About the town » Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States

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Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-largest incorporated city in the state, and is the larger principal city of the Lafayette–Acadiana combined statistical area, which, in 2011, had an estimated total population of 554,517. It was founded as Vermilionville in 1821 by a French-speaking Acadian named Jean Mouton. In 1884, it was renamed for General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who fought with and significantly aided the American Army during the American Revolutionary War. The city's economy was primarily based on agriculture until the 1940s, when the petroleum and natural gas industries became dominant. In recent years, the medical profession has taken a more predominant role in the area economy. Lafayette is the center of Cajun culture in Louisiana and the United States. The city has a strong tourism industry because of the Cajun culture there and in the surrounding region. There is also a Creole influence in the area, although most Creoles and their descendents originate to the east in New Orleans. The Creole and Cajun cuisines are among the most famous regional cuisines of the United States. This city should not be confused with the former city of Lafayette in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; that city was absorbed into New Orleans in 1852.