1983 Map of Opelousas

About this map

Opelousas serves as the focal point of this early 1980s survey, showing the city's concentrated grid between Bayou Tesson and the Bayou Laurent drainage. The landscape is defined by the complex hydrology of the St. Landry Parish region, where the Bayou Teche and Bayou Courtableau systems intersect. Transportation patterns are clearly etched by the intersecting lines of the Southern Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads, which historically shaped the town's growth as a trade hub. Cultural landmarks are abundant, from the Hebrew Rest Cem and Cedar Hill Cem in the north near Washington to the campus of Belmont Academy and the St Landry Parish Airport. Small rural settlements like Nuba and Boscoville appear along the highways, while the presence of several Gravel Pits and numerous Sewage Disposal Ponds indicates the infrastructure and industrial activity supporting the parish's population centers during this era.