Grand Coteau Map
Grand Coteau is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,040 at the 2000 census. Grand Coteau is on Interstate 49 south of Opelousas and is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town is a center for local farming. As of 2008[update], the mayor is Gail Lark.
The first known land grant by the colonial Louisiana government was in 1776 in the area referred to as Prairie des Femmes. 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.
In 1821, Mrs. Charles Smith, widow of a wealthy planter in Opelousas, donated land, a two-story building, and funds to pay for the travel expenses of two nuns from St. Charles, Missouri. The two nuns of the Religious of the Sacred Heart founded a convent and a school that became the Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Nearby cities include Sunset, Church Point, Port Barre, Scott, Cecilia.