an IBERIA PARISH article

Cultures of Acadiana
a look at the French, Cajun, Creole, and Native American cultures of south Louisiana
(a project of Carencro High School - 721 West Butcher Switch Road, Lafayette, LA 70507)

Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, November 25, 1997

Spanish Lake first named for Flemish settler

by Jim Bradshaw

Spanish Lake was first known as Lake Flammand for Jean B. Grevemberg, one of earliest settlers of the area. It was called Lac Tasse by the French because of its cup-like shape. It became known as Spanish Lake for the Seguras, Romeros, Villatoros, and other Malaguenos who settled on its shores.

During the Civil War, it was the site of Camp Pratt, a Confederate training camp. Federal prisoners were also held there for short time.

Historian William Henry Perrin described Spanish Lake ln 1891 as "some five miles long and nearly oval in shape. Its greatest depth is about twenty feet; its margin mostly fringed with grass and water lilies. Perrin continued, "This lake, like Lake Peigneur, swarms with fishes of every kind found anywhere in the region, from the sardine to trout and perch. Some of the trout are said to be two and a half feet long. The lake is fed by springs that break out at its margin. There is a large, boiling spring in the middle of the lake that is supposed, from its boiling proclivity, to come to come directly up from 'sheol,' as its depth has never been reached. The Teche is about 700 yards from Lake Tasse at the nearest point, and its surface is about eight feet above the level of the bayou."

This article is copyrighted © by the Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser and is used with permission. This web site was originated through a grant awarded to Carencro High School (Joel Hilbun/Bobbi Marino, Grant Administrators) by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund - 8(g).