On January 17th, St. Martinville, Louisiana’s 3rd oldest town, celebrated its bicentennial, beginning a yearlong commemoration of the small city’s storied history. St. Martinville is representative of many of Louisiana’s distinct cultural and geographic histories. Seated on the Bayou Teche, the water highway of over 100 miles has been an essential part of the settlement and commercial development of St. Martinville. The word “teche” may be derived from the Chitimacha word for “snake”, and some say the Great River will one day avenge the serpent. The term recalls the pre-colonial history of the land, where near present-day city limits there was an Attakapas Indian settlement. When the first census of the then Attakapas district was taken in
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Martinville was still part of the French colony of Louisiana many slaves from the Senegambian region, St. Louis, and Goree Island provided essential knowledge of agricultural technology, which was used to produce crops in the hot summer months. Spanish and French colonial law provided the means for a number of slaves to obtain freedom; this group came to form a prosperous class of farmers, tradesmen, and business people. By the 1850s nearly half of the free people of color living in the St. Martinville parish were urbanites, where in the city they were involved in the building trades. Their story is highlighted by the work of Dennis Paul Williams, which can be viewed currently in the African American Museum in St. Martinville. Acadians, Creoles, and Creoles of color collectively shaped the language, religion, foodways, music, dance, and festival style of Cajun culture, which is central to St. …show more content…
Martinville are distinctly Louisianan. Since its inception sugar cane production has been integral to the city’s economy, with much of the city’s initial wealth coming from plantations. There is also a sizeable crawfish harvesting industry, which contributes millions of pounds each year in overall production from sources in the Atchafalaya Basin and surrounding lakes. Currently the largest employer is in Cajun food production, the Bulliard family has made hot sauce for four generations based on a recipe developed in 1910. Hot sauces and other Cajun culinary products made by the people of St. Martinville are now available around the
Martinville was still part of the French colony of Louisiana many slaves from the Senegambian region, St. Louis, and Goree Island provided essential knowledge of agricultural technology, which was used to produce crops in the hot summer months. Spanish and French colonial law provided the means for a number of slaves to obtain freedom; this group came to form a prosperous class of farmers, tradesmen, and business people. By the 1850s nearly half of the free people of color living in the St. Martinville parish were urbanites, where in the city they were involved in the building trades. Their story is highlighted by the work of Dennis Paul Williams, which can be viewed currently in the African American Museum in St. Martinville. Acadians, Creoles, and Creoles of color collectively shaped the language, religion, foodways, music, dance, and festival style of Cajun culture, which is central to St. …show more content…
Martinville are distinctly Louisianan. Since its inception sugar cane production has been integral to the city’s economy, with much of the city’s initial wealth coming from plantations. There is also a sizeable crawfish harvesting industry, which contributes millions of pounds each year in overall production from sources in the Atchafalaya Basin and surrounding lakes. Currently the largest employer is in Cajun food production, the Bulliard family has made hot sauce for four generations based on a recipe developed in 1910. Hot sauces and other Cajun culinary products made by the people of St. Martinville are now available around the