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Breaux Bridge

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
Le Pont-Breaux
City
Shops in Breaux Bridge
Shops in Breaux Bridge
Nickname(s): Crawfish Capital of the World
Location of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 30°16′25.1″N 91°53′57.6″W / 30.273639°N 91.899333°W / 30.273639; -91.899333Coordinates: 30°16′25.1″N 91°53′57.6″W / 30.273639°N 91.899333°W / 30.273639; -91.899333
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parish St. Martin
Government
Area
 • Total 7.90 sq mi (20.45 km2)
 • Land 7.72 sq mi (19.98 km2)
 • Water 0.18 sq mi (0.47 km2)
Elevation 23 ft (7 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,139
 • Estimate (2016) 8,407
 • Density 1,089.55/sq mi (420.70/km2)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s) 337
FIPS code 22-09340
Website http://www.breauxbridgelive.com

Breaux Bridge (French: le Pont-Breaux; pronounced [ləpɔ̃bʁo]) is a small city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population is 8,139 as of the 2010 census, up from 7,281 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.

This community is called the "Crawfish Capital of the World," a designation obtained by former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives Robert J. "Bob" Angelle. It is also known for its unusual listing of nicknames in its telephone directory.

Acadian pioneer Firmin Breaux arrived as a single person with Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil in early 1765, probably with the family of Michel Trahan. The Acadians suffered many deaths between April and November, 1765, and some left with the priest, Fr. Jean Francois, to go to St. James Parish. A census of Attakapas dated April 25, 1766, lists Firmin at a place named Bayou Tortue. He left after this census and went to St. James where he is listed on the Sept, 14, 1769 Census of The Acadian Coast. In 1774, Firmin, who by then was in Ascension Parish, LA, petitioned Spanish Governor Unzaga to allow him to return to Attakapas. This petition was approved, and Firmin purchased land in the vicinity of the present-day city of Breaux Bridge from Jean François Ledée, a wealthy New Orleans merchant who had acquired the land as a French land grant approved by the Spanish during the waning years of the French administration for the Spanish. By 1774, Breaux's branding iron was registered, and by 1786 he was one of the largest property owners in the Bayou Teche country.


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