Opelousas Historic District

Last updated

Opelousas Historic District
OPELOUSAS H.D. ST. LANDRY PARISH, LA.jpg
Union Bank & Trust Building (c.1910), in 2008
USA Louisiana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationRoughly bounded by Bellevue, Court St., Landry St., and Market St., Opelousas, Louisiana
Coordinates 30°32′01″N92°05′00″W / 30.53361°N 92.08333°W / 30.53361; -92.08333 (Opelousas Historic District)
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Architectural styleClassical Revival, Greek Revival, Italianate
NRHP reference No. 89000477 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 2, 1989

The Opelousas Historic District, in the city of Opelousas in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. [1] The area is roughly bounded by Bellevue Street, Court Street, Landry Street, and Market Street. It contains 18 contributing buildings in a 2 acres (0.81 ha) area. [2]

Contents

About

Sanborn map from 1899, showing courthouse square, with smaller footprint of former courthouse Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Opelousas, Saint Landry Parish, Louisiana. LOC sanborn03383 004-3.jpg
Sanborn map from 1899, showing courthouse square, with smaller footprint of former courthouse

The district architecture styles include Classical revival, Greek revival, Italianate, dating from c.1840 to 1939. [2] [3] Two notable buildings within the district are the Old Federal Building (Opelousas, Louisiana) and the Opelousas City Hall; both of which are separately listed on the National Register.

The Opelousas National Historic District is locally significant in the area of architecture because it is easily the best preserved historic central business district in St. Landry Parish in Louisiana. The district's "anchor is the courthouse square with its huge live oak trees and 1939 Art Deco courthouse. On the northwest corner is the neo-classical Old Opelousas City Hall."

The Landry Street buildings have been renumbered since the 1989 NRHP listing (e.g., the Greek Revival law office, now 129 West Landry, was identified as 153 West Landry in NRHP document).

List of notable buildings

Old Federal Building (1893) OpelFedCourtWM.JPG
Old Federal Building (1893)
Old Opelousas City Hall (1932) OpelousasOldCityHallWM.JPG
Old Opelousas City Hall (1932)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Landry Parish, Louisiana</span> Parish in Louisiana, United States

St. Landry Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 82,540. The parish seat is Opelousas. The parish was established in 1807.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beauregard Parish, Louisiana</span> Parish in Louisiana, United States

Beauregard Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,549. The parish seat is DeRidder. The parish was formed on January 1, 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krotz Springs, Louisiana</span> Town in Louisiana, United States

Krotz Springs is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Atchafalaya River. The population was 1,198 at the 2010 census, down from 1,219 in 2000. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opelousas, Louisiana</span> City in Louisiana, United States

Opelousas is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a junction here. According to the 2020 census, Opelousas has a population of 15,786, a 6.53 percent decline since the 2010 census, which had recorded a population of 16,634. Opelousas is the principal city for the Opelousas-Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 80,808 in 2020. Opelousas is also the fourth largest city in the Lafayette-Acadiana Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 537,947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington, Louisiana</span> Town in Louisiana, United States

Washington is a village in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 742 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. Washington was the largest inland port between New Orleans and St. Louis for much of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray's Ferry</span> Spanish-colonial era landmark

Ray's Ferry in Louisiana, United States, is the point along Bayou Boeuf in Avoyelles Parish, at which the road between Opelousas and Marksville crossed the waterway. A ferry service operated here from 1816. It is unknown how long the ferry was in service. The name comes from the individual, Reuben Ray, licensed to operate the ferry service. Ray was granted a permit from the State of Louisiana on September 19, 1816, to "keep a ferry across the Bayou Boeuf on the main road leading from Opelousas to Avoyelles". The permit can be inspected at the Court Archives of Saint Landry Parish, Courthouse, Opelousas, LA.

William Augustus Edwards, also known as William A. Edwards was an Atlanta-based American architect renowned for the educational buildings, courthouses and other public and private buildings that he designed in Florida, Georgia and his native South Carolina. More than 25 of his works have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Washington Historic District or variations including Commercial or other may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Landry Parish School Board</span>

The St. Landry Parish School Board is located in Opelousas, Louisiana. The St. Landry Parish School District is rated a C district. Mr. Patrick Jenkins is the superintendent of the St. Landry Parish School System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Landry Catholic Church</span> Historic church in Louisiana, United States

St. Landry Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Opelousas, Louisiana. It is dedicated to Saint Landry of Paris. The current church building, in Gothic and Romanesque Revival style, was completed in 1909. The church and cemetery were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States on May 5, 1982. By 1792, the church had been renamed from the original title, "Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Post of Opelousas".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.

Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts (MACA) is a public magnet high school, with focus on cultural arts, located at 1100 E. Leo Street in Opelousas, Louisiana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opelousas massacre</span> Massacre in the United States

The Opelousas massacre, which began on September 28, 1868, was one of the bloodiest massacres of the Reconstruction era in the United States. In the aftermath of the ratification of Louisiana's Constitution of 1868 and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, tensions between white Democrats and Black Republicans in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana escalated throughout the summer of 1868. On September 28, white schoolteacher and Republican newspaper editor Emerson Bentley was attacked and beaten by three, Democratic white supremacists while teaching a classroom of Black children in Opelousas, Louisiana. Rumors of Bentley's death, while unfounded, led both Black Republicans and white supremacist Democrats, including the St. Landry Parish chapter of the Knights of the White Camelia, to threaten violent retribution. In the days following Bentley's subsequent covert flight to New Orleans, the massacre began. Heavily outnumbered, Black citizens were chased, captured, shot, murdered, and lynched during the following weeks. While estimates of casualties vary widely, several sources number the deaths between 150 and 300 black people and several dozen whites. Following the massacre, the Republican Party in St. Landry Parish was eliminated for several years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Natchitoches, Louisiana)</span> Historic church in Louisiana, United States

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a minor basilica located in Natchitoches, Louisiana, United States. It is also a parish church in the Diocese of Alexandria. The church building is the seventh structure to house the parish and was at one time the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Natchitoches. As the Church of the Immaculate Conception it was listed as contributing property in the Natchitoches Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaisance School</span> School in Louisiana, United States

Plaisance School is a school, established in 1921 in Plaisance, Louisiana, United States. The school was segregated during the Jim Crow-era and served African American students. It also went by the names Plaisance High School, and Plaisance Rosenwald School.

The St. Landry Clarion was a newspaper of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, established in 1890 in Opelousas, Louisiana, the parish seat. It was started as a four-page weekly. It continued until 1921, when it merged operations with the Star-Progress to form the Clarion-Progress. The newspaper's motto was "Here shall the press the people’s rights maintain, unawed by influence and unbribed by gain." It affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Holy Ghost High School (1874–1971) was a private, segregated, Catholic secondary school for African American students in Opelousas, Louisiana, United States. It was the first Catholic parochial school for Black students in the parish. It also was named St. Joseph’s Academy for Colored, St. Joseph Convent, St. Joseph School, Holy Ghost School, and Holy Ghost Training School.

Grimble Bell School (1830s–1860), was a segregated private school in Washington, Louisiana, United States, for African American students. It was the earliest African American school in the St. Landry Parish, founded in the 1830s, and shut down in 1860 by White vigilantes.

Opelousas Colored School (1919–1953) was a public segregated school for African American students in Opelousas, Louisiana, United States. It was the first public school for Black students in the city. It was known as St. Landry Parish Training School by 1942, and was succeeded by J.S. Clark High School from 1953 to 1970.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation staff; Carola Ann Andrepont (February 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Opelousas Historic District". National Park Service . Retrieved September 15, 2022. With accompanying 10 photos from 1989
  3. Carola Lillie Hartley (December 2014). Opelousas Tales. Bodemuller, the Printer - Opelousas, LA. For more info, see www.opelousastales.com
  4. "Opelousas City Hall". NPGallery, Digital Asset Management System.
  5. "Old Federal Building". NPGallery, Digital Asset Management System.
  6. Carola Lillie Hartley (April 10, 2021). "Parlons Opelousas: Meet Frank J. Dietlein, one of Opelousas' first jewelers". Daily World (Opelousas). Includes photo of the Dietlein building with Dietlein's store and a barbershop, in early 1900s.
  7. Hartley, Carola Lillie (August 9, 2019). "Parlons Opelousas: A look back at the history of J.B. Sandoz, Inc". Daily World . Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  8. "The Sorry State of Estates, J. K. Sandoz/St. Landry Sanatorium Building". St. Landry Now. September 6, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  9. Cox, Karen (April 9, 1858). "14. Homère Mouton Law Office, 1858". City of Opelousas. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  10. Ardoin, Bobby (September 21, 2019). "New owner restoring Opelousas landmark The Palace Cafe for a new generation". Daily World . Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  11. Carola Lillie Hartley (July 8, 2022). "Journey Back In Time to Explore The Old Gibbs Corner". St. Landry Now.