Page Contents for Sunset, Louisiana

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Libraries.

Schools.

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Louisiana state capital is Baton Rouge.
The population of Sunset is approximately 2,500 (2000), 2897 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 856 (1990), 1129 (2010).
The amount of land area in Sunset is 7.746 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0.07 sq kilometers.
The distance from Sunset to Washington DC is 1055 miles.
The distance to the Louisiana state capital is 56 miles. (as the crow flies)
Sunset is positioned 30.40 degrees north of the equator and 92.06 degrees west of the prime meridian.

Location

12 miles north of Lafayette just off Interstate 49
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History & History Related Items

Sunset began as many of the towns of this era, as a railroad town. First it was the site of a railroad construction camp. It was 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. " (Taken from a city history page)
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Attractions

Celebration of Herbs and Gardens
Annual Festival held the first Saturday in May and sponsored by the Sunset Garden Club

At Christmas time, the town is called Village d'Ange because so many angels decorate the streets, thanks to the efforts of the ladies in the Sunset Garden Club.
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Sunset Libraries

South St. Landry Community Library
This library has been dubbed the "Miracle Library." It is a lovely Art Deco facility with 13,000 recent volumes; it is fully automated and has Internet access.

Sunset Schools

Academy of the Sacred Heart - oldest girl's school west of the Mississippi in nearby Grand Coteau.
A college prep school for young women in grades Pre-K through 12. Boarding available for grades 8-12 Sunset

Miscellany

The population of Sunset was:
1990 - 2,201
2000 - 2,500