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History · Eunice · established 1884

142 years of Eunice, in pictures

Postcards, papers and photographs of Eunice from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

1884established
5old photos & papers
2historic places
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eunice’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Eunice’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Famous sons and daughtersJoseph E. LeDoux, Marc Savoy and 17 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Famous people

19 famous people were born in Eunice

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Joseph E. LeDouxAmerican neuroscientist · b. 1949
Marc SavoyAmerican musician; builder and player of the Ca… · b. 1940
Stuart TurnerAmerican professional baseball player · b. 1991
C
Cora Kelley WardPainter · b. 1920
Roy L. JohnsonUnited States Navy admiral · b. 1906
K
Keith OrtegoAmerican football player · b. 1963
The story

How Eunice came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eunice.

Read it all →

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eunice, 1880 to 1991

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - St. Landry Parish - Eunice - ED …
  3. 1884
    FoundingEunice is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919In the archiveMardi Gras 1919
  6. 1920Born hereCora Kelley Ward is born here
  7. 1935In the archivePelican Courts
  8. 1940Born hereMarc Savoy is born here
  9. 1949Born hereJoseph E. LeDoux is born here
  10. 1988In the archiveFront of old building in Eunice, Saint Landry, Louisiana 1988
  11. 1991Born hereStuart Turner is born here
By decade

Eunice, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1930s4 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - St. Landry Parish - Eunice - ED 49-35, ED 49-36, ED 49-3718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA… 1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - St. Landry Parish - Eunice - ED 49-72 to 8018801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA… Mardi Gras 19191919Mardi Gras 1919 Pelican Courtsc. 1935Pelican Courts
1940s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s1 item
Front of old building in Eunice, Saint Landry, Louisiana 19881988Front of old building in Eunice, Saint Landry, Louisi…
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
EuniceDepotWM2005EuniceDepotWM
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - St. Landry Parish - Eunice - ED 49-35, ED 49-36, ED 49-37
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - St. Landry Parish - Eunice - ED 49-35, ED 49-36, ED 49-37, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Eunice’s page.

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On the National Register

2 historic places in Eunice

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Midland Branch Railroad Depot
in Louisiana
#102
by listings
Midland Branch Railroad DepotLiberty Theatre
Buildings
Midland Branch Railroad DepotBuilding
Liberty TheatreBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Finish Eunice’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia and Wikidata for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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