Prairie des Femmes Site of First Land Grant Given by the GovernmentofLouisiana -1776

"The first known land grant by the colonial Louisiana government was in 1776 in the area referred to as Prairie des Femmes.[1] In the early 19th century, Grand Coteau served as a stopping point for travelers between Washington, Louisiana and St. Martinville, Louisiana. The thriving community had two bakeries, a cobbler, millinery, and blacksmith shop, a post office, and an inn where stagecoaches changed horses." Wikipedia

This is interesting to me. A few years back, my aunt KEM started passing along my family's genealogical information to me. In the papers was a copy of a document in Spanish that she said was a special grant given to our ancestor, a Guilbeau and another ancestor, possibly an Arceneaux and a few other Acadian men. It was the first of it's kind in Louisiana. The ranchers were given a herd of cattle from the Spanish Gov. And promised to give herd and a half back in X number of years, I believe, in exchange for the land in the grant. I will continue to research this. I wonder if the land where I have settled was part of the land granted to my ggggggrandfather in the late 1700's?

The marriage contract of Charles Guilbeau and Madeline Michel in Spanish. St. Martinville, 1788. My Acadian ancestors are called "Juan Guilbeau" and "Pedro Arceneaux" pretty amusing!