There is a true multicultural community in St. Martinville, with Cajuns, Creoles (French coming via the French Islands - Guadeloupe, Martinique and Santo Domingo), French, Spaniards, Africans and African Americans.

Once New Orleans was founded and began to have epidemics, some New Orleanians escaped the city and came to St. Martinville.  It's nickname, Petit Paris (Little Paris), dates from the era when St. Martinville was known as a cultural mecca with good hotels and a French Theater that featured the best operas and witty comedies.

The third oldest town in Louisiana, St. Martinville has many buildings and homes with beautiful architecture, such as the historic St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church. The church is the oldest parish in southwest Louisiana and is known as the Mother Church of the Acadians because it was founded in 1765 upon the arrival of the Acadians in this area.  La Maison Duchamp, across from the church on Main Street, is a landmark house listed on the National Register for Historic Places because of its creative architecture. 

The Evangline Oak made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie", stands on the banks of the Bayou Teche.  It is revered as the debarking point for many Cajuns following Le Grand Derangement, the infamous expulsion from Nova Scotia.  A statue of Evangeline is located near the live oak tree.