Vermilion

Formed January 1, 1844 (44^th parish)

Vermilion Parish (56,973), Abbeville (11,194)

The concrete and stucco Modern Antebellum courthouse takes up the city center block.  The facility was built in 1953 and renovated in 1985.  The structure is located on Trivolie Street where Louisiana State Highways 14 and 82 intersect.  United States Highway 167 is five blocks west of the facility.  A. Hays Town is the architect.  An annex was built in 1989.  Abbeville has been the parish seat since 1845.  An 1890 courthouse was also located in Abbeville.  On January 1, 1844 Vermilion Parish was created from St. Martin Parish as the 44^th parish.  The Vermilion River and Vermilion Bay gave their name to the parish.  The parish seat is named by Father Antoine Desire Megret for his native Abbeville, France. 

Vermilion Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 14 Police Jury Members (legislative.)  Thirteen District Court Judges serve Vermilion, Acadia, and Lafayette parishes and Seven Justice Court Judges serve Vermilion Parish (judicial.) Vermilion Parish in the far south on the Gulf of Mexico.  Lafayette, Louisiana is northeast and Lake Charles, Louisiana is northwest of the locale.  The parish center is 25 miles Southwest of Abbeville nearer Forked Island.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by Acadia, Lafayette, and Iberia parishes and the Gulf of Mexico and Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes. 

The area of the parish is 1538 square miles.  It is 5 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 19 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 37.0 persons per square mile making it 34 out of 64 in the state.  Vermilion Parish has 38.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 167 comes in from Lafayette Parish on the northeast and terminates in the parish.  Only the west border and part of the east border are straight but the overall shape is rectangular.  Abbeville is in the northern half of the parish.  Abbeville is the parish seat and the largest city.  It is 19.7% of the parish population.  The parish is pronounced VUR-MIL-YON.  The parish seat is pronounced AB-BEE-VIL.  This parish is in the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.