Lafayette

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Lafayette, Louisiana: Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

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Lafayette

Louisiana, United States

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 28, 2025 • Article History

News •

American Coney Island slams Lafayette over reported rat infestation • Jan. 27, 2025, 12:38 PM ET (CBS)

Louisiana faces Troy after Lafayette's 21-point game • Jan. 25, 2025, 9:17 AM ET (ABC News (U.S.))

‘Once in a lifetime’ snow hits parts of the U.S. South • Jan. 21, 2025, 6:11 PM ET (AP)

Lafayette, city, seat (1824) of Lafayette parish, south-central Louisiana, U.S., on the Vermilion River 55 miles (88 km) southwest of Baton Rouge. The area was first settled by exiled Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1763. The earliest village, Vermilionville, was established in 1824 but was renamed for the French general the marquis de Lafayette in 1884. Until World War II the economy was dependent upon intensive sugarcane, cotton, and corn (maize) cultivation. After the war the city became a supply center for much of the booming oil and gas industry of southern Louisiana. Heymann Oil Center (1952), headquarters for many ...(100 of 247 words)

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