Washington, LA

Washington is a village in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 census counted 742 residents. Washington is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. Washington was the largest inland port between New Orleans and St. Louis for much of the 19th century. Washington holds the annual Festival du Courtableau, now renamed the Washington Catfish Festival. On November 15, 1978, the downtown area was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Washington Historic District. The through line in Washington is the way its history and present-day settings remain visible on the same map.

Washington makes the most sense through those concrete details, with its history still visible in the settings people use today. Washington was founded as the Post of Opelousas in 1764 as a French trading post. In 1766, the first church, La Iglesia paroquial de la Immaculada Conception del Puesto de Opelousas, was established and the post later became known as Church Landing in 1822. Washington includes a historic district.