Editing Erath, Louisiana (section)

==History==
Erath is named after August Erath (March 18, 1843 - September 11, 1900){{citation needed|date=December 2020}} who emigrated from [[Switzerland]] to [[New Orleans]] in 1860 and was a bookkeeper in the breweries. He moved to [[New Iberia, Louisiana|New Iberia]] in 1876 and erected a brewery there. Erath was later mayor of New Iberia and began to develop land in the Erath area. Although August Erath never lived in Erath, he was close to railroad officials, which brought forth a great business venture for him.<ref>{{cite news |title=Town of Erath named after founder |work=The Morning Star |page=9 |date=June 30, 1982 }}</ref>  Later, Erath built a seltzer water factory in New Iberia and an ice plant in Abbeville. In 1884, he started a hardware business and purchased land located in this area.<ref>{{cite web|title=The History of Erath, Louisiana |url=http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/ehs/history/ErathHistory.htm |access-date=October 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016114454/http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/ehs/history/ErathHistory.htm |archive-date=October 16, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2005, storm surge forced inland by [[Hurricane Rita]] flooded most of the town. Water in most parts of town was up to six feet deep.