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Louisiana · Cajun Country · Opelousas · Zydeco Capital · #395
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Opelousas - the Zydeco Capital of the World and the Yambilee capital, one of Louisiana's oldest cities and the heart of the Creole and Cajun cultural corridor. St. Landry Parish is where zydeco music was born and still thrives in the dance halls along the back roads, where the sweet potato is king, and where Cajun and Creole cooking traditions run deeper than anywhere else in America. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for St. Landry Parish residents.
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Office: St. Landry Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness – coordinated with the Sheriff’s Office; residents encouraged to sign up for emergency notifications (calls, texts, emails).
Sheriff: St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office – 1592 East Prudhomme Street, Opelousas, LA 70570 (P.O. Box 1029) | (337) 948-6516 | Fax (337) 233-1524; Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz, in office since 2006, an LSU-Eunice graduate; 218 regular deputy sheriffs. St. Landry Parish Jail – (337) 948-5804 | Fax (337) 284-6109.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-49 and US-190 intersect at Opelousas, the parish seat, in south-central Louisiana. St. Landry Parish, established in 1807, was historically known as the “Imperial Parish” for the vast territory it once covered before six other parishes were carved from it.
Notes: St. Landry Parish is named for St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas, dedicated to the 7th-century Bishop of Paris.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: St. Landry Parish Courthouse – Opelousas, LA.
Notes: Opelousas is officially designated the “Zydeco Music Capital of the World” by the Louisiana Legislature (2000), the genuine birthplace of Grammy-winning zydeco pioneers Clifton Chenier (“King of Zydeco,” 1925-1987) and Terrance Simien. Founded in 1720 as a French garrison and trading post, Opelousas served as the temporary Confederate capital of Louisiana from 1862-1863. The parish is also the site of the Opelousas Massacre of September 1868, one of the deadliest incidents of Reconstruction-era racial violence in the United States: over several days, white paramilitary groups killed an estimated 200 or more Black residents and Republican political organizers in the area, effectively eliminating the Republican Party’s presence in the parish ahead of that year’s presidential election.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: St. Landry Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stlandrypg.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
St. Landry Parish Library System – confirm current address/phone via stlandrypg.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Le Vieux Village Heritage Park and the Zydeco Music Exhibit (housed at the Opelousas Visitor Center/Jarrell House), the annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival (running since 1982), and the Yambilee sweet-potato harvest festival each October are the parish’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Zydeco Music Capital of the World” distinction is one of the most musically significant cultural facts covered anywhere in this project; the Opelousas Massacre is a sober but historically important fact also covered here.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: St. Landry Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via stlandrypg.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
St. Landry Parish Animal Control – 255 Hangar Rd, Opelousas, LA 70570 | (337) 948-6184 | Email: [email protected]; an open-admission shelter (80-dog capacity) operated by parish government; all adopted dogs spayed/neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. ⚠️ The shelter has experienced periodic significant overcrowding (reported over 120 dogs against an 80-capacity facility in 2024), prompting free adoption events and community appeals for fostering support.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: St. Landry Parish Public Works – confirm current contact via stlandrypg.org.
NOTES: St. Landry Parish is the first parish in the ninth batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The genuine “Zydeco Music Capital of the World” distinction is one of the most musically significant cultural facts covered anywhere in this project; the Opelousas Massacre is a sober but historically important fact also covered here. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About St. Landry Parish County
St. Landry Parish is Louisiana’s zydeco birthplace and Acadiana cultural heartland – the Creole communities that birthed zydeco music with Clifton Chenier as the King of Zydeco and the Cajun and Creole heritage of the Opelousas area define one of Acadiana’s largest and most culturally rich parishes.
Opelousas (the parish seat, population ~16,000) is St. Landry Parish’s governmental hub on I-49, a southwest Louisiana Acadiana community whose zydeco heritage, Creole culture, and historic identity as a regional center anchor its identity as one of Acadiana’s most significant communities.
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St. Landry Parish Assessor at 118 S. Court Street, Opelousas, LA 70570, phone 337-948-3451. LA assessed at 10% of fair market value.
Courts & Legal
St. Landry Parish District Court at 118 S. Court Street, Opelousas, LA 70570, phone 337-948-2516, handles successions.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURT (Records, Vital Records, Mortgages)
118 N. Court St., Opelousas, LA 70570
(337) 942-5606
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
Local societies
No dedicated St. Landry Parish genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
A NOTE ON LOUISIANA LAW: Louisiana is the only U.S. state built on a civil-law tradition (rooted in the Napoleonic Code) rather than English common law. Louisiana doesn’t use the word “probate” – the equivalent process is called a “succession,” and its 64 parishes are the equivalent of counties elsewhere. Community property and separate property rules also work differently here than in common-law states, which can affect what’s actually part of the succession.
Where to go
St. Landry Parish 27th Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court 118 South Court Street, Suite 207 (P.O. Box 750), Opelousas, LA 70570 (mail: 70571) (337) 942-5606 St. Landry Parish is in south-central Louisiana, seated in Opelousas, one of the oldest cities in Louisiana and known as a birthplace of zydeco music.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Small Succession Affidavit – under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3421 et seq., available for estates with a gross value of $125,000 or less at the date of death (or of any value if the decedent has been dead more than 20 years). No court proceeding is required. At least two people must sign – typically the surviving spouse (if any) plus one or more heirs, sworn before a notary. If the estate includes immovable property (real estate), the affidavit can’t be recorded until 90 days after the date of death, and it must be recorded with the Clerk of Court/Recorder in every parish where the decedent owned real estate.
Succession Without Administration (“simple possession”) – used when there are no debts to pay and all heirs agree; commonly resolved in 30 to 90 days via a Petition for Possession.
Administered Succession – required when a court-appointed succession representative needs to inventory assets and pay debts before distribution; typically takes 3 to 9 months, longer if contested.
Important: for anything beyond a small succession affidavit, Louisiana courts generally require a licensed Louisiana attorney to represent the succession – self-representation and generic online forms are not accepted the way they are in many other states.
Step 2: filing a regular succession
File a Petition for Possession (simple cases) or a Petition for Administration (if a representative and formal administration are needed) in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death.
The court admits any will and, where needed, appoints an executor (testate) or administrator (intestate), issuing Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
In an administered succession, the representative prepares a sworn descriptive list of assets, pays valid debts, and accounts to the court.
The court issues a Judgment of Possession, which must then be recorded in the parish conveyance/land records and with the parish tax assessor to clear title.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by parish and case type; publication costs apply when legal notices are required.
A full administered succession typically requires attorney representation – flat fees for straightforward matters often run in the low thousands of dollars, more if contested or complex.
A small succession affidavit is far less expensive and, when no real estate is involved, can often be handled without an attorney – though even small errors can cause a bank, title company, or the Louisiana OMV to reject the affidavit.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1131 Creswell Lane, Opelousas, LA 70570
(337) 948-6516
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
1131 Creswell Lane, Opelousas, LA 70570
(337) 948-6516
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
118 N. Court St., Opelousas, LA 70570
(337) 948-3657
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
St. Landry Parish Health Unit
(337) 948-0000
LA DCFS — Acadiana Region
(337) 262-5900
LA Medicaid
(888) 342-6207
Opelousas General Health System
opelousasgeneral.com (quality regional hospital)
St. Landry Parish Hospital
stlandryparishhospital.com (Eunice — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: St. Landry Parish Health Unit – confirm current contact via Louisiana Department of Health regional office listings.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
Population: 82,000
Area: 924 mi²
Established: 1807
Tier: 3
Public Records
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