Lafayette

When expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in the 1700s, the French Acadian farmers settled around Lafayette, a region of 22 parishes that would come to be known as Acadiana. Their descendants, commonly called Cajuns, still speak a French dialect and observe the traditions of their homeland. Like gumbo, the staple of Cajun cuisine, Acadiana has become a melting pot of cultures. French is still the dominant influence, with traces of Spanish, African, Indian, German and English.

Agriculture and cattle raising were the key occupations around Vermilionville, as the town was originally called. During the 1850s highly organized rustlers caused the ranchers to band together into an army of 4,000 vigilantes which drove the rustlers out.