Vermilion Parish, Louisiana: History
Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, from different cultures. By historic times, the Chitimacha and Atakapa inhabited the area and were the American Indians encountered by Spanish and French explorers and settlers. The tribes' numbers were drastically reduced as a result of exposure to European diseases.
French, Spanish, enslaved Africans, and French-Canadians from Acadia expelled after the Seven Years' War won by Great Britain, had all entered the area by the end of the 18th century. As the population became mostly Cajun, the primary language was French for years. In the mid- to late 19th century, they were joined by European Americans; immigrants from Italy, recruited to work on the plantations, as well as Jewish immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe due to outreach efforts from the state via the Louisiana Immigration Society. They tended to settle in towns and become merchants.
SpaceX plans to start construction of a spaceport, known as Starbase Louisiana, near Pecan Island, with work beginning in 2027 with the goal of launching rockets in 2029.