Soufrière District: History
The name Soufrière came from the French who dominated during the 1700s. The French word Soufrière means volcanic area or sulphur in the air.
The nearby plantation at Anse Mamin, formerly Malmaison, was at one time owned by Gaspard-Joseph Tascher de La Pagerie father of Josephine de Beauharnais. Although the exact locale of her birth has been the subject of dispute by historians, it is certain that the Empress spent much of her childhood on her father's plantation.
Framing the town to the south are the Pitons - comprising the Gros Piton and Petit Piton. They rise directly up from the coral reef beds and form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region is commonly visited for snorkeling and scuba diving.
Soufrière doubled as the fictional town Port Agnes, capital of the equally fictional island of Cascara in the 1985 comedy movie Water. The movies Creature and White Squall were also filmed there.