Back in 1771, Acadian pioneer Firmin Breaux began buying the land
from which the present day city of Breaux Bridge would evolve. In
1799 Breaux built a footbridge across our beautiful Bayou Teche to
help ease the passage for his family and neighbors. This first
bridge was a suspension footbridge. In 1817, Firmin’s son, Agricole,
built the first vehicular bridge, allowing for the passage of wagons
and increased commerce in the area. This bridge distinguished Breaux
Bridge as the only city on Bayou Teche to evolve from both sides
simultaneously. The town received its official founding in 1829 when
Scholastique Picou Breaux, Agricole’s 33 year old widow, drew up
plans for our city and began developing her property by selling lots
to other Acadian settlers.
Breaux Bridge and Crawfish have become symbolic in their
relationship. Restaurants of Breaux Bridge were the first to offer
crawfish openly on their menus, and it was here that the now
world-famous crawfish etouffee was created. Breaux Bridge became so
well known for its crawfish farming and cooking that, in honor of
its centennial celebration in 1959, the Louisiana legislature
officially designated Breaux Bridge as “la capitale Mondiale de
l’ecrevisse” or “the crawfish capital of the world”. Since this
designation, Breaux Bridge has hosted the annual crawfish festival,
recognized as one of the state’s finest festival.
Today Breaux Bridge is a closely-knit community of friendly people
with a bustling downtown historic district filled with unique
shopping and dining. It is also has a thriving business area near
Exit 109 on Interstate 10.
For more information on Breaux Bridge, please visit or call:
Breaux Bridge Tourism Office/Bayou Teche Visitors Center
314 East Bridge Street
Breaux Bridge, LA
337-332-8500
Open Monday – Friday 8:00 am to 4:00pm