ST. MARTIN PARISH: Cradle of The Cajun Culture
Issue No. 2 (July 29, 1997) of the Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser's HISTORY OF ACADIANA a publication dedicated to preserving Acadiana's heritage and culture

Some 3,000 exiled Acadians found refuge in colonial Louisiana after their exile from old Acadie. Many of them traveled across the wild Atchafalaya River Basin to re-establish close ties to the land and to their church at the Poste des Attakapas, as St. Martinville was first known. Anglos and Africans came to the region to build and work rich sugar plantations.

1. Settlers Found Levee 2,000 Years Ago
2. St. Martin Is Cradle of French Louisiana, Acadian and Aristocrat, African and Anglo Found Shelter Together
3. St. Martinville Is Acadiana's Oldest Settlement, Petit Paris Was Incorporated in 1817
4. Bayou Teche Winds Way Through St. Martin Life
5. Parish Named for St. Martin of Tours
6. 'Gold Dust Wedding' Makes Oak Alley Legendary
7. Acadian Tale Inspired Longfellow
8. Excerpt from Longfellow's "Evangeline"
9. African Americans Have Deep Roots in St. Martin
10. Breaux's First Bridge Was Only Footpath
11. Spain Wanted to Grow Tobacco in Acadiana
12. Parks Area Was Early Settling Point
13. Father Barriere: "Apostle of the Bayou"
14. Farmers Found Henderson Before Fishermen Did
15. Atchafalaya Railroad Was Engineering Feat
16. Atchafalaya Basin Is a World Set Apart, Wetland Covers Nearly a Million Acres
17. Flood of 1927 Changed St. Martin Forever
18. Detailed Instructions Came with First Acadians
19. Crawfish Have Been Harvested in St. Martin for Decades
20. Anse La Butte Salt Found in 1899
21. St. Martin Communities Vital Part of Parish History: Arnaudville, Bayou Chene, Bushville, Butte La Rose, Cade, Catahoula, Cecilia, Coteau Holmes, Cypress Island, Keystone, Nina, St. John, Stephensville
22. Some Memorable Dates in St. Martin's past
23. Further Readings on St. Martin Parish