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Abbeville
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Abbeville

Louisiana, United States
Also known as: La Chapelle
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‱History

Abbeville, city, seat (1854) of Vermilion parish, southern Louisiana, U.S., on the Vermilion River, 20 miles (32 km) south-southwest of Lafayette. It was founded in 1843 by a Capuchin missionary, PĂšre Antoine Desire MĂ©gret, who patterned it on a French Provençal village. First called La Chapelle and settled by Acadians from Nova Scotia and Mediterranean immigrants, it was later named Abbeville (“Priest’s Town”). St. Marie Madeleine Church (1910) now occupies the site of MĂ©gret’s chapel, which was destroyed by fire in 1854.

A trade centre for agricultural produce (rice, cotton, and sugar) and seafood, Abbeville provides services for nearby oil and natural gas fields. The city is linked with the Gulf of Mexico via the Freshwater Bayou Deepwater Channel. Avery Island, with a bird sanctuary and salt dome, is 15 miles (24 km) southeast. Inc. town, 1850; city, 1956. Pop. (2000) 11,887; (2010) 12,257.

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