Eunice, Louisiana, United States

🇺🇸 Eunice is a city in Acadia and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The St. Landry Parish portion of Eunice is part of the Opelousas-Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the Acadia Parish portion is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History One-time lawman and pioneer land developer C.C. Duson is credited with founding Eunice, which was named for his second wife, Eunice Pharr Duson. He and his brother, W.W. Duson, had already founded Crowley, Louisiana in 1887, and he looked to the north of the parish for future development. Duson bought 160 acres (0.65 km²) of land from Willie Humble of Prairie Faquetaïque and mapped out a town site, laid out in lots 50-by-140 feet, 12 lots to the block. Next, he persuaded the Southern Pacific Railroad to extend a branch line from Crowley to his new town. Then he began what he and his brother had learned how to do as well as anyone: promote land sales. It was chartered as a village on September 12, 1894, and incorporated as a town on June 4, 1895.

Evangeline Parish was created with the passage of a bill in June 1908. Eunice and Ville Platte were in competition for the parish seat, and Ville Platte was selected by voters on April 12, 1909. After the election, Eunice declared it would remain in St. Landry Parish.

In May 2000 a chemical freight train derailed in Eunice, spilling numerous hazardous chemicals and causing about 15 tank cars to explode and burn; approximately 3,500 residents of the town were evacuated for as many as five days. Over 10,000 residents settled in May 2004 for $65 million with the Union Pacific Corporation in a class action suit, claiming that the corporation had failed to repair a defective section of track.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.1 km²), all land.

Louisiana Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 190 pass through the centre of Eunice with U.S. 190 heading west 26 miles (42 km) to Kinder and east 21 miles (34 km) to Opelousas, the seat of St. Landry Parish. LA-13 heads north 11 miles (18 km) to Mamou and south 20 miles (32 km) to Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish.

Parish Eunice is in parts of three parishes, St. Landry, Acadia and Evangeline. Thus, the names of certain businesses in Eunice, such as Tri-Parish Bank. Most of the Evangeline Parish portion of Eunice is unincorporated.

St. Landry Most of the city limits are located in St. Landry parish. This was one of the original parishes in Louisiana.

Acadia Parish Acadia to the south actually borders most of the southern city limits, in a close west to east parallel line, with Sittig Street in the centre, parish road 7-23 to the east, and both just inside the St. Landry Parish. On the west side the city limits drops south following highway 755 south and includes the airport, the Louisiana State University Eunice campus, as well as the streets around the campus. Acadia Parish also succeeded from the parish of St. Landry.

Arts and culture Located near the heart of Cajun country, Eunice is famous for its Cajun music, and in November 1997 the Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum was founded there. The City of Eunice and the National Park Service sponsor "Laissez les bons temps rouler au rendezvous des cajuns", a live Cajun music show every Saturday night at the Liberty Theatre, an old movie theater that was restored by a "coup de main" by local volunteers after falling into disrepair.

Eunice is home to the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, a unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.

Eunice is host to one of the largest Courir de Mardi Gras (traditional rural French Louisiana Mardi Gras observance,) as well as the World Championship Crawfish Étouffée Cook-off.

In 2015, The Eunice Rotary Club and the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve teamed up to host a revitalized folklife festival known as the Experience Louisiana Festival held each October on the campus of LSU Eunice.

Education Eunice is the home of Louisiana State University Eunice, a community college. LSUE is a campus of Louisiana State University.

Eunice is also home to both Eunice High School and St Edmund High School.