The community which our library serves includes the Towns of Sunset and Grand Coteau, the Village of Cankton and the community of Bristol, all located in Ward 2, the southernmost political subdivision of St. Landry Parish, near the center of the Acadiana Region of Southwest Louisiana. The economy of our rural community is largely based on agriculture. It has always been an area of relatively small farms, first engaged in the production of cotton and sweet potatoes, now growing mostly corn and soy beans.

Major tourist attractions in our area include Chretien Point, an antebellum plantation house, The Academy of the Sacred Heart, a school for girls founded in 1821, and LaCaboose, a unique Bed and Breakfast and jelly-making facility.

Sunset

Sunset, Louisiana is a lovely rural community located 12 miles north of Lafayette just off Interstate 49. It has 2,500 friendly residents who invite you to visit here. The town has the South St.Landry Community Library, dubbed the "Miracle Library" (See About Our Library), which is a lovely Art Deco facility with 13,000 recent volumes; it is fully automated and has Internet access. The Celebration of Herbs and Gardens is an annual festival sponsored by the Sunset Garden Club and held on the first Saturday in May. At Christmas time, the town is called Village d'ange because so many angels decorate our streets, thanks to the efforts of the ladies in the Sunset Garden Club. Mardi Gras becomes festive with the annual Sertoma Mardi Gras parade.   LaCaboose, a local jelly-making facility, has beautiful gardens and a unique Bed and Breakfast.

The town was built at the site of a railroad construction camp and incorporated in 1904. Victor Hugo Sibille, the first mayor, was an innovative man who organized cotton gins, saw mills, lumber yards, syrup mills, and the first telephone company in the area. The Bank of Sunset, founded in 1906, is the oldest surviving business in the town.. During the "Great Depression", the Bank of Sunset was one of few in the U.S. that did not close, and it earned the title "Biggest Little Bank in the World". After boll weevils destroyed the cotton crops, production of sweet potatoes made Sunset the "Sweet Potato Capitol of the World." Sunset has all the advantages of small town life and is less that twenty minutes from the large city of Lafayette. It is twinned with St. Paul en Cornillon in France and there are regular exchanges of visits between members of the two communities.

Grand Coteau

The Town of Grand Coteau, with a population of about 1100, is located two miles east and separated from Sunset by Interstate 49. It is more than 100 years older than Sunset, tracing its beginnings to the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. The Catholic Parish of St. Charles Borremeo was founded in 18 19 and became the "Mother Church" for several other Acadiana Parishes. In 1821, the Religious of the Sacred Heart founded a school for girls, the Academy of the Sacred Heart, now the oldest continuously operating girl's school west of the Mississippi. In 1838, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) established a school for boys in Grand Coteau. Thus the town became a center for Catholic education and continues so today. In 1866, a miracle, the only one in the U.S. recognized by the Catholic Church, occurred at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, which contains a shrine venerating this event.

The entire town of Grand Coteau is a National Historic District and it contains more than 40 buildings and homes currently listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Its historic setting and serene surroundings make it a constant tourist attraction. Annual festivals held in Grand Coteau include the Rainbow Festival held at St. Ignatius School in March, the Conge' at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in April,   and the Festival de St. Charles at St. Charles Borremeo Church in October. The American Legion holds a Veteran's Day parade in November.

Cankton

The area which is now the Village of Cankton was settled in the mid-1800's by the Guidry family.  It is located in extreme southern portion of St. Landry Parish, 7 miles southwest of Sunset.  In the early 1900's this sparsely settled prairie was known as Coulee Croche.  However, upon its incorporation in 1961, the village was named Cankton in honor of its leading citizen, Dr. L. A. "Cank" Guidry.  As a youth, Dr. Guidry used a duck call when hunting and upon returning home he would announce his arrival with a duck call (cank, cank, cank) and his mother would say in French "Cank est revenue!" ("Cank is back!").  The nickname stuck and after earning a medical degree from Tulane University he came home to practice.   Dr. Cank dispersed counsel as well as medicine and became beloved of everyone.   His office, a landmark, is still standing.

Cankton has a population of approximately 350 people.  The village centers around St. John Berchman Catholic Church and the Cankton Elementary School.  A volunteer fire department which serves the southwest part of St. Landry Parish is located across the Main Street near the Village Hall.  The village has recently acquired a branch bank to complement its existing businesses which provide all the necessities for country living.  Cankton hosts the Wagon Festival each Spring, bringing its citizens and many visitors together for two days of fun and remembrances of by-gone days.

Bristol

The community of Bristol  is located 6 miles southwest of Sunset and 2 miles northwest of Cankton.  It is a rural community where the descendants of Joseph Sibille settled to continue the cotton ginning and farming businesses which he had begun.  Bristol became the hub of a large farming area where farmers came for help both financially (no nearby banks) and for advice in the newest methods of farming.  Joseph Sibille had a high regard for education.  He sent his sons to St. Charles College in Grand Coteau.  They journeyed on horseback, often encountering Federal troops during the Civil War.  Today, the cotton gin is no longer in operation, cotton having been replaced over the years by soy beans, sugar cane and corn.  Education of the younger generations continued to be a priority with the result that there was an exodus to other occupations, leaving the farming to a few landowners.

Bristol is today a beautiful, well maintained community of close-knit relatives and friends.  This bedroom community is attracting newcomers who seek a quiet lifestyle with larger cities only 30 minutes away.  A great, great grandson of Joseph Sibille is a pilot and he has opened a grass airstrip capable of landing light aircraft.   This facility is attracting pilots of small planes who use the strip for practice and its hangar for housing their planes.

In 1997 a visitor from Bristol, England, for which our Bristol was named, came to present an invitation to attend the 500th anniversary celebration of the sailing of John Cabot to the New World.  He presented a paperweight made of blue Bristol glass as a commemorative piece.

Chretien Point

Chretien Point, an antebellum plantation house begun in 1831 and completed 4 years later, has been lovingly restored in recent years and is open daily for tours. Bed and Breakfast is available by appointment. The house is located 5 miles south of Sunset, near the community of Bristol. It was the site of a major Civil War battle in 1863.