Basile, LA

Basile is a small town spread across Evangeline and Acadia parishes, with US 190 running through the middle. Kinder and Elton sit west along the highway, Eunice east, and Jennings south via LA 97. Most of the town is in Evangeline Parish, but the southern edge crosses the parish line, giving Basile two local government maps for one community.

The town’s school story has its own twist. Stewart Elementary and Basile High School serve local students, and the Bearcat is the high-school mascot. Before the current school setup, a Methodist-run girls’ school called the Evangeline Industrial Home operated here; that older institution gives the town more history than the highway sign suggests. St. Augustine Catholic Church traces its own history to Mass held in a schoolhouse in 1909. The local scoop is a two-parish town built around US 190, with school buildings, church history, and the old Evangeline Industrial Home filling in the picture behind the road. Parish lines are part of Basile’s everyday geography.