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==History== Cecilia sits on land that was historically inhabited by the [[Atakapa Tribe]]. The Atakapa lived in what is now [[Southwest Louisiana]] and [[Texas]], and had a trading post at [[St. Martinville, Louisiana|St. Martinville]], before French settlers took over the land.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Martin is the Cradle of French Louisiana |url=http://zachary.waiting-forthe-sun.net/Pages/Archives/Cradle.html |publisher=Lafayette Daily Advertiser |accessdate=15 February 2020}}</ref> Cecilia was originally known by the Spanish as ''La Punta.'' It was translated by the French into ''La Grande Pointe'', a name that was used by many people until contemporary times when it was then called Cecilia, named after the first postal clerk.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cecilia|url=https://www.cyclezydeco.org/cecilia|access-date=2021-07-31|website=CYCLE ZYDECO - Louisiana's Cajun & Creole Cycling Festival|language=en-US}}</ref> Pierre Guidry, the first settler of Cecilia,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Cecilia Louisiana History - Acadian Ancestral Home|url=http://www.gladysdevilliers.acadian-home.org/Cecilia-Louisiana.html|access-date=2021-07-31|website=www.gladysdevilliers.acadian-home.org}}</ref> acquired three tracts of land from Mrs. Joseph Alexander Declouet in 1791. Joseph Angelle settled nearby soon after. Both men apparently settled on lands that had been given to Declouet by a Spanish land grant dated May 16, 1772, that included some {{convert|2600|acre|km2}} of land.<ref name=":0" /> During the [[American Civil War]], the settlement was also known as ''La Place''. This name was dropped when postal authorities began to confuse it with the [[LaPlace, Louisiana|LaPlace]] in [[St. John the Baptist Parish]]. Cecilia is the birthplace of several Louisiana political figures: [[Louisiana State Legislature|state Representative]] and House [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] [[Bob Angelle|Robert Joseph "Bob" Angelle]] (1896β1979),<ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-04-23|title=Portrait Dedication at Angelle Hall|url=https://louisiana.edu/news-events/news/20090423/portrait-dedication-angelle-hall|access-date=2021-07-31|website=University of Louisiana at Lafayette|language=en}}</ref> former [[Secretary of State of Louisiana]] and [[Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Paul Hardy (politician)|Paul J. Hardy]] (born 1942),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Paul Hardy {{!}} The Federalist Society|url=https://fedsoc.org/contributors/paul-hardy|access-date=2021-07-31|website=fedsoc.org}}</ref> and former state Representatives [[J. Burton Angelle]] and [[Jesse J. Guidry]], who became secretary of the [[Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries]]; Angelle from 1972 to 1980 and 1984 to 1988 and Guidry from 1981 to 1984. Former [[National Football League]] player [[Ramsey Dardar]] was also born in Cecilia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ramsey Dardar NFL Football Statistics|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DardRa20.htm|publisher=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdate=May 5, 2013}}</ref> Cecilia is the burial site of Louis Hebert, a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[general]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Louis Hebert|url=http://www.acadiansingray.com/photo%20gallery-louis_hebert.htm|access-date=2021-07-31|website=www.acadiansingray.com}}</ref> On April 19, 1964, dedication ceremonies were held in a grove of live oaks on the banks of Bayou Teche about {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} from Cecilia on Highway 328 to mark Hebert's grave. The marker reads as follows: "Approximately {{convert|100|yd}} to the west is the probable resting place of General Louis Hebert, C. S. A. Born in [[Iberville Parish]] in 1820, Hebert graduated from [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] in 1845 third in his class. After an army service of two years, he resigned to manage his family's sugar interests. Before the war he was a member of the State Senate and Chief Engineer of Louisiana. He fought at [[Battle of Wilson's Creek|Wilson's Creek]], Elkhorn, [[Siege of Corinth|Corinth]], [[Siege of Vicksburg|Vicksburg]], and Port Fisher. He was an editor and teacher in Iberville and St. Martin parishes and lived until 1901." General Hebert taught at Huron Plantation near Cecilia and tutored children of Vincent Barras in St. Martinville. Cecilia became one of the last remaining strongholds of the [[Louisiana French|Cajun French]] language in Louisiana and 42.60% of the total population used the language for daily communication, including 20.25% of the children according to a study in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results |title=Data Center Results |accessdate=2013-08-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815140430/http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results |archivedate=2013-08-15 }}</ref>
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