Area Attractions
St. Martinville, Louisiana, Home of Evangeline
Restaurants & Local Eateries:
For information on accomodations, dining, activities, and more, visit the City of St. Martinville’s website at www.stmartinville.org or the Parish website at www.cajuncountry.org.
Request Visitor’s Guide:
Request a Visitor’s Guide at the City of St. Martinville’s website, www.stmartinville.org, or at the Parish website, www.cajuncountry.org.
EVANGELINE OAK PARK
To honor St. Martinville’s ties to the Acadian experience, in fact and in legend, historic city properties surrounding the Evangeline Oak were officially drawn together and designated as Evangeline Oak Park. The park, also twinned with Grand-Pré National Historic Site in Nova Scotia, includes the Evangeline Oak and surrounding grounds, the Bayou Teche boardwalk, the Cultural Heritage Center, the Acadian Memorial, the Tourist Information Center, Evangeline Boulevard, La Maison Duchamp, and the Duchamp Opera House.
EVANGELINE OAK
An ancient live oak tree on the Bayou Teche, the Evangeline Oak has been the most visited site in St. Martinville since the late 19th century. The tree is named for the heroine of the poem Evangeline, written and published by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1847. Because of the lack of historical research prior to that time, Evangeline was long believed to be a true account of the Acadians’ exile from Nova Scotia by the British in 1755. The epic poem was immediately popular and read worldwide. Due to the poem’s setting in South Louisiana and its inclusion of place names such as Atchafalaya, Bayou Teche, and “the towns of St. Martin and St. Maur”, St. Martinville citizens claimed the legend as their own.
ST. MARTINVILLE CULTURAL HERITAGE CENTER
Open daily 10 to 4:30
Admission includes the Acadian Memorial:
$3 for adults; Free for children under 12.
The St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center houses two museums with a common theme – the story of people uprooted from their homeland who established new lives in Louisiana. These two museums are the African American Museum and the Museum of the Acadian Memorial.
Museum of the Acadian Memorial
Contact: Elaine F. Clément, Curator/Director
eclement@acadianmemorial.org
(337) 394-2258 phone
(337) 394-2260 fax
The Museum of the Acadian Memorial, in conjunction with the Acadian Memorial, tells the story of the Acadians and their life here in South Louisiana. It houses the Acadian Odyssey Quilt, a work of art that represents the aspects of life in Colonial Louisiana that transformed the Acadians into the Cajuns of today.
African American Museum
Contact: Danielle Fontenette, Curator/Director
stmchc@bellsouth.net
(337) 394-2273 phone
(337) 394-2244 fax
The African American Museum tells the story of the arrival of Africans in Southwest Louisiana in the mid 1700s, the experience of slavery, the emergence of free people of color, and the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. It features a 32 foot mural by noted local artist Dennis Williams.
LA MAISON DUCHAMP
Visitation by appointment:
337-394-2230 or 337-394-2233
In 1876, David Sandoz built this mansion on Main St. in Classic Revival style for his daughter, Amelie, and her husband, Eugene Auguste Duchamp. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it represents the early French settlers who created a rich mercantile economy around the church square that became the center of St. Martinville. From 1938 to 1976 it was a U.S. Post office, the only one to be located in a former private home. Today, it houses a permanent exhibit of blazons representing eight prominent families of the Bayou Teche. A blazon is a “diamond-shaped panel emblazoned with a full coat-of-arms crafted specifically as a funeral memorial.” In 2011, the City of St. Martinville signed an agreement to lease office space and guest quarters within the Maison Duchamp to the World Studies Institute of Louisiana. The first floor also hosts special events and gatherings.
DUCHAMP OPERA HOUSE AND MERCANTILE
Open Monday through Saturday, 10 to 5pm
Contact: Hillery Peltier, Manager, (337) 394-6604
www.evangelineplayers.org
Built circa 1830, the historic opera house earned St. Martinville its nickname, “Le Petit Paris.” Fully restored, the second level features a live theater, while the street level features St. Martinville’s official gift and souvenir shop, regional fine art gallery and one-of-a kind gifts. The theater is also home to the Evangeline Players.
OLD CASTILLO HOTEL
Although not a part of the Evangeline Oak Park, the Castillo Hotel is located next to the Evangeline Oak on Evangeline Blvd. The only surviving example, “the hotel served the steamboat trade on Bayou Teche during the era of steamboat transportation […] The hotel served the community as a restaurant and tavern, and as a setting for community activities, including balls, parties, and banquets.” For over one hundred years, 1881-1988 it was owned by the nuns of the Order of Mercy and operated as a school for girls.
ST. MARTIN SQUARE
Visit the “Mother Church of the Acadians,” St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church. Walk around the square to see the Rectory, Parish Hall, Evangeline Statue, Monument honoring Acadians in the American Revolution, and much more. Visitor information is located at the Cultural Heritage Center.
ST. MARTIN DE TOURS CATHOLIC CHURCH
Open daily except Friday morning
Visit the “Mother Church of the Acadians,” St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church. Walk around the square to see the Rectory, Parish Hall, Evangeline Statue, Monument honoring Acadians in the American Revolution, and much more. Visitor information is located at the Cultural Heritage Center.
ST. MARTIN DE TOURS CATHOLIC CHURCH
Open daily except Friday morning
This statue was donated by Dolores del Rio after she starred in the motion picture adaptation of Longfellow’s Evangeline, filmed in this area in 1929. Sculptor Marcelle Rebecchini used del Rio as his model. Daprato Studios in Chicago, Illinois cast the statue. Del Rio herself inaugurated the work at a gala ceremony in St. Martinville in April, 1931.
HISTORIC DISTRICT
The Historic District boasts of 50 historic landmarks/sites and registered historic buildings in downtown St. Martinville. The construction dates of the buildings range from 1820 until 1931. Many of the sites continue to host local businesses such as gift shops and cafes. The Historic District is notable for its contributions to architecture, commerce, and exploration/settlement. Free walking tour maps of the Historic District are located at the Cultural Heritage Center.
LONGFELLOW-EVANGELINE STATE
HISTORIC SITE
Open daily except Friday morning
Here’s a rare opportunity to see how Louisiana’s first Acadians lived and to visit an early Creole plantation home. Visit the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site website.
