Bienvenue! Welcome to St. Landry Parish

Imperial St. Landry Parish was established by a legislative act approved on April 10, 1805. St. Landry Parish (first called Opelousas County) was named for the Catholic Church Parish that was established about 1767 in the Opelousas Territory and named for St. Landry, the Bishop of Paris who served in 650 A.D.. However, the history of the area goes back many centuries before the parish was officially created.  Please see the "History" page.

One important incident in the history of St. Landry Parish occurred in 1886 that will forever affect genealogical research:

COURTHOUSE BURNED.

NEW ORLEANS, March 22. -- The courthouse at Opelousas, La, was burned to-day with the all the valuable records of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. The fire was incendiary in its origin and is believed to have been started for the purpose of destroying records in the courthouse on which important suits depend. There was a large amount of ammunition stored in the building by the Opelousas Rifles, whose armory was there, and this exploding in volley after volley kept the firemen from work. The loss is $50,000 and valuable documents that cannot be replaced.

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 23 Mar 1886

Our parallel St. Landry LaGenWeb Archives site contains additional files that can be searched for genealogical records in your research. The records have been generously contributed by people like yourself. We are always looking for new record contributions to add to the value of the archives. Please contact me if you have any information to contribute to the St. Landry Parish Archives.    Use the CONTACT ME button in the top menu to contact Bryant Walker - LAGenweb Parish Coordinator and LAGenWeb Parish Archives File Manager