Lafayette, the fourth largest city in Louisiana, is the parish seat of Lafayette Parish.
The earliest records label the area as the Attakapas and Opelousas districts named after the local Indian tribes. Before 1765, very few Europeans settled in the area other than trappers and smugglers. By 1765, Acadians were arriving in New Orleans and the Spanish governor began settling them in the Lafayette area at St. Martinville and Opelousas. Both the French and Spanish officials granted lands freely along the bayous Carencro and Vermilion. Generally, the size of 6-8 arpents along the stream with a depth of 40 arpents. Two of the earliest settlers were Andrew Martin, Jean and Marin Mouton. It wasn't until Louisiana Governor William C. C. Claiborne created the counties of the Orleans Territory in 1805 did the Attakapas County exist.