1970 Map of Opelousas

About this map

Opelousas serves as the bustling hub of this St. Landry Parish survey, anchored by its General Hospital and proximity to the St Landry Parish Airport. The landscape reveals a complex network of bayous and drainage modifications, most notably the Bayou Boeuf-Cocodrie Diversion Channel and the winding Bayou Teche. This era shows the region's heavy reliance on the oil and gas industry, with the Ville Platte Oil and Gas Field and the Thistlethwaite Oil and Gas Field prominent in the landscape. Smaller settlements like Washington, Lawtell, and Plaisance are connected by a dense lattice of state highways and three major rail lines, including the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific. Local history is deeply embedded in the rural countryside, evidenced by numerous country churches such as Sacred Heart Chapel and family-named cemeteries like Bertrand Cem and Pitre Cem.