Following are photographic images from the heart of historic St. Martinville, Louisiana. (See also “A Search for Evangeline.”)
St. Martin de Tours Church, 133 South Main Street, was designed ca. 1825 by architect Robert R. Benson. National Register of Historic Places.
Bayou Teche, as seen from the Bayou Teche Boardwalk near the Evangeline Oak (near the intersection of Evangeline Boulevard and South New Market Street).
The Bayou Teche Boardwalk.
The Evangeline Oak (left, at end of Evangeline Boulevard), and Old Castillo Hotel (right).
The Old Castillo Hotel, 220 Evangeline Boulevard, was built in 1829. Also known as Mercy High School, the building was for about a century the home of a Catholic school operated by the Sisters of Mercy. It is now the Old Castillo Bed and Breakfast. National Register of Historic Places.
“It isn't easy being green!” (A St. Martinville resident, near the Evangeline Oak.)
The St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center, South New Market Street, containing the Museum of the Acadian Memorial and the African American Museum.
The Acadian Memorial, South New Market Street, adjacent to the above St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center. The Bayou Teche Boardwalk is behind these buildings, along Bayou Teche.
The Italianate-style Eugene Duchamp de Chastaignier house, Main Street at Evangeline Boulevard, was designed by architect David Sandoz and built in 1876. During the 1900's it was utilized as the St. Martinville Post Office. National Register of Historic Places.
The St. Martin Parish Courthouse, 415 South Main Street, is a Greek Revival structure from the mid-1800's. National Register of Historic Places.
Bonin-Bienvenu House, 421 North Main Street. Originally constructed in the Italian villa style ca. 1850, with Queen Anne restyling in the late 1800's and Colonial Revival renovations in the 1920's. It has been owned by the Bonin, Bienvenu, and Longpacher families. It has also been known as the Bienvenue House Bed and Breakfast. National Register of Historic Places.
Bonin-Bienvenu House (side view).
The Soulier House, 417 North Main Street, is a late Victorian (ca. 1900) Queen Anne cottage. National Register of Historic Places.
The Dautreuil House, 517 East Bridge Street, dates from around 1825. National Register of Historic Places.
A typical south Louisiana cemetery, with above-ground tombs. Note on the near side of the cemetery the concrete block fenceposts, which appear to have been pressed with a Sears, Roebuck & Co. (or similar) press (see related article).
From the historical marker:
“City developed c. 1795 – c. 1890 through unusual semi-feudal arrangement where town property owners paid an ‘annual and perpetual’ rent to the congregation of St. Martin de Tours Church.”
Reverse of the above historical marker, with text in French.
This guide to St. Martinville is sponsored by Mitchells Publications.
Copyright © 2005 Patricia B. Mitchell.