VHS Home Page

Welcome to the website of the historical society that the Baton Rouge Advocate has called "perhaps the best in the state."

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Or use the Site Outline below.

Picture of Journeys into the Past Kenneth A. Dupuy's long- awaited book on the history of Abbeville is now available.

Click here for details.

Quick jumps to our most popular pages:

Slideshows of VP history
Vermilion Parish biographies
Rooftop views of Abbeville
Topics in V.P. history
Model buildings
History of V.P. vol. 1 ON SALE!
History of V.P. vol. 2 ON SALE!
Order form

Miniature lighted buildings are sold here!

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Vermilion Parish Courthouse, Abbeville City Hall, School Board Building (first high school), Fenwick Sanitarium (Palms Hospital), St. Mary Magdalen, Bank of Abbeville, the Abbeville Depot

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Our products may also be purchased at The Depot at Magdalen Place, 201 W. Lafayette Street, Abbeville, LA 70510.

Who We Are:

The Vermilion Historical Society is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of the history of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. It was formed in 1975 as a result of the renewed interest in history engendered by the impending national bicentennial. The Society published History of Vermilion Parish, La., a 485-page book containing historical topics, family stories, and pictures, in 1983. The second volume of that work, a 620-page book, was published in 2003, in conjunction with the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. Our third book publication was Journeys Into the Past—Abbeville, Louisiana: The Early Years, by Abbeville's premiere historian, Kenneth A. Dupuy.

The Society also maintains a museum at the Alliance Center, 200 N. Magdalen Square, in the heart of Abbeville, Louisiana, as a part of the Abbeville Cultural and Historical Alliance. Historical artifacts, documents, and photographs are on display there, including the "Morgan Effigy," a deer antler carved by Native Americans about 1000 years ago. The sketch of the effigy shown above is the logo of the Society.

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Alliance Museum and Art Gallery

Inside this website you will find images of the people, places, buildings, and things of the past, documents and maps, biographies, articles on interesting historical topics, obituaries, newspaper articles, and a wealth of other information relating to the history of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. Click the "Enter Here" button above, or choose a link from the Site Outline below. Click here to find out how to submit materials to the Vermilion Historical Society.

We sell miniature models of Abbeville buildings, Volume 1 and Volume 2 of our history book, History of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, and Ken Dupuy's Journeys into the Past—Abbeville, Louisiana: The Early Years. To order our products, go to the ORDER FORM PAGE, print it out, and mail it in with your check or money order.

Membership in the Society is open to the public. The dues are $5 per year for an individual, $10 for a couple, and $100 for an individual lifetime membership. Contributions to the Society are tax-deductible. We invite you to join us, and/or to browse around our site and return often. Membership is not required for browsing this site nor for attending our meetings and presentations. If you want to join, go to the membership form page, print it out, and send it in with your check.