Vermilion Historical Society

10/20/2026

You’re invited! October 28th!

Cajun & Creole Radio: The Early Years

Members, Board Members, Officers and history fans, the Vermilion Historical Society is pleased to announce our presentation on October 28th at 6:00pm in the main Library at 405 E. St Victor Street, here in Abbeville.

Professor Noah Arceneaux now working at San Diego State University in Media Studies will entertain us with his presentation on cultural resilience and specifically the earliest years of Cajun and Creole radio in Louisiana and East Texas. He is now the host of Saturday’s Cajun Music Show on KEUN radio.

Learn how this early industry, which has become a century old business, now and was our link to home, family, local news, church and dance halls.

French In The Morning, Arceneaux's new book traces the musical, cultural, and technological evolution of Cajun radio from origins in the 1920's, war-time censorship and post- war boom into the streaming world of today.

We are happy to offer an air conditioned and a handicap accessible facility for your comfort.

Because History Matters,

Brady Broussard Jr.
President
Vermilion Historical Society

09/30/2026

http://eepurl.com/E2fKwz2I_g

Members, Board Members, Officers and history fans, the Vermilion Historical Society is pleased to announce our presentation on October 28th at 6:00pm in the main Library at 405 E. St Victor Street, here in Abbeville. Professor Noah Arceneaux now working at San Diego State University in Media S...

07/20/2026

REMINDER! THIS WEDNESDAY! You’re invited to learn about some interesting history of Vermilion Parish! See the details below…

You’re Invited! Q3 Meeting & Program

Dear VHS membership, board members, officers and guests,

We invite you to attend a delightful and informative presentation about the golden era of sugar production and plantations that were located along the Vermilion River south of Abbeville.

There is one specific sugar plantation property that thrived and the structure built in 1830 and is surviving to this day!

Join us on WEDNESDAY, JULY 22nd, 6pm in our air conditioned and comfortable meeting room at the Vermilion Parish Main Library at 405 E. St Victor St, here in Abbeville. We are proud to offer handicap accessibility for our quarterly presentations.

We will all learn about more than 200 years ago when Charles Gorsuch Stansbury arrived in St. Mary Parish and commissioned in the War of 1812.

His son, Albert, was the only child to settle in our area that would later become Vermilion Parish. Albert had 10 children, some of them named Summerfield, Uriah, Emeline and Albert.

This presentation will be given by a descendant of Charles and Albert, our own John Stansbury.

He will have photographs of individuals and this home from 1830 still there today.
Our meetings begin at 6:00pm and we hope to see you there.
Because History Matters,

Brady Brousard Jr.
President
Vermilion Historical Society

Our Speaker: Mr. John Stansbury-

06/30/2026

You’re Invited! Q3 Meeting & Program

Dear VHS membership, board members, officers and guests,

We invite you to attend a delightful and informative presentation about the golden era of sugar production and plantations that were located along the Vermilion River south of Abbeville.

There is one specific sugar plantation property that thrived and the structure built in 1830 and is surviving to this day!

Join us on WEDNESDAY, JULY 22nd, 6pm in our air conditioned and comfortable meeting room at the Vermilion Parish Main Library at 405 E. St Victor St, here in Abbeville. We are proud to offer handicap accessibility for our quarterly presentations.

We will all learn about more than 200 years ago when Charles Gorsuch Stansbury arrived in St. Mary Parish and commissioned in the War of 1812.

His son, Albert, was the only child to settle in our area that would later become Vermilion Parish. Albert had 10 children, some of them named Summerfield, Uriah, Emeline and Albert.

This presentation will be given by a descendant of Charles and Albert, our own John Stansbury.

He will have photographs of individuals and this home from 1830 still there today.
Our meetings begin at 6:00pm and we hope to see you there.
Because History Matters,

Brady Brousard Jr.
President
Vermilion Historical Society

Our Speaker: Mr. John Stansbury-

04/26/2026

In case you missed last week’s interesting VHS presentation on Captain Perry and his homestead nestled on the bank of Bayou Vermilion, you can see it here. Presenters were historian, Mr. Warren Perrin, and current property owner, Mr. Chris Leblanc. Check out the video below:

1 like. "April 23, 2026"

04/22/2026

Just a reminder about a great historical presentation tomorrow night in Abbeville. (Wednesday). Open to the public.

The Vermilion Parish Library System facility at 405 E. St Victor St in Abbeville will be the site of our annual organizational meeting and a quite interesting presentation.

04/13/2026

VHS Meeting & Presentation: 04/22/26 History Of Captain Perry Residence And Perry, LA -

The Vermilion Parish Library System facility at 405 E. St Victor St in Abbeville will be the site of our annual organizational meeting and a quite interesting presentation.

04/13/2026

Don’t miss our next meeting on this interesting presentation on Perry, LA next Wednesday, April 22nd. Open to the public. It’s also our membership and Board elections meeting.

The Vermilion Parish Library System facility at 405 E. St Victor St in Abbeville will be the site of our annual organizational meeting and a quite interesting presentation.

03/15/2026

On April 22, Chris LeBlanc and Warren Perrin will be hosted by the Vermilion Historical Society in Abbeville, LA at the parish library to give a talk on the history of the hamlet of Perry, LA. Here is a short summary of the presentation: Perry's Bridge, now called Perry, officially began in 1817 when Robert Perry was awarded a contract by the St. Martin Parish Police Jury (Vermilion Parish was created in 1844) to build a bridge across the Vermilion Bayou. Construction was to take place on his property near his tanyard. Perry's Bridge was to become the main commercial center on the Vermilion Bayou. Its competition, Vermilionville (Lafayette) established around 1823 and Abbeville, around 1850, were to become Perry's main rivals.

In 1806, Robert Perry, from whom the town of Perry derives its name, at the age of 19, left his family in Campbell County, Kentucky to move to Louisiana, a newly-acquired territory of the United States. At this time New Orleans was growing prosperously, and the colonization of Texas was proceeding rapidly. Trade between the two active areas was increasingly more important, and Robert Perry most certainly moved there to take advantage of the economic situation. His gamble paid off handsomely. Tellingly, Robert Perry owned stores on each side of the river at Perry's Bridge. Across the river from the two stores, he maintained a tanyard. Cattle hides were sold here in sufficient numbers to have warranted an apprentice in 1821. Among other holdings, he owned two plantations, a tavern and mercantile store at Bayou Chicot. Thus, Perry had established himself on two main routes to Texas: the Opelousas Road and the Old Spanish Trace. He also had boats capable of bringing supplies from New Orleans to Texas. With all this as evidence of Robert Perry's commercial endeavors, it can be assumed that the river crossing that came to be known as "Perry's Bridge" also called by the French "Pont Perry" was an important element to trade in the area of southwest Louisiana.

In 1820 Perry married Ezemily Booth from Georgia. They had nine children who reached maturity. Robert Perry died in 1852. His home, built in 1840 by slave labor, remains today across the Vermilion River from the town of Perry.